Various sources have speculated for the past few weeks that Fedor Emelianenko, highly regarded as the top fighter in the world, had agreed to fight in St. Petersburg, Russia for mixed martial arts upstart BodogFight. Fedor's signing has now been confirmed.
A report by Sherdog.com editor Josh Gross has sited sources within the BodogFight front office as confirming that Fedor Emelianenko has indeed signed to headline their March 3rd fight card.
With a clause in Fedor's contract with Pride allows him to fight in his home country of Russia, regardless of the promoter, initial speculation was that this would be a one-time deal. According to Gross that may not be so, "One Bodog source indicated that the well-financed company intends to sign Fedor to a long-term deal." His fight on New Year's Eve against Mark Hunt is the final fight on his contract, leaving him free to reconsider his long-term options.
After losing their network television deal earlier this year, losing Fedor would be another big blow to the Pride Fighting Championships. One that they don't need as they are trying to make inroads into the Ultimate Fighting Championship's dominance in the U.S. market.
Both Gross' report and independent MMAWeekly.com sources indicate that Fedor's likely opponent for the March 3rd show is former UFC heavyweight contender Jeff Monson.
I think UFC and Dana are doing fine. If you focus on chasing and zigging and zagging and worrying about every move of the competition you won't maintain the lead.
I think Dana learned from his IFL bickering that acknowledging the others strategies and new ideas only strengthens the competitions positions. And going head to head with Calvin Ayre isnt a wise choice considering Ayre has a monster bankroll to burn. (Dana would definitely kick Calvins ass in a fight though......lol)
Son of grain and pig farmers grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan, Canada; placed first bets playing blackjack with hockey teammates (see story). Sold fruit on side of the road, organized party trips to Cuba during college. University of Western Ontario M.B.A. ran into trouble 1991: civilly charged with insider trading, eventually settled for $10,000 and banishment from Vancouver Stock Exchange until 2016. Set up online gambling Web site Bodog.com in 2000. Based in Costa Rica, sales up 150% to $210 million last year. Profit margins exceed 25%. The problem: Taking bets from Americans is illegal, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The solution: wire money to London, process bets in Costa Rica, develop marketing and technology in Canada, advertise in the U.S. "We run a business that cannot actually be described as gambling in each country we operate in. But when you add it all together, it's Internet gambling." Now trying to become a star, using good looks and America's unquenchable thirst for celebrities to make Bodog more noticeable than competitors PartyGaming and Sportingbet. Bodog now owns TV unit, music label; producing a poker show with Fox Sports Net to be broadcast in April.
