MMA Analytics 10.15.07: M-1, Randy Couture, and the Last Emperor
Posted by Leland Roling on 10.15.2007
With an exciting week of MMA news, Randy Couture surprisingly quit the UFC on news that Fedor Emelianenko had signed with M-1 and his anguish over UFC's management regarding his contract and monetary issues. Now, there is a lot of talk regarding Couture, Emelianenko, M-1, and the possible entry of Mark Cuban into the mix after reports have stated he may be trying to work a deal of some kind with M-1. We will talk about that and more in this edition of MMA Analytics.
Unless you've been hiding under a very large rock for the last week, the world of mixed martial arts received a surprising letter this week from the legendary Randy Couture. In the letter, Randy Couture stated that he was vacating the UFC Heavyweight title and resigning his position as a color commentator and ambassador to the UFC. The news came a day after huge waves of rumors hit the Internet regarding a deal that PRIDE Heavyweight Champion and arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world Fedor Emelianenko had signed with a brand new Russian mixed martial arts organization that was looking to go international. Frank Trigg broke the news during his MMA radio show, TAGG Radio. A few days later, Loretta Hunt at Fight Network confirmed the deal had occurred although the Russian organization was in fact M-1 Mixfight, the very promotion that Fedor's agent, Vadim Finkelstein, has promoted events for in the past. The twist was that M-1 Mixfight had been bought by an "undisclosed American Entertainment Company". October 23rd will be the date in which Fedor Emelianenko will announce his intentions to the world. Until then, we can only speculate. Let's take an in-depth look at M-1, Randy Couture, Fedor Emelianenko, and everything surrounding the controversy that has happened this week.
M-1 looks to go international
With M-1's news that they have been purchased by a mystery shopper, there has been a lot of thought as to what an American company may be looking to do with the promotion. The initial thought is that M-1 will be infused with some dollars to make a run at going international. M-1 has been one of the weaker MMA organizations in Asia, just recently pulling off a co-promotion with BodogFIGHT in order to set up a Matt Lindland vs. Fedor Emelianenko fight. Following that event, Vadim Finkelstein had choice words to say regarding the BodogFIGHT's handling of the event production according to Sherdog. Since then, M-1 has only been rumored to be holding an event in December.
Looking at this deal initially, this has to be a godsend for M-1. Their organization will be infused with a lot of money to help buy bigger name fighters and hopefully allow M-1 to not only put on better shows inside Russia, but also expand to some other venues. With the demise of PRIDE, there are many great fighters stuck in limbo from the contract issues when the takeover occurred. M-1 could grab up some of those fighters. Newly out of the rumor mill this weekend was a rumor stating that Arona had possibly signed a deal with M-1. Could this be the beginning of M-1's acquisition hunt? Only time will tell if this rumor has any validity, but it's the idea that really interests me
Couture leaves the UFC
A day after the UFC failed to sign Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture parted ways with the UFC with some parting shots. He stated that the UFC's inability to sign Fedor Emelianenko to a deal and the fact that the UFC management had lied to him about monetary issues was two of the main issues that led him to a decision to leave the organization. He will remain in limbo as his contract does not expire for another 9 months, but he has given up his position to commentate and fight in the UFC.
During the initial reaction, White stated that "retirement" was a good option for Couture because he knew that he wanted to act. The ensuing backlash of that statement was explosive throughout the MMA community. Couture later said that he wasn't retiring from fighting, rather resigning from the UFC. This was Dana's first slip of the day.
Next, White proceeded to state that MMA websites were to blame for the inaccuracies in salary figures that led to Couture blaming UFC management for low pay compared to other fighters. Now, before you try to say that Randy is just being selfish and should have negotiated a better contract when he had the chance. There is another twist to the story. According to Couture's Sherdog interview, Randy was told by Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta that he was the second highest paid athlete in the UFC. More than likely, Couture proceeded to ask other top fighters around what they made instead of using the Internet. This led to the issues that Randy had as well as the fact the UFC was willing to pay reportedly over a million and nearly two million per fight to get Fedor Emelianenko.
If that wasn't the end of it, ESPN ran a story yesterday and had Couture on the phone. Couture simply reiterated his interview with Sherdog earlier in the week. After the interview ran, ESPN posted a graphic on the screen keying in on White's comments regarding Couture's Hollywood agent. The quote referred to White stating he "bitchslapped" Couture's Hollywood agent. This is all referring to his acting career. ESPN really threw White under the bus, and it seriously made the UFC and MMA look bad from the standpoint that the sport isn't full of brutes.
With all of that said, I believe Randy Couture finally stuck it to the UFC. Instead of paying Couture the amount of money they were offering Fedor Emelianenko, they managed to lie to him. Although Couture should have thought of this when he was negotiating his contract, I doubt he thought he'd be hearing numbers in upwards of one million dollars. To be honest, I do not agree that there was nobody left to fight in the UFC for Randy Couture. Personally, I wanted to see Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira battle the "Natural". Fedor would have been his last fight though before he retired for good. With Couture's numerous business ventures, his gyms, and his acting career, he's probably one of the busiest guys in MMA when he isn't fighting.
The Last Emperor deals
What caused Randy Couture to leave the UFC? One reason was the signing of Fedor Emelianenko to a deal with M-1 in Russia. Randy had stated numerous times that he wanted to fight Fedor and that it was a dream matchup. Once he knew he would be unable to fight the Russian, he left the UFC and is hoped to be pursuing a deal after his contract expires to fight Fedor.
The Fedor deal has a lot of advantages for M-1. Fedor was the most dominant heavyweight in the world during his PRIDE reign. He is still considered the best pound for pound fighter in the world, although his ranking may soon slip due to inactivity. He is very recognizable in the Asian market due to his popularity with MMA fans in Japan. His skill is unparalleled during competition in MMA or Sambo tournaments. The list goes on, but he brings a boost to the Russian MMA scene. MMA right now in Russia is much like it was in the US when MMA was in its infancy. The U.S. didn't accept MMA fighting at first because of its brutality and violent nature. Russia is somewhere in between banning and accepting right now. Fedor's presence could make a push for it to become more mainstream with his star power. Add some great production power and exciting personalities and we may see a surge in the Russian MMA scene.
Fedor also begins the boost of M-1's talent pool. Having him there could potentially set up acquisitions of Josh Barnett and other key heavyweights who remain unsigned. The ultimate prospect would be for M-1 to deal with a U.S. promotion to co-promote events in order to expose M-1 to the U.S. MMA market. Imagine if Mark Cuban enters the fray? Cuban has reportedly confirmed that he is trying to ink some type of business deal with M-1. If he can swing some type of co-promotion that would bring an event featuring some of the Russian fighters and Fedor against some HDNet Fights fighters and possibly Josh Barnett or best case scenario, Randy Couture, we could see HDNet and M-1 move up into a great position to make some good money promoting events in the United States and internationally. The excitement around the Internet is the possibility of Cuban signing Couture and making the "Rocky IV"-esque super fight possible. I'm very excited at the prospect of that fight.
Changes in MMA
All of these events may intertwine in the future. Fedor going to M-1 has already sparked Couture to decide to leave the UFC, and it has sparked Cuban to try to wheel some sort of deal with M-1. Will we see the signing of Josh Barnett or Randy Couture to M-1 or HDNet Fights? Could M-1 and HDNet pull of a co-promotional event and possibly become an MMA promotion to be reckoned with? It's possible, although unlikely that M-1 or HDNet will ever hit the caliber that the UFC is currently at. It's only a matter of time before we see some real results of these deals and any results from these promotions. October 23rd marks Fedor's announcement. Look forward to it.
Leland Roling is the editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com. All sources for this article can be visited on his site.
