MMA Universe

MMA Junkie reports that ratings for M-1 Global Challenge on Showtime Friday night scored an average of 185,000 viewers. The event drew a 0.6 household rating.

Via MMA Junkie:

The event was the third M-1 Challenge show to air on Showtime. M-1 Challenge 24 drew 189,000 viewers earlier this year, and M-1 Challenge 26 drew 161,000 viewers in July. The three shows now have averaged 178,000 viewers on the premium-cable channel.

By comparison, the Strikeforce Challengers series on Showtime has averaged 207,000 viewers per event in 2011.

Payout Perspective:

Good numbers for the promotion especially with its Friday night time slot. Still lower than Strikeforce Challengers  average numbers, but as pointed out by readers, the M-1 average matches Bellator 54. It will be interesting to see what Showtime will do with Ken Hershman leaving for HBO and Zuffa in talks with the network about its future on Showtime. M-1 could be an alternative for Showtime if Zuffa leaves and it decides to remain in the MMA business.

Sherdog.com reports that Affliction and M-1 Global have settled its two year old lawsuit. The federal lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles, California, was set to go to trial this October.

Fedor Emilianenko and M-1 Global’s attorneys filed a Notice of Settlement in late August informing the Court that the parties involved in the lawsuit had come to an agreement. The papers filed noted the settlement and requested to vacate all pre-trial deadlines and the October trial date.

As you might recall, this lawsuit stemmed from the failed Affliction PPV, “Trilogy.” More background info is here.

Also, J.R. Riddell of Sherdog.com provides a synopsis:

 [Fedor and M-1 Global's] complaint alleged that after Josh Barnett refused licensure by the California State Athletic Commission because of a reported positive stroids test, Affliction breached its contract by refusing to promote the third and final fight called for under their “Fight Agreement.” They claimed Affliction did not undertake “all reasonable efforts” to find a fighter to replace Barnett…

One of the claims made by M-1 was that Affliction was trying to repair its relationship with the UFC and no longer wanted to promote its third PPV.

The lawsuit saw key figures in MMA deposed including UFC head Dana White, at the time Strikeforce head Scott Coker, Affliction’s Tom Attencio and Fedor.

This past June, the Court denied the parties’ motions for summary judgment (requests to dismiss the case on a party’s behalf). At the time, the Court advised the parties that they mediate the case in order to settle the matter short of trial. However, the parties did not settle. But, as with most heavily litigated cases where the result may be in doubt, the parties carved out a settlement short of the trial date.

While the Notice of Settlement filed with the court gave the parties the opportunity to reopen the case within 30 days of the notice, it is unlikely that would happen. In most instances, the parties leave this window in the event a party fails to hold up its end of the settlement (e.g., pay the negotiated settlement). More important to the litigants and their clients, the court deadlines were vacated meaning that further legal work (and legal fees) are avoided.

Just a few days after Strikeforce HW champ Alistair Overeem was released by Strikeforce’s parent company Zuffa, MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko and three additional teammates of Overeem from the famed Golden Glory camp (Marloes Coenen, Valentijn Overeem, & John Olav Einemo) were all released.

Zuffa released Fedor Emelianenko after losing three fights in a row during his short stint under the Strikeforce banner. Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem were the two heavy favorites by both the media and fans before the Strikeforce HW Grand Prix commenced earlier this year. A few months later after Zuffa purchased Strikeforce, both fighters have been released from the promotion. After Emelianenko made his Strikeforce debut on CBS against Brett Rogers and won in exciting fashion, he lost his next three fights to Fabricio Werdum (Triangle Armbar), Antonio Silva (TKO Doctor Stoppage), and most recently against Dan Henderson (TKO Punches). Fedor went 1-3 in Strikeforce while earning a reported $1.5M per bout ($300,000 publically reported to Fedor, $1.2M to M-1 as a consulting fee).

The release was expected by many in the industry, considering the high price tag Fedor brought to the table and considering that his participation in the event forced Zuffa to co-promote the event with M-1 Global, who Zuffa has grown tiresome of after years of several failed negotiations to get Fedor into the UFC. Although the UFC claims that they have released Fedor from Strikeforce, M-1 Global’s Evgeni Kogan claims that Fedor’s contract “is with Showtime” and “doesn’t need Strikeforce to fight on Showtime”.

Fedor’s counterpart that evening also has a reported hefty price tag. Dan Henderson’s fight against Fedor was the last on his Strikeforce contract, and sources reported that he was making nearly $800,000 per bout, which meant that between Fedor and Henderson, they raked in nearly $2.3M in salary that evening. After the event that night, Strikeforce only had three champs under contract – Middleweight champ Jacare, Lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez, and Female Bantamweight Champ Miesha Tate. Heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem, Light Heavyweight champ Dan Henderson, Welterweight champ Nick Diaz, and female 145lbs champ Cris Cyborg Santos have all either left Strikeforce for the UFC or are currently free agents. After Dan Henderson’s big victory, it is expected that the UFC will be in negotiations to get the former Strikeforce LHW champ in the UFC roster as soon as possible, where he is rumored to take on an upper tier LHW where he could be one win away from a title shot or possibly take an immediate title shot. Jon Jones, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, and Phil Davis have recently come up in dialog as potential opponents if Henderson rejoins the company he walked away from last year. Henderson’s Clinch Gear brand was banned from the UFC before he signed with Strikeforce. Talks between both parties went on for months, trying to agree on a new contract and settle the sponsor fee imposed by the UFC, forcing the aging MMA legend to sign the lucrative contract with Strikeforce. The move allowed Clinch Gear to sponsor Fedor and fighters from several promotions outside of the UFC.

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Marloes Coenen (19-5) – the former Strikeforce 135lbs champion – was cut after losing her title on Saturday night’s Strikeforce: Fedor vs Henderson’s co-main event to current champ Miesha Tate via Arm-Triangle-Choke in the 4th round. After fighting Cyborg Santos and then defeating Sarah Kaufman in a dramatic come-from-behind bout to become the champ, Coenen became one of the bigger names in the Strikeforce female roster. Her release was considered by most in the MMA industry as shocking considering that she was the champ, though Dana White’s negative remarks towards women’s MMA paints a grim future for the division. Coenen accumulated a 3-2 record in Strikeforce before being released.

Alistair Overeem’s older brother – Valentijn Overeem (29-26) – was part of the Strikeforce HW GP reserve bouts, where he first took on K-1 veteran Ray Sefo and easily defeated him via Neck Crank during the Strikeforce: Fedor vs Silva event, which was televised on Showtime. In the next round, he was defeated by Chad Griggs via submission (punches) in the first round during the undercard of the Strikeforce: Overeem vs Werdum bout just a few weeks ago. He had a 1-1 record in Strikeforce before he was released.

John Olav Einemo ( 6-2) was on a 5 year hiatus before being signed by the UFC to take on Shane Carwin at UFC 131. Due to an injury to Shane Carwin, Einemo instead fought HW prospect Dave Herman, which he lost by TKO (punches) in the second round. Einemo had a record of 0-1 in the UFC before being released.

Zuffa was able to cut Coenen, Valentijn, and Einemo because the standard fighter contract gives Zuffa the ability to cut any fighter coming off a loss. The only remaining member of Golden Glory left in Zuffa is Sergei Kharitonov, who is already schedule to fight in September against Josh Barnett as part of the Strikeforce HW Grandprix. Kharitonov is coming off an impressive win over Andrei Arlovski in the first round so he is still contracted to fight, though sources tell MMAPayout that if Kharitonov participates in the Ultimate Glory event scheduled for October in Moscow or if he loses, he will also be cut.

Alistair Overeem was coming off a win over Fabricio Werdum when he was released, though sources have informed MMAPayout that Zuffa was able to do so because they claim Overeem refused to fight on September, which would indicate a breach of contract and an immediate release. Overeem and the Golden Glory camp stated that Overeem had multiple injuries and would not be able to compete in September, though he is scheduled to appear in the same October Ultimate Glory event in Moscow with fellow camp member Kharitonov. The camp even released the latest episode of “The Reem” on the day of the release, which documents doctor visits revealing toe and rib injuries, trying to prove that a breach of contract did not take place.

Dana White told MMAFighting that the release of the Golden Glory members was due to the way the camp does business:

“This is actually a pretty simple explanation,” he said. “If you look back throughout history, we haven’t had any Golden Glory guys fight with us since Semmy Schilt, right? And the reason is we have very different business practices. It’s tough to do business with them. The bottom line is the way they do business is, you have to pay them, not the fighters. We don’t work that way. It’s not the way we do business. It’s not how it works in the United States with the athletic commissions. You don’t pay the managers and the managers pay the fighters. You pay the fighters and the fighters pay the managers.”

Regarding the pay situation, Marloes Coenen informed Josh Gross of ESPN that “she wants Golden Glory to handle payments because of tax purposes” and that “She’s paid direct and knows what she makes”. Others have stated that due to tax laws in different countries, this type of arrangement is necessary to do business.

According to our sources regarding Zuffa’s perspective, the items listed below were the reasons specified as to why the UFC cut ties with the camp and their fighters:

Having to go through the camp as a managing group and pay them instead of the fighters directly Reports that Golden Glory wanted more money to be able to fight in September Overeem publicly stating that he was going to quit MMA and box Vitali Klitschko, not having enough fights under contract for Overeem to complete the Strikeforce HW Grandprix & potentially being able to hold the belt hostage to either get a lucrative UFC deal or get a significant bump in pay Appearing on a United Glory poster for the October Moscow event after turning down the September event due to injury along with an intent of United Glory to hold events here in the States within the next year

The other factor in all this is that Strikeforce’s deal with Showtime is up around February of 2012, so both the UFC and Showtime are trying to finish the GP by that time. October was the original date for the next event, but due to scheduling conflicts between Showtime and Zuffa, the event had to be moved to September. There is a strong possibility that Showtime will not renew the Strikeforce contract when it’s up next year in February/March. At that point Showtime can either replace the promotion with another or put their full effort into boxing. It is also expected that around that time Strikeforce could be be absorbed by the UFC, as most of their higher profile fighters are already making their way into the UFC.

The Affliction vs M-1/Fedor Litigation has provided some great insight on the behind-the-scenes dealings throughout the lifespan of the Affliction/M-1 partnership, which includes the cancellation of the Trilogy event and a last minute deal between Affliction and the UFC.

On June 7, 2011, a 55-page decision document was released, depicting in great detail as to what lead Affliction into dropping its MMA promotional aspirations and concurrently signing a deal with the UFC to get back in their good graces after being banned by the promotion in 2008.

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Here are some of the tidbits disclosed in the decision:

- As of March 2008, Fedor had an oral agreement with M-1 that “obliged him to fight for M-1 for a two-year period in exchange for $2 million per bout, as well as a $1.5 million signing bonus”.  Fedor also has an 8.5% interest in the company.

- In early 2008, Affliction’s Todd Beard informed M-1 that they were going to form an MMA promotion company after their relationship with the UFC had deteriorated.

- On April 14, 2008, Affliction and M-1 agreed that Fedor Emelianenko would be paid a $300k purse which was reported pay, and received an additional $1.2M consulting fee via M-1 Global, which totaled to a $1.5M purse after re-negotiating an earlier contract which did not include the Consulting Agreement (which was set up after considering some financials regarding taxes).

- Vadim Finkelstein invested $1 Million to open Affliction stores in Russia to make Affliction happy in order to form an Affliction/M-1 Global business, which they were also hoping to team up with Japanese promotion DREAM to run some co-promotional events in Japan, but Affliction was worried about the costs of such venture.

- On December 8, 2008, M-1 and Affliction clothing agreed on a $1 Million sponsorship deal that would heavily feature Affliction on the M-1 Challenge broadcasts for the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

- M-1 contends that each M-1 Challenge event costs around $250K US Dollars, which includes expenses such as venues, visa fees, travel expenses, stage, refs, and production. Affliction paid the first installment of $500K, never paid the rest ($500K). Affliction claims contract calls for 30 “unique” one-hour episodes of M-1 Challenge and only 27 were provided.

- M-1 claims that Affliction had growing concern, noting that Affliction’s Beard probably that the UFC was ready to sign with Fedor on any terms M-1 wanted, but M-1 held back trying to grow a “competitive promotion” with Affliction, using Fedor as the “trump card”.

- On May 13, 2009, the Trilogy event set for August 1st was presented, with Fedor fighting Josh Barnett.

- On July 9, 2009, Affliction began discussions with the UFC regarding a potential sponsorship deal.

- M-1 used their personal contacts to broadcast the Trilogy event on national TV in Russia, Channel One.

- On July 13, 2009, Affliction’s Bassiri met with UFC’s Lawrence Epstein, UFC’s general counsel, and discussed the possibility that the UFC would assume responsibility of the Trilogy event and postpone the event to September 19, 2009 in Dallas. Affliction wanted to leave the MMA promotion business and re-establish a relationship with the UFC.  … MMAPayout: If you recall, this is around the time Zuffa insider’s were prematurely announcing a Fedor vs Lesnar main-event in Dallas for September, since part of the deal involved Affliction’s belief that they had a good enough relationship with Fedor that either he would follow them to the UFC, or would honor the one fight that was left in their contract. No one in Affliction informed M-1 of the meetings they were having with the UFC.

- After M-1 found out that Josh Barnett failed a drug test on July 21, 2009 from the CSAC, both parties started looking for a suitable replacement for the Trilogy event on August 1st.  Affliction’s Tom Atencio presented M-1 with Brett Rogers, Roy Nelson, and Alistair Overeem as possible opponents for the Trilogy main event.

- Tom Atencio offered Brett Rogers $500k to fight Fedor on July 22, 2009, but Strikeforce – who Rogers was currently signed with – refused.  Strikeforce eventually gave Rogers permission to Rogers to be able to take the fight on July 23, but by that day, Affliction canceled the Trilogy event and on that same day announced a deal with the UFC.

- The agreement between Affliction and the UFC  is detailed as follows:

“Paragraph 1 of the UFC/Affliction agreement provided: “[E]xcept for any rights that [Affliction] has with respect to Fedor Emelianenko (‘Fedor’) and conditioned upon [Affliction] . . . assign[ing] the agreements between [Affliction] and the [Affliction] Fighters to the UFC, the UFC agrees to assume [Affliction]’s responsibility for payment of the entire purse of the Affliction Trilogy Event which [Affliction] represents is not in excess of $741,000 purse and $370,000 win bonus. . . .”  Paragraph 2 stated that “[w]ith respect to Fedor, in the event the UFC is able to come to an agreement with Fedor on terms and conditions satisfactory to the UFC, the UFC shall assume responsibility for payments of Fedor’s purse for the Affliction Trilogy event or cause Fedor to release [Affliction] from its agreement with Fedor.”  Paragraph 6 required that Affliction Promotions cancel the Trilogy event.”

- On July 23, 2009, M-1 didn’t know about the cancellation of the event until after it arrived to Los Angeles with 30 fans from Russia.  Fedor was studying some footage on Vitor Belfort and Brett Rogers on the flight to LAX. … MMAPayout: On June 22, Atencio accused Dana White of tampering and trying to sign Vitor Belfort to a UFC contract to face Anderson Silva. White appeared on a TUF 9 Finale promo on Spike TV making the reference.

On June 7, 2011, Judge Margaret M. Morrow denied the parties cross-motions for summary judgment in the Affliction v. M-1/Fedor litigation. I have previously posted about the litigation — most recently here.

The 55 page decision is a VERY interesting read especially with respect to the facts surrounding the “Trilogy” non-event — in particular the discussions and ultimate agreement between Affliction and the UFC.

Below are some of the interesting points — note the chronology.

As set forth in the Court’s decision, at a “July 13, 2009 meeting, Bassiri and Lawrence Epstein, UFC’s general counsel, discussed the possibility that UFC would assume responsibility for the Trilogy show and postpone it to September 19, 2009, in Dallas. Bassiri told Epstein that Affliction Promotions wanted to leave the MMA promotion business and re-establish its relationship with the UFC.”

According to the decision, “[o]n July 21, 2009, M-1 learned from Affliction that the California State Athletic Commission would not renew Josh Barnett’s license because he had tested positive for the use of steroids.”

Then, “[o]n July 22, 2009, Atencio offered [Brett] Rogers $500,000 to replace Barnett as Emelianenko’s opponent at the August 1, 2009 Trilogy event,” but “Strikeforce, with whom Rogers then had a promotional contract, was not willing to release him from his contract to fight in the Trilogy event, however.”

“[O]n July 23, 2009, Strikeforce released Rogers to fight in the event. By that time, however, Affliction Promotions had decided to cancel Trilogy. At 4:00 p.m. that day, Affliction concluded a deal with UFC.”

As set forth in the decision, that agreement provided, in part, as follows:

Paragraph 1 of the UFC/Affliction agreement provided: “[E]xcept for any rights that [Affliction] has with respect to Fedor Emelianenko (‘Fedor’) and conditioned upon [Affliction] . . . assign[ing] the agreements between [Affliction] and the [Affliction] Fighters to the UFC, the UFC agrees to assume [Affliction]’s responsibility for payment of the entire purse of the Affliction Trilogy Event which [Affliction] represents is not in excess of $741,000 purse and $370,000 win bonus. . . .” Paragraph 2 stated that “[w]ith respect to Fedor, in the event the UFC is able to come to an agreement with Fedor on terms and conditions satisfactory to the UFC, the UFC shall assume responsibility for payments of Fedor’s purse for the Affliction Trilogy event or cause Fedor to release [Affliction] from its agreement with Fedor.” Paragraph
6 required that Affliction Promotions cancel the Trilogy event.

According to the decision, “[p]rior to the time M-1 learned of the cancellation, it had put Emelianenko on his scheduled flight to Los Angeles, and given him footage of both Rogers and Vitor Belfort so that he could study the fighters while in flight. Emelianenko did not learn that Trilogy had been cancelled until he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport with thirty fans from Russia.”

Here is the decision:
Affliction SJ Decision(function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "http://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })();

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Fight Lawyer

Justin Klein is an attorney at Satterlee Stephens Burke & Burke LLP in New York City where he concentrates his practice in commercial litigation and represents clients in the fight industry. He regularly addresses current legal issues that pertain to combat sports, including efforts to legalize MMA in New York, at his Fight Lawyer website. He is a licensed boxing manager with the New York State Athletic Commission as well as the founder and Chairman of the Board of the New York Mixed Martial Arts Initiative, a non-profit organization that gives inner city youth the opportunity to experience the emotional and physical benefits of martial arts training. Justin lives in New York City where he trains in jiu jitsu and boxing.

DISCLAIMER

The information in this post and on my site consists of my opinion only, i.e., it is not the opinion of my employer or anybody else. In addition, and because this is my opinion, it is not intended to be (and is not) legal advice or an advertisement for legal services. This post provides general information only. Although I encourage interested parties to contact me on the subjects discussed in the articles, the reader should not consider information on this site to be an invitation for an attorney-client relationship. I disclaim all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any contents of this post. Any e-mail sent to me will not create an attorney-client relationship, and you should not use this site or my site to send me e-mail containing confidential or sensitive information.

Welcome to another edition of Payout Perspective! This week we’ll be taking a look at M-1 Challenge 24: Damkovsky vs Figueroa, which made its solo promotional debut with Showtime last Friday night. The event was headlined by M-1 Lightweight champ, Artiom Damkovsky taking on title challenger Jose Figueroa, who is a member of American Top Team based in Florida.

The event took place at the Ted Constant Center in Norfolk, Virginia and featured 5  fights: Artiom Damkovsky vs. Jose Figueroa, Magomed Sultanakhmedov vs. Tyson Jeffries, Vinny Magalhaes vs. Jake Doerr, Jason Norwood vs. Billy Horne, and Alexander Sarnavskiy vs. Beau Baker.

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Attendance and Gate

MMAFigthing reports that M-1 Challenge 24: Damkovsky vs. Figueroa, drew 1,007 fans for a live gate of $30,65. The venue at the Old Dominion University campus can hold over 8,100, not to mention that with additional floor seating it can hold over 10,000 attendees.

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Ratings

MMAJunkie also reports that the M-1 Challenge on Showtime had 189,000 (0.52 rating) viewers.  The event did only slightly lower than what Strikeforce Challengers shows do in that time slot and beat Strikeforce Challengers 11: Bowling vs Voelker and tied Challengers 6: Kaufman vs Hashi . The event also had more viewers than Bellator did the next day on a Saturday night- drawing 150,000 viewers (it’s lowest mark to date) on MTV 2, though we must point out that they were going head-to-head with the UFC prelims on Facebook and NCAA March Madness.  It also wasn’t in it’s regular slot as it moved to an earlier time to avoid overlapping the UFC televised portion of the event.

Average Showtime viewership for Strikeforce Challengers:

- Strikeforce Challengers 7: 316,000
- Strikeforce Challengers 8: 249,000
- Strikeforce Challengers 10: 237,000
- Strikeforce Challengers 13: 223,000
- Strikeforce Challengers 12: 210,000
- Strikeforce Challengers 14: 200,000
- Strikeforce Challengers 9: 197,000
- Strikeforce Challengers 6: 189,000
- M-1 Challenge 24: 189,000
- Strikeforce Challengers 11: 178,000

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Sponsors

M-1 Global got a big boost airing on Showtime, when GOOD4U Drinks announced that they had signed a deal with M-1 Global to sponsor the event on Showtime on March 21st.  Good4U Drinks, after being banned from the UFC for being a competitor to Xyience (owned by Zuffa) and AMP Energy.  They were also in talks with Strikeforce to become a sponsor but sponsor Rockstar Energy had exclusive rights.  After failing to get on Showtime with Strikeforce, GOOD4U Drinks jumped at the opportunity to be on the mat for the M-1 Challenge last week, placing a big logo of their brand in the center of the M-1 mat, which had great visibility 

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Event Notes:

* The promotion and marketing heading into the event was almost non-existent for M-1, with some of its fighters claiming that Visa issues prevented Showtime and M-1 from promoting the event ahead of time.  Members of both parties said there will be more promotion for the upcoming event since the Visa issues should be cleared up now.

* The next Showtime event will be M-1 Challenge 26: Figueroa vs Weichel, which will take place on July 8, airing at 11 PM ET/PT.  M-1 Challenge prospect Guram Gugenishvili (11-0) has been scheduled to participate in the event.

* Both Showtime and M-1 were said to be happy with the ratings and how the event turned out, claiming the next event in July would be even better.

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Recap Video

As MMAPayout reported last week, Showtime and M-1 announce that the “M-1 Challenge” 3/25 event taking place in the U.S. will be televised live on the network.

SHOWTIME Sports and M-1 GLOBAL announced today an upcoming mixed martial arts (MMA) event entitled M-1 Challenge: Damkovsky vs. Figueroa featuring two M-1 GLOBAL title fights. The bouts will air LIVE on SHOWTIME on Friday, March 25 at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Artiom Damkovsky will defend his M-1 Challenge Lightweight (155 lbs.) championship against Jose Figueroa, while Tyson Jeffries and Magomed Sultanakhmedov will battle for the vacant M-1 Challenge Middleweight (185 lbs.) belt from Constant Center in Norfolk, Va.

In other action, Alexander Sarnavskiy will take on Josh Bacallao in a lightweight scrap and Vinny Magalhaes will fight an opponent to be named in a light heavyweight (205 lbs.) matchup.

“I am extremely happy about the venture between M-1 Global and SHOWTIME. There is no better TV network for M-1 than SHOWTIME. And no better market to seriously compete in than the U.S.,” said Vadim Finkelchtein, co-founder of M-1 GLOBAL.

“Our ability to televise quality boxing and MMA fights at the highest level has been aided tremendously by our commitment to showcasing prospects and lesser known international stars on our feeder series like ShoBox: The New Generation and STRIKEFORCE Challengers,” said Ken Hershman, Executive Vice President and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports. “M-1 Challenge events fit perfectly into that mold and will enhance our mixed martial arts offerings even further.”

Mauro Ranallo will call the action from ringside with Pat Miletich serving as analyst. The telecast will be produced by Chuck McKean and directed by Craig Farrell.  The executive producer of SHOWTIME Sports is David Dinkins, Jr.

For information on SHOWTIME Sports programming, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please go to the new SHOWTIME Sports website at http://www.sho.com/sports.

Payout Perspective:

Negotiations between M-1 Global and Showtime have been ongoing since September of last year, and after several months of back-and-forth negotiations, it looks like the deal is now finally official.  The first televised event will be on March 25, held at the Constant Center in Norfolk, Va, where multiple M-1 Challenge titles will be on the line as Artiom Damkovsky defends his title against Jose Figueroa and Tyson Jeffries and Magomed Sultanakhmedov fight for the vacant Middleweight belt.

One interesting note from the press release is that Mauro Renallo and Pat Miletich will call the action on March 25, a fan-favorite combination for many fans who typically work on the Strikeforce Challenger events along side with Stephen Quadros.  Showtime using only a two man booth to televise an MMA event is something that they have not experienced much in the past, but many have clamored.

As MMAPayout reported last week, Showtime and M-1 announce that the “M-1 Challenge” 3/25 event taking place in the U.S. will be televised live on the network.

SHOWTIME Sports and M-1 GLOBAL announced today an upcoming mixed martial arts (MMA) event entitled M-1 Challenge: Damkovsky vs. Figueroa featuring two M-1 GLOBAL title fights. The bouts will air LIVE on SHOWTIME on Friday, March 25 at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Artiom Damkovsky will defend his M-1 Challenge Lightweight (155 lbs.) championship against Jose Figueroa, while Tyson Jeffries and Magomed Sultanakhmedov will battle for the vacant M-1 Challenge Middleweight (185 lbs.) belt from Constant Center in Norfolk, Va.

In other action, Alexander Sarnavskiy will take on Josh Bacallao in a lightweight scrap and Vinny Magalhaes will fight an opponent to be named in a light heavyweight (205 lbs.) matchup.

“I am extremely happy about the venture between M-1 Global and SHOWTIME. There is no better TV network for M-1 than SHOWTIME. And no better market to seriously compete in than the U.S.,” said Vadim Finkelchtein, co-founder of M-1 GLOBAL.

“Our ability to televise quality boxing and MMA fights at the highest level has been aided tremendously by our commitment to showcasing prospects and lesser known international stars on our feeder series like ShoBox: The New Generation and STRIKEFORCE Challengers,” said Ken Hershman, Executive Vice President and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports. “M-1 Challenge events fit perfectly into that mold and will enhance our mixed martial arts offerings even further.”

Mauro Ranallo will call the action from ringside with Pat Miletich serving as analyst. The telecast will be produced by Chuck McKean and directed by Craig Farrell.  The executive producer of SHOWTIME Sports is David Dinkins, Jr.

For information on SHOWTIME Sports programming, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please go to the new SHOWTIME Sports website at http://www.sho.com/sports.

Payout Perspective:

Negotiations between M-1 Global and Showtime have been ongoing since September of last year, and after several months of back-and-forth negotiations, it looks like the deal is now finally official.  The first televised event will be on March 25, held at the Constant Center in Norfolk, Va, where multiple M-1 Challenge titles will be on the line as Artiom Damkovsky defends his title against Jose Figueroa and Tyson Jeffries and Magomed Sultanakhmedov fight for the vacant Middleweight belt.

One interesting note from the press release is that Mauro Renallo and Pat Miletich will call the action on March 25, a fan-favorite combination for many fans who typically work on the Strikeforce Challenger events along side with Stephen Quadros.  Showtime using only a two man booth to televise an MMA event is something that they have not experienced much in the past, but many have clamored.

Sherdog reports that the on March 25, M-1 Global will hold their first stateside M-1 Challenge event of 2011 in Norfolk, Virginia at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. MMAPayout was able to verify that Showtime has tentatively scheduled the event to be televised on the network.

Showtime is scheduling the event to air on the network on March 25, placing it in the 11:00PM – 1:30AM time slot. The deal was said to be a multiple event deal, 4 events, which would broadcast M-1 Challenge events on the network throughout the year, as MMAPayout reported back in September of 2010.

The M-1 Challenge event will be headlined by Lightweight champ Artiom Damkovsky, as he takes on 2010 M-1 Selection Americas tournament winner Jose Figueroa.

Payout Perspective

Back in September when MMAPayout broke the news regarding the negotiations between M-1 Global and Showtime, it was speculated that this was part of the deal in order for Fedor to re-sign with Strikeforce and keep him on board, which was a key piece since Strikeforce and Showtime were already working on putting the Heavyweight Grand Prix together.  Since that time, sources close to the negotiations have informed MMAPayout that this TV deal between Showtime and M-1 Global was seperate to the Fedor deal, and has been ongoing since September of 2010.

M-1 took a big blow with Fedor’s loss in the first round of the HW GP this past Saturday, as he almost announced his retirement on the network, but with Showtime TV set to air the M-1 Challenge events and Fedor’s most recent comments that he will continue to fight, the blow has at least softened a bit.

Strikeforce, Showtime, and M-1 Global make the long rumored and highly anticipated Strikeforce HW GP official. MMAPayout confirmed and reported the news yesterday, but below is the official release sent out today.

PRESS RELEASE – World championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotions STRIKEFORCE and M-1 GLOBAL, in association with premium television network SHOWTIME have signed a new, multi-year agreement to co-promote events headlined by the MMA legend Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (31-2, 1 NC).

In addition, STRIKEFORCE has assembled eight of the world’s top ranked heavyweights to compete in the STRIKEFORCE World Grand Prix – Heavyweight Tournament, a three-stage, single-elimination tournament that will take place over several events in 2011.  The first two quarterfinal fights begin on Saturday, Feb. 12, live on SHOWTIME from the IZOD Center in E. Rutherford, N.J. In the main event, the 34-year-old Emelianenko will face the towering Antonio “Big Foot” Silva (15-2) in a STRIKEFORCE and M-1 GLOBAL co-promoted event.  Co-featured on Feb. 12, former world champion Andrei Arlovski (15-8) will face Sergei Kharitonov (16-4), the last man to defeat current STRIKEFORCE Heavyweight World Champion Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem.

The other two quarterfinal matchups are as follows: Overeem (34-11, 1 NC) will face the only man to tap out Fedor, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1), while the heavy-handed Brett “The Grim” Rogers (11-2) will meet a hungry Josh Barnett (29-5). The location and date for these quarterfinal tournament fights are to be announced.

“We are thrilled to have come to a long-term agreement with Fedor and M-1 GLOBAL,” said STRIKEFORCE CEO Scott Coker. “To have the greatest MMA fighter of all-time put his legacy on the line in a single-elimination tournament will truly captivate MMA fans worldwide. STRIKEFORCE is home to the best heavyweight division in the world; the athlete who runs the gauntlet in a tournament such as this would have to be considered the best heavyweight fighter in the world.”

“I’m very pleased to be working with SHOWTIME and STRIKEFORCE and Mr. Coker and Mr. Hershman personally. Thanks to their interest and efforts, we’ve created what will go down in history as MMA’s greatest heavyweight tournament of all time,” said Vadim Finkelchtein, co-founder of M-1 Global. “M-1, STRIKEFORCE and SHOWTIME have built a partnership committed to the future growth of MMA—a sport where organizations represent a working collaborative that enable the best fighters in the world to fight each other. This agreement benefits everyone, especially the fans who’ll see Fedor in action more often.

“With SHOWTIME’s significance in the U.S. and M-1’s development of the European and Asian MMA markets, the cooperation will also deliver a global roster of talented fighters to viewers,” Finkelchtein continued. “During the coming year, we’ll be showcasing spectacular Grand Prix events using the same M-1 Selection tournament format, a series of events generating enthusiastic spectator interest keeping fans glued to their screens.”

“I can’t think of a better way to start 2011 than with this major announcement,” said Ken Hershman, Executive Vice President and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports®. “Fedor is universally known to sports fans throughout the world and it is an honor to continue our work with M-1 GLOBAL and STRIKEFORCE in presenting this legendary fighter to SHOWTIME subscribers.

“SHOWTIME has enjoyed great success with its two most recent boxing tournaments—the Super Six World Boxing Classic and The Bantamweight Tournament,” Hershman continued. “And now, with the breadth of talent in the STRIKEFORCE heavyweight division, we have the privilege of staging one of the biggest tournaments in the history of this growing sport.  With the STRIKEFORCE World Grand Prix’s single-elimination format and the biggest names in the sport today, this tournament is something that no sports fan will want to miss.”

“I have been training very hard since my last fight and can’t wait to get back in the cage,” said the 6-foot, 235-pound Emelianenko, who hails from Stary Oskol, Russia and is promoted by M-1 GLOBAL.  “STRIKEFORCE has assembled a roster filled with the best heavyweights in the world and, together with M-1 GLOBAL, we have the opportunity to fight the best in a great tournament format.”

Fedor’s unprecedented, record-setting run of 28 professional MMA bouts without a defeat has prompted many MMA enthusiasts to label Fedor as the greatest of all time. Since his career began 10 years ago, Fedor has faced and defeated many rival superstars and champions of this era including Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Andrei Arlovski and Mark “The Hammer” Coleman.

In what ranks among the most watched MMA fights in the United States, Fedor made his live primetime network television debut on Nov. 7, 2009 on CBS, when he defeated unbeaten rising star Brett Rogers in a STRIKEFORCE and M-1 GLOBAL co-promoted event.  Despite a difficult first round in which he sustained a deep cut above his eye, Fedor turned the tide early in the second round with one vicious right-hand punch and finished Rogers shortly after.

Then, on June 26, 2010, Fedor suffered a stunning upset at the hands of Werdum, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., in one of the most watched MMA bouts on SHOWTIME.  Werdum, who has defeated a host of top rivals including Overeem, Silva and Brandon “The Truth” Vera, trapped Fedor’s arm in a triangle armbar that forced Fedor to tap out at the 1:09 mark of the opening round.

Fedor has only one other official loss on his record, the result of a doctor stoppage due to a cut he sustained seconds into a matchup with Japan’s Tsuyoshi Kosaka on Dec. 22, 2000.  Fedor avenged the TKO loss with his own first-round TKO of Kosaka at a PRIDE Fighting Championships event in Japan on April 3, 2005.

Payout Perspective:

After the press release from Strikeforce, Showtime, and M-1, there are have been quite a few questions regarding the tournament, so I have gathered around some info detailing the event.

1) Strikeforce releases HW tournament bracket:

2) Notes from Josh Gross over at ESPN:

- Tournament will kick off on February 12 at the IZOD Center in New Jersey, where Fedor Emelianenko vs Antonio Silva will take place.

-Quarterfinals will likely take place in April, locations and dates TBA. Overeem vs Werdum and Brett Rogers vs Josh Barnett are expected on that show.

- Shane Del Rosario vs Lavar Johnson will take place on the February 12 event, where they will battle for the number one alternate for the event. Valentijn Overeem vs Ray Sefo is expected to be another reserve bout (per MMAJunkie), and Scott Coker has confirmed that Daniel Cormier, pending on his Strikeforce Challengers performance this week, could see him also in the mix.

- Alistair Overeem’s title will be on the line (5 round title fights), and hence why the bracket is shaped the way it is.  Overeem was given the winner of Werdum vs Fedor, and that winner will take on the winner of Fedor vs Silva, all who are legitimate contenders for the belt.  On the other side of the bracket, a worthy contender will be made between Barnett, Rogers, Kharitonov, and Arlovski to battle the champion in the finals.

- Fedor Signs 4-Fight Deal with Strikeforce, reported by Sherdog.

- M-1 Global is also working on finalizing a separate TV deal with Showtime, which should be announced in the next few weeks.

- The Strikeforce HW tournament announcement was showing on the ESPN News Ticker today. The Fedor vs Antonio Silva bout taking place on 2/12 in NJ was also showing yesterday. Great exposure for Strikeforce following the announcement.

- Strikeforce will try to work through the Josh Barnett situation, where he was not licensed in California.  Coker said Barnett supplied a clean sample to the CSAC 30 days ago and will apply for a license with the commission that will host the April event, which is not yet determined, as reported by Sergio Non over at USA Today.

- Scott Coker also mentioned that he is working on making Kawajiri vs Melendez this year, and is aiming at hosting the bout at the March Ohio event.  The Miesha Tate vs Marloes Coenen title bout is also being targeted for March.

3) Over at MiddleEasy, they have already jump started the fan campaign with a fan-made video of the tournament.

MMAPayout reported a few weeks ago of a potential Strikeforce Heavyweight tournament taking place this year, and it appears that more supporting information is starting to leak regarding the tournament.

Sherdog reports that Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio “Pezao” Silva is scheduled to take place on Feb. 12 in the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey along with other potential match-ups rumored for the upcoming events.

As speculated, Strikeforce will indeed hold an eight-man heavyweight tournament in 2011, and Emelianenko-Silva and Arlovski-Barnett are set to serve as quarterfinal bouts. Though the remaining combatants could not be confirmed, a third quarterfinal matchup between Fabricio Werdum and Brett Rogers is expected to take place in Columbus, Ohio, on a planned March 5 event.

A fourth and final tournament bout is also set to take place on the March card. Semi-final and final bouts would then be held later in the year at to-be-announced events.

The promotion will also hold two alternate bouts in case injury sidelines competitors in the main draw. Potential contestants could include “Challengers” series standouts Lavar Johnson, Daniel Cormier and Shane del Rosario.

MMAJunkie also reported on the tournament, though stating that Werdum vs Rogers may be off and a potential official announcement could be made in the next couple of days.

A third quarterfinal matchup between Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1 MMA, 3-0 SF) and Brett Rogers (11-2 MMA, 2-2 SF) reported as in the works for a March 5 event in Columbus, Ohio, is said to be off, sources said, though Werdum recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio he plans to compete at the spring event.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker declined to comment on the reported fights, though he said an “important announcement” about the tournament is due by Tuesday.

M-1 Global’s parent company and Russian website, MixFight released an official announcement stating that M-1 Global, Strikeforce, and Showtime have come to an agreement good for multiple years.  They also state that fighters such as Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Sergei Kharitonov and Brett Rogers (along with Fedor and Silva).

The release quotes Showtime Sports’ Ken Hershman, who according to the release, is thrilled to kickoff the year with a new deal and continuing to offer the best fighter in MMA history to it’s Showtime customers:

I could not imagine a more successful start in 2011. Fedor – a man widely known in fan circles around the globe. It is our great honor to continue cooperation with M- 1 Global and Strikeforce, through which our subscribers can enjoy fighting the best fighter in MMA history.

M-1 Global president Vadim Finkelstein shared some exciting and ambitious goals the parties involved have for 2011.

I am very pleased to collaborate with Showtime and Strikeforce, as well as Mr. Coker and Mr. Hershman. Together we can create a tournament that should go down in history as the greatest MMA tournament in the heavyweight division. The result of co-promotion between M-1, Strikeforce and Showtime will result in the development and growth in popularity of MMA across the world. This sport is beyond the scope of individual organizations. Our partnership enables us to arrange fights the best fighters in the world with each other. This new agreement will benefit everyone – especially the fans, who want to see Fedor fight as often as possible.

Fedor also shared his excitement in participating in the Strikeforce Heavyweight tournament.

After the fight with Werdum, I trained hard, I can not wait until I am inside the cage again. Strikeforce has in its ranks the best heavyweights in the world, and through co-promotion with M-1 Global, I have the opportunity to meet with them in a tournament format.

Payout Perspective:

There have been rumblings for a few months regarding the proposed HW tournament being proposed by Strikeforce.  MMAPayout sources were able to confirm back then that the tournament was going to happen.  The only questions in hand was the start of the tournament due to the M-1 negotiations and ironing out who will participate.  Josh Barnett must be cleared by the CSAC to be allowed to fight again while the contract negotiations with M-1 Global, Strikeforce and Showtime had to be finalized by this week in order to meet the new February date, since the original January 29 date was not met.

The only other question is when will Overeem fight, since he is rumored to participate in the tournament coming off the incredible achievement of winning the K-1 2010 World GP and defeating former UFC prospect Todd Duffe in the NYE Dynamite event in Japan.  He has said in the last few weeks that he would like to go on vacation after participating in the FEG events over in Japan, and would like to fight for Strikeforce again around May/June, though we are not sure if those plans are still in tact considering the first round of the HW GP should be over after the March 5th even in the Columbus, Ohio event.

Details regarding the new deal should be announced shortly, which was said to include an M-1 Challengers TV deal as well with Showtime.  The official announcement from Strikeforce should be coming in the next few days.

MMAPayout reported a few weeks ago of a potential Strikeforce Heavyweight tournament taking place this year, and it appears that more supporting information is starting to leak regarding the tournament.

Sherdog reports that Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio “Pezao” Silva is scheduled to take place on Feb. 12 in the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey along with other potential match-ups rumored for the upcoming events.

As speculated, Strikeforce will indeed hold an eight-man heavyweight tournament in 2011, and Emelianenko-Silva and Arlovski-Barnett are set to serve as quarterfinal bouts. Though the remaining combatants could not be confirmed, a third quarterfinal matchup between Fabricio Werdum and Brett Rogers is expected to take place in Columbus, Ohio, on a planned March 5 event.

A fourth and final tournament bout is also set to take place on the March card. Semi-final and final bouts would then be held later in the year at to-be-announced events.

The promotion will also hold two alternate bouts in case injury sidelines competitors in the main draw. Potential contestants could include “Challengers” series standouts Lavar Johnson, Daniel Cormier and Shane del Rosario.

MMAJunkie also reported on the tournament, though stating that Werdum vs Rogers may be off and a potential official announcement could be made in the next couple of days.

A third quarterfinal matchup between Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1 MMA, 3-0 SF) and Brett Rogers (11-2 MMA, 2-2 SF) reported as in the works for a March 5 event in Columbus, Ohio, is said to be off, sources said, though Werdum recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio he plans to compete at the spring event.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker declined to comment on the reported fights, though he said an “important announcement” about the tournament is due by Tuesday.

M-1 Global’s parent company and Russian website, MixFight released an official announcement stating that M-1 Global, Strikeforce, and Showtime have come to an agreement good for multiple years.  They also state that fighters such as Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Sergei Kharitonov and Brett Rogers (along with Fedor and Silva).

The release quotes Showtime Sports’ Ken Hershman, who according to the release, is thrilled to kickoff the year with a new deal and continuing to offer the best fighter in MMA history to it’s Showtime customers:

I could not imagine a more successful start in 2011. Fedor – a man widely known in fan circles around the globe. It is our great honor to continue cooperation with M- 1 Global and Strikeforce, through which our subscribers can enjoy fighting the best fighter in MMA history.

M-1 Global president Vadim Finkelstein shared some exciting and ambitious goals the parties involved have for 2011.

I am very pleased to collaborate with Showtime and Strikeforce, as well as Mr. Coker and Mr. Hershman. Together we can create a tournament that should go down in history as the greatest MMA tournament in the heavyweight division. The result of co-promotion between M-1, Strikeforce and Showtime will result in the development and growth in popularity of MMA across the world. This sport is beyond the scope of individual organizations. Our partnership enables us to arrange fights the best fighters in the world with each other. This new agreement will benefit everyone – especially the fans, who want to see Fedor fight as often as possible.

Fedor also shared his excitement in participating in the Strikeforce Heavyweight tournament.

After the fight with Werdum, I trained hard, I can not wait until I am inside the cage again. Strikeforce has in its ranks the best heavyweights in the world, and through co-promotion with M-1 Global, I have the opportunity to meet with them in a tournament format.

Payout Perspective:

There have been rumblings for a few months regarding the proposed HW tournament being proposed by Strikeforce.  MMAPayout sources were able to confirm back then that the tournament was going to happen.  The only questions in hand was the start of the tournament due to the M-1 negotiations and ironing out who will participate.  Josh Barnett must be cleared by the CSAC to be allowed to fight again while the contract negotiations with M-1 Global, Strikeforce and Showtime had to be finalized by this week in order to meet the new February date, since the original January 29 date was not met.

The only other question is when will Overeem fight, since he is rumored to participate in the tournament coming off the incredible achievement of winning the K-1 2010 World GP and defeating former UFC prospect Todd Duffe in the NYE Dynamite event in Japan.  He has said in the last few weeks that he would like to go on vacation after participating in the FEG events over in Japan, and would like to fight for Strikeforce again around May/June, though we are not sure if those plans are still in tact considering the first round of the HW GP should be over after the March 5th even in the Columbus, Ohio event.

Details regarding the new deal should be announced shortly, which was said to include an M-1 Challengers TV deal as well with Showtime.  The official announcement from Strikeforce should be coming in the next few days.

• Liddell-Franklin Rumored for UFC 115; Dana White Issues Denial
• Strikeforce Standing Ground on April 17, Sees DREAM co-promotion as key component in future
• Bellator calls Monday press conference, expected to announce signing of Roger Huerta
• One-On-One With Bellator Fighting Championships CEO Bjorn Rebney
• 5K Interview: Fedor Emelianenko manager and M-1 CEO Vadim Finklestein

Liddell-Franklin Rumored for UFC 115; Dana White Issues Denial

Light heavyweights Rich Franklin and Chuck Liddell are penciled in for a June showdown.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned from sources close to the promotion that the two have verbally agreed to face each other in June at UFC 115, though contracts have yet to be finalized.

The new matchup replaces a planned third meeting between Liddell and Tito Ortiz that had been expected for the promotion’s first trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and may have been arranged as a result of Franklin’s unexpected involvement in “TUF 11.”  (MMAJunkie)

***

Former UFC champions Chuck Liddell  and Rich Franklin have verbally agreed to meet in a light heavyweight tilt in June, Sherdog.com has learned from multiple sources. UFC 115, though not officially announced, has been tentatively scheduled for June 12 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

…

A message posted late Saturday on UFC President Dana White’s Twitter account denied that the bout was slated. “We are doing couture vs franklin not chuck,” read the post.

Sherdog.com re-affirmed with its sources that the Liddell-Franklin bout is still in play.  (Sherdog)

Strikeforce Standing Ground on April 17, Sees DREAM co-promotion as key component in future

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker on Friday told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that “Strikeforce: Nashville” will not be moved from its April 17 date to sidestep a potential head-to-head clash with a rumored UFC event on the same night.

“It’s the 17th and it’s full steam ahead,” Coker said. “The 17th was always a good day when we chose it. We still feel the same way, and so does CBS.”  (MMAJunkie)

***

“I worked for K-1 for about eight years, and the ownership group of K-1 and DREAM is still the same,” Coker said. “I’ve maintained good relationships over there, and it’s always been my dream – that’s kind of a pun, right? – to have our guys fight their guys and to see who would end up on top. If our guys win, that’s fantastic. If [their guy] wins, then that’s just great. It’s just good competition.

“I think it’s the true nature of sports to compete. Now we have the DREAM champion against our champion, and especially for the hardcore fans, I don’t think it gets any better than that.”  (MMAJunkie)

Bellator calls Monday press conference, expected to announce signing of Roger Huerta

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Roger Huerta (20-3-1 MMA, 0-0 Bellator) is set to test his mettle in Bellator Fighting Championships’ season two eight-man lightweight tournament.

Sources close to the situation confirmed to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the popular lightweight received his formal release from the UFC this week, which opened the door to finalize a deal with the upstart promotion.

Bellator has called a video press conference for Monday at 3 p.m. ET that will stream live at Bellator.com.   (MMAJunkie)

One-On-One With Bellator Fighting Championships CEO Bjorn Rebney

So at Bellator, we front end load our agreements, so when he or she is in the tournament they have the opportunity to make a great deal of money, very quickly.

While the typical model which is 3 and 3, or 6 and 6, or 8 and 8, you slowly but surely work your way up, and if you lose you get potentially cut.

Ours is different, it’s an upside down model which means fighters can make a lot of money very quickly with us. It’s very attractive, we’ve been able to get a lot of great fighters on board based on their belief in themselves to compete, and earn that money. …

In another organization if you lose, you can get cut, or get another shot against a tough opponent. In our organization it’s not a different scenario, but it is a scenario where you can make a great deal of money, very quickly. (Bleacher Report)

5K Interview: Fedor Emelianenko manager and M-1 CEO Vadim Finklestein

FiveKnuckles.com: It has been said that Fedor has signed a 3-fight deal with Strikeforce and has two fights remaining with the next one coming against Fabricio Werdum this summer. After this deal has elapsed, would it be possible to see Fedor in the UFC?

Vadim Finkelstein: It depends on UFC. We would like to cooperate with them. Everything depends on them, their diplomacy. It would be possible if they are flexible.

FiveKnuckles.com: You tried cooperating with them this summer, but after negotiating with Dana White extensively to no avail, he said many bad things about you and M-1. What are your thoughts on Dana White personally?

Vadim Finkelstein: That’s his character, he just loves to call names. He didn’t say bad things about M-1 only, there were a lot of situations where he was harsh. It makes me glad when Dana White talks about us. I respect the UFC, they’ve done a lot for the development of MMA, so I can pardon them such attacks. We respect him and let him grumble.   (Five Knuckles)

VIDEO OF THE DAY

• UFC 112 “Invincible” Promo: Two titles. One night. The Ultimate Fighting Championship® travels to Abu Dhabi for the first time and fans there will witness one of the organization’s greatest events ever, as middleweight titleholder Anderson “The Spider” Silva faces the extraordinary BJJ of Demian Maia. Lightweight champion BJ Penn looks to continue his dominant reign when he takes on Frankie Edgar in the double main event of UFC® 112.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Was it done to create some confusion in the marketplace in Nashville? Maybe. I don’t know. I’m not sure,” said Coker. “Is it good for mixed martial arts? I’m not sure. I don’t think so. I don’t think that when a company’s trying to counter-program you just to impact your ratings, it’s– and this could go back and forth. One day, when CBS says, ‘Alright, we’re going to go head-to-head against your pay-per-view date and you can watch Fedor (Emelianenko) or Dan Henderson for free on TV or buy a pay-per-view,’ people are going to have choices at that point. But that’s something they’d never do. CBS went out of its way to make sure there was nothing else on April 17.”  (Scott Coker Addressing UFC Rumors, Sherdog)

QUICK HITS

• 10 Bouts Booked for UFC 113 (Sherdog)
• NSAC confirms May 29 event at MGM Grand, expected to serve as UFC 114 (MMAJunkie)
• The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale targeted for June 19 at the Palms Casino Resort (MMAJunkie)
• Ray Mercer vs. Ron Sparks set for April 16 King of the Cage event in Michigan (MMAJunkie)
• Brandon Visher vs. Tyler Toner, Chan Sung Jung vs. Cub Swanson set for WEC 48 (MMAJunkie)
• Is UFC ‘Messing With’ Strikeforce? (MMAFighting)
• Roger Huerta Signs With Bellator (MMAFighting)
• Ryo Chonan Ready for DREAM Debut (MMAFighting)
• Cormier-Devine Added to March 26 Strikeforce Challengers (Sherdog)
• NOONS OPEN TO 170, REKINDLING FIRE WITH DIAZ  (MMAWeekly)
• MIGHTY MO SIGNS TO FIGHT BARNETT AT DREAM 13 (MMAWeekly)
• Liddell fooled us and Faber! Comes clean on Kimmel show (Cage Writer)
• White says Couture next for Franklin, not Liddell (FiveOuncesOfPain)
• All UFC 110 Drug Tests Are Clean (Heavy.com)

TV LISTINGS

• UFC Primetime  St-Pierre vs. Hardy at 10 PM ET/PT on Spike (03/17/10)
• UFC 111 Countdown: Mir vs. Carwin at 10:30 PM ET/PT on Spike (03/17/10)
• HDNet Fights Presents K-1 Classics (Masato, Drago, & Andre Dida) at 8 PM ET on HDNet (03/19/10)
• InsideMMA (Dan Henderson, Mike Straka & Donovan Craig) at 9 PM ET on HDNet (03/19/10)
• HDNet Fights: XFC X-Night of Champions at 10 PM ET on HDNet (03/19/10)
• UFC on Versus: Vera vs Jones at 10 PM ET on Versus (3/21/10)

UPCOMING EVENTS

• HDNet Fights: XFC X-Night of Champions at 10 PM ET on HDNet (03/19/10)
• UFC on Versus: Vera vs Jones at 10 PM ET on Versus (3/21/10)
• HDNet Fights: King of the Cage – Legacy at 10 PM ET on HDNet (03/26/10)
• Strikeforce Challengers: Johnson vs Mahe at 11 PM ET/PT on Showtime (03/26/10)
• UFC 111: GSP vs Hardy at 10 PM ET on PPV (03/27/10)
• UFN 21 : Florian vs Gomi at 10 PM ET on Spike (03/31/10)
• The Ultimate Fighter 11 Debut after UFN 21 on Spike (03/31/10)

Gegard Mousasi is coming to the UFC. No, the deal hasn’t been signed. There hasn’t even been discussions, as far as I know. The Dutch-Armenian fighter is still under contract with Strikeforce, where he holds the light heavyweight belt. He’s expected to put that belt on the line against wrestler Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in April. And by all accounts he’s very happy with the promotion and the way he’s been treated.

I’m just making a little crystal ball prediction based on a Sherdog report that Mousasi has fired his M-1 Global management team. M-1 Global is the Dutch/Russian company that has a co-promotion deal with Strikeforce. It was M-1’s demand for this kind of deal that prevented its biggest star, Fedor Emelianenko, from signing with the UFC last summer.  

With M-1 out of the picture it clears the way for Mousasi to go wherever he likes. Obviously, the UFC is where the biggest fighters make the biggest money. Seems like a no-brainer. Mousasi, who has been Fedor’s training partner, has recently been training with UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre, who – surprisingly – was cageside at last month’s Strikeforce: Miami event (that couldn’t have sat too well with UFC president Dana White no matter the public face he put on).

The only thing about Mousasi signing with the UFC that gives me pause – and likely gives him pause, too – is that the UFC doesn’t allow its fighters to compete in other promotions. It makes sense. You don’t want your fighters to lend their name, their popularity, to the competition and also take the risk of getting injured while doing it.

 Strikeforce has no such issue. They foolishly allow their fighters to fight wherever and whenever they want with no regard for their Strikeforce obligations. Alistair Overeem is exhibit A in this regard – he hasn’t fought for Strikeforce since he won the heavyweight title two years ago although he’s fought seven MMA bouts and five kickboxing bouts for other promotions in that same time period. Strikeforce even has an “exchange” program with the Japanese-based DREAM organization. That’s good for Mousasi, who’s a DREAM champion and who plans to compete in the DREAM light heavyweight grand prix in May.

 Still, the upside of being in the biggest and most-widely known promotion in the world – and fighting against the best fighters, which Mousasi obviously wants to do – will be too hard to resist.

Loretta Hunt over at Sherdog is reporting that Gegard Mousasi has split with his management team, M-1 Global, and has already secured new representation.

“After careful consideration, I have decided that it is in my best interest to part ways with M-1 Global,” Mousasi wrote in the e-mail. “During the time I spent under their wing, M-1 Global, as a promoter and management company, allowed me to achieve many great things. I appreciate all they have done for me.”

 

M-1 Global, based out of Holland and Russia, had guided the Armenian-Dutch fighter’s career to two championship titles in the last few years.

 

The company also represents Fedor Emelianenko, the world’s No. 1-ranked heavyweight, who has publicly stated that he has an ownership stake in the organization, as well.

 

“The business relationship with M-1 Global is over,” said company representative Apy Echteld. “It was a business decision, but not a personal one and there are no hard feelings.”

 

Echteld said he would continue to work with Mousasi apart from M-1, although Echteld will be staying with the organization. Echteld added that Emelianenko had expressed his hopes to train with Mousasi again in the future.

Payout Perspective:

The rumor flying around for the better part of the last 9 months is that the UFC offered Gegard a contract, but M-1 turned it down in favor of a Strikeforce contract of lesser value (ostensibly as a favor to Strikeforce). However, Joe Silva of the UFC denied even offering Mousasi a contract last summer following the collapse of Affliction’s promotional unit. Mousasi’s split from M-1 is bound to re-ignite those rumors.

The Armenian claims to already have found representation, but refuses to disclose whom it might be. Fans hoping to see him in the UFC may have to wait as he’s got fights remaining on his Strikeforce contract, in addition to plans with the Japanese promotion Dream and its light heavyweight grand prix this year.

The annual BusinessWeek Power 100: Most Powerful Athletes was published this week and caught the interest of the MMA industry by naming Fedor Emelianenko and Brock Lesnar to the list, in addition to boxers Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Shane Mosley.

Athlete Rankings of note:

72. Manny Pacquiao
82. Fedor Emelianenko
91. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
93. Shane Mosley
96. Brock Lesnar

BusinessWeek provides the following insight into its methodology:

The Power 100 rankings are based on a blended mix of athletes’ “on-field” and “off-field” performance to determine which athletes are having the greatest overall impact in the world of sports. On-field scoring is determined by statistically ranking each athlete’s sports performance within his or her peer group over a two-year period. For each sport, key performance metrics include such measures as points scored, money earned, laps lead, and batting average, to name a few. This ranking is then adjusted by the overall popularity of the sport itself, based on an index of fan avidity and TV viewership. The off-field scoring is developed from hundreds of surveys on athletes and how the general public perceives them. The data was compiled by E-Poll Market Research, a leading provider of custom research services and products for entertainment and media companies, using their E-Score® Celebrity database. Athlete rankings are based on such attributes as awareness, appeal, trustworthiness, and influence. In addition, the amount of endorsement dollars each athlete earns rounds out the off-field ranking.

Payout Perspective:

The methodology is there to provide some semblance of objectivity to the rankings, but there are too many head-scratchers on the list for it to have any true meaning.

To be fair, it’s very difficult to produce a rankings list of this sort, because it really becomes a question of how to weight on and off-field accomplishments. There’s also more than likely a political element involved when considering what sports and athletes to include on the list.

I think the larger takeaway here is simply that MMA fighters were considered on the list – irrespective of their positioning. It demonstrates just how far the sport has come in the last ten years.

J.R. Riddell of Sherdog.com reports that Affliction’s motion to dismiss M-1’s claims of breach of contract have been denied by a federal judge in Los Angeles.

On Monday, Affliction’s legal team urged the judge to dismiss a number of Emelianenko and M-1’s breach of contract claims, arguing that two of the three agreements at issue in the suit had expired well in advance of the “Trilogy” show. Emelianenko and M-1 Global’s legal team countered that the contracts had not expired, pointing to evidence that Affliction actively co-promoted the event with M-1, which in their view suggests that Affliction was acting as if the contracts remained in effect.

Bassiri, Affliction’s counsel, said that the judge denied the motion because at this early stage of litigation, she was legally required to accept Emelianenko’s allegations as true. The judge did not, however, make any binding decisions regarding whether or not Emelianenko’s claims were factually accurate.

Payout Perspective:

MMAPayout.com was the first to break word of the impending suit back in October and followed up with some detailed analysis of the situation which can be found below. Essentially the Fedor and M-1 camp filed a breach of contract suit against Affliction Entertainment and other unnamed parties citing failure to perform certain contractually obligated services.

Although the complaint itself is quite complex, it actually can be easily summarized in lay terms.  Fedor had a three-fight contract with Affliction, and fought two of the three fights, and agreed to fight Josh Barnett to close the contract.  Barnett failed a steroids test, Affliction had discussions with prospective replacements for Barnett (e.g., Vitor Belfort and Brett Rogers) but ultimately reached an agreement with UFC that would permit Affliction to once again sponsor UFC fighters so long as it agreed to exit the promotion game.

All contracts have what is called an implied covenant of good faith, and Fedor argues that Affliction, instead of satisfying its obligation of booking a third fight for Fedor by finding a suitable replacement for Barnett, chose the path of least resistance by returning to UFC and cancelling the third show altogether, leaving the contracts with Fedor unsatisfied.

The substantive issues in the lawsuit are interesting: in contract law there is what’s known as the excuse of impossibility, and here the argument would be that Barnett’s failing the steroids test rendered impossible the satisfaction of Affliction’s obligations on the Fedor contracts, with Fedor arguing that Barnett’s negative drug test was used as a mere pretext to allow Affliction to exit the promotion end of MMA and stiff Fedor.

But then we come to Affliction’s motion to dismiss, which throws a monkey wrench into the entire substantive analysis.  You see, Fedor argues that Affliction breached its contracts by cancelling Affliction: Trilogy and reaching agreement with UFC in July 2009.

Affliction’s motion to dismiss, however, points to the language of the contracts, which calls for termination of the agreements on either (i) March 31, 2009; or (ii) the conclusion of the third fight, with the contracts specifically stating that they terminate upon the earlier of the two dates.  Since there was no third fight, the earlier date was March 31, 2009, and Affliction argues in its motion to dismiss that it cannot be alleged to have breached a contract in July 2009 that had expired four months earlier.

Although this is an attractive argument, there are many complexities to the suit, including issues of equity (i.e., fairness) in which Fedor could conceivably recover foreseeable damages suffered by his reasonably relying upon promises made by Affliction, so I do not expect this motion to dismiss to entirely end the matter.

Moreover, the language Afflcition points to in its motion to dismiss has wriggle room that could be favorable to Fedor: the contract cancels on the earlier of the two dates “unless the term of the promotion agreement or any extension thereto is . . . extended further pursuant to this Agreement or pursuant to a separate writing . . . .”  I would expect some — perhaps very creative — arguments from Fedor that indeed the contract term had extended either through explicit writing, oral agreement, or even something known in contract law as course of conduct of the parties.

Steven Marrocco of MMAWeekly sheds some interesting light on the fighting and contract status of Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem:

In January, the promotion secured Overeem to a one-year, three-fight deal, obligating him to a return in lieu of an informal talent-sharing agreement with K-1 that saw him snag the title in November 2007.

 

Overeem, who was forced to pull out of two scheduled Strikeforce events in June and August with a serious hand injury, is scheduled to appear against Kazuyuki Fujita at K-1 Dynamite on New Year’s Eve – his fifth K-1 fight in 2009 – and is planning a sixth in late March/early April 2010.

 

That was grim news to those expecting a showdown between Overeem and Fedor Emelianenko under the CBS eye in April. More confounding was that it was Overeem asking to fight the Russian after sacking James Thompson at Dream 12.

 

“Alistair Overeem wants to fight Fedor in April 2010,” the Dutchman said after the Oct. 25 fight. “So write that down.”

 

And while Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told MMAWeekly.com he would invite the champion to participate on the promotion’s second CBS card in April, his manager said the K-1 opportunity – the final fight on his contract with the Japanese promotion – is too good to pass up.

 

“I never said he wasn’t fighting in April,” Overeem manager Bas Boon told MMAWeekly.com. “What I said was there will be a fight by the end of March or April in K-1, and actually, he did very well in K-1 and he’s got an extremely good contract. Commercial-wise, it’s better for him, and we agreed to this already on K-1, that we will do that fight. After that fight, he will fight in Strikeforce. Two, three times, whatever is available in May, June, July, we don’t care.”

 

Boon said Overeem could make a late April date if he wasn’t injured, but doubted Coker would agree to promote a fight under those circumstances. He said the hand injuries extended the time on his Strikeforce contract, but did not say for how long.

 

For now, it was time to strike when the iron was hot.

 

“(Golden Glory) has a 10-year relationship with Alistair, and we told him that this is a better way to work for him,” said Boon. “Think about it, man, he’s broadcast in 150 countries (on K-1). Right now, he’s got more sponsors than he ever had before. In his own country, he had a crazy rating during the Grand Prix, but also on EuroSport and also in Thailand. And this is where the UFC isn’t even broadcast. UFC is not even broadcast in Europe. Nobody knows about the UFC. Semmy Schilt and Alistair Overeem are gods there. You’re talking about a continent with 280 million people.

 

“(American fans) have to understand, man, to fight Badr Hari, Remy Bonjasky, Peter Aerts, Texeira, and again, Badr Hari, these are the top strikers in the world. If there would be any Americans wanting to win $400,000 or $500,000 in U.S., which is big money, why are they not there? Why are they not in K-1?”

Payout Perspective:

Herein lies the issue with non-exclusive contracts: not only does Strikeforce have to compete for fighters entering the entertainment business, but it’s also got to compete for the time and booking of its own fighters with other organizations. For as much as the contract type helps the organization secure new talent, it’s also managed to put two of Strikeforce’s divisions on hold for the better part of the last two years.

It’s tough to fault Overeem for taking the money and the exposure in Europe; the latter of which might really pay off for M-1 if and when it comes time to promote a Fedor vs. Overeem fight internationally.

However, given that Overeem only signed a one-year, three-fight contract —  and that it has already been extended — you have to wonder for how many more fights he’ll remain in the organization. Depending on the type of extension that has already been applied to his contract, it’s conceivable that he could leave Strikeforce without defending the belt against Fedor. Worse still, he could beat Fedor and then walk – leaving Strikeforce in a very bad position.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer discusses the impact that Fedor’s last nationally televised fight has had on MMA in Russia:

One thing that is legitimate, at least based on a television news report in Russia, is that after the fight aired on television (it was the first MMA fight in history to be broadcast on a major TV station in Russia), that there was a huge increase over the past few weeks in Russian teenagers wanting to join MMA gyms and Emelianenko was seen as the reason why.

 

Up until that time, the average Russian had no idea who he was. For the few who did, he was the guy who fought on a show Vladimir Putin attended several years ago (the Matt Lindland fight), if that. This event was the first time he got any significant media exposure because a few million people saw him fight on television. One of his fights was on PPV in Russia, but nobody bought it and his subsequent fights didn’t air.

 

While people will have you think he’s some sort of household name in Russia, Japan and South Korea, based on Google trends, the place he’s most famous by far is Croatia, and that’s largely because he’s the famous rival of Mirko Cro Cop, who is a legitimate national hero in his country. After that, the countries he’s most popular, in order, are Finland (MMA is on television every night there on a sports channel and his fights with Andrei Arlovski and Rogers were on TV there), Peru, Canada, U.S., Sweden and then Russia, followed by Brazil. He can draw in Japan among hardcores but among the casual people in Japan, they wouldn’t know who he is. Even in Finland, his name recognition would be less than Brock Lesnar (although significantly more than any other UFC fighter).

Payout Perspective:

It really is surprising to hear that Fedor hasn’t achieved a greater notoriety in the last several years, but it is encouraging that M-1 has secured a national television deal. The dividends of which are clearly showing in gym attendance figures (which is also something of a good trend in the United States over the last few years).

Any time you can build at the grassroots level of a sport, you’re helping to build life long interest. Fans that understand the sport are more likely to appreciate the ability and skill of those at the professional level, the theory goes, and that should translate into a larger audience.

And Russia could prove to be a solid MMA market in the years to come should Fedor continue to develop a name and increase the sport’s notoriety. The approximately 65 million television households – and 140 million people – is very material.

M-1 Global and Strikeforce announced last week that the worldwide broadcast of Fedor vs. Rogers did record numbers:

AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND (November 24, 2009) – M-1 Global and Strikeforce announced today that the international audience reports from broadcasters all over the world revealed an unprecedented number of viewers for the November 7th “Fedor vs. Rogers” MMA event from Chicago, Illinois.

 

“We are extremely happy with the preliminary broadcast reports,” said M-1 Global CEO Joost Raimond. “The demographics of these numbers were very promising as our network broadcasting partners in the U.S., Russia, and Korea reach an enormous audience alone. Coupled with a dozen other countries and our successful internet stream in Japan and other territories, all early accounts and indications tell us that “Fedor vs. Rogers” delivered worldwide more than any other MMA show in the history of the sport,” concluded Raimond.

 

Scott Coker, founder and owner of Strikeforce and experienced MMA promoter responded “We are thrilled with the tremendous viewership figures that the Fedor vs Rogers event generated overseas. The results clearly demonstrate the appreciation that fans worldwide have for a number of M-1 Global and Strikeforce mixed martial arts superstars including the number one fighter on the planet – Fedor Emelianenko – and his opponent Brett Rogers.”

 

In total, over 25 million MMA fans all around the world were treated to a vintage performance from the world’s greatest MMA fighter, Fedor Emelianenko. The main event of Fedor vs Rogers reached an impressive 5.46 million viewers in the United States on the CBS Network. The fight was also broadcast in Fedor’s native Russia by “Channel 1,” Russia’s largest television network, and reached 16 million viewers in Fedor’s home country. In addition, “Fedor vs. Rogers” was broadcast to millions of viewers in Korea on SBS, one of the 3 major national South Korean networks, as well as television networks in China, Latin America, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Ukraine, Finland, Africa, Turkey, Israel, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Malta. Live internet streams of the “Fedor vs. Rogers” bout generated ground-breaking viewer numbers in Japan and all over the world and these numbers continue to grow through Video on Demand.

 

‘”CBS was proud to be the U.S. broadcaster in a fight seen by millions domestically and by millions more around the world,” commented CBS Senior Executive Vice President Kelly Kahl. “Strikeforce and M-1 Global put together a great card, showcasing some of the best fighters in the world. Our ad sales for the fight were strong, especially for advertisers that target young men — a group with a growing appetite for MMA.”

Payout Perspective:

The numbers certainly are impressive, but be careful to note the clever bit of PR spin: Fedor vs. Rogers is not the most watched fight in MMA history, but in terms of global viewership from so many countries it set a ”worldwide” record. Still a very good result for the co-promotion.

Expect a rebuttle of sorts from the UFC – knowing them to be the competitive individuals that they are – regarding their international viewership. Lorenzo Fertitta has stated previously that UFC programming reaches an estimated 400 million people worldwide, and that figure is growing as they continue to lock-up distribution deals. Yet, they’ve never really commented on how well their fights are doing on a worldwide level.