stonepony - eXtv - stonepony - If you want to know why Fedor didn't sign, despite being offered the biggest MMA contract ever, just look at his SF record. UFC Hw's had already gotten too big, too strong, too athletic.
Smart thing would have been for him to sign at LHW where he belonged, maybe he could have been holding JJ's belt right now? I would have liked to have seen that fight.
You actually think Fedor was scared of the big bad 'new breed' of Heavyweights like Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir and Shane Carwin? Give me a break.
The reason he didn't sign with the UFC was the fact that they could never agree on a contract that fit both of their needs. Simple.
The notion that the guy was afraid of UFC competition is laughable to me. It's Fedor that we're talking about here.
He demanded what he knew he couldn't get, so that people like yourself could pretend that was trying to get in to the UFC but couldn't be signed because DW didn't want UFC fighters to be embarrassed.
Hey remember when Reem and Fedor fought for the SF title?... Or, was it DC he fought for the SF title? Maybe it was Barnett?
No... He squeaked by the tire salesmen and lost to old man Henderson (the guy who had just lost to a welterweight).
I would have loved to have seen the man in the UFC. But yeah, Brock, Shane, Frank, they would have beat him. I'm just not in the cult buddy. It was never about money, or some irrelevant Russian MMA concerns.
"He demanded what he knew he couldn't get"
You don't know that he himself demanded that. If your argument is based on making presumptions that Fedor was deciding what was being negotiated, your argument is fundamentally flawed. Fedor himself went on record and said that Vadim and M-1 handled his contractual negotiations. He took a very back-seat approach to it.
"Reem and Fedor fought for the SF title?"
Remember when M-1 specifically asked for Olympic-style drug testing because they knew Reem was on roids and the fight never happened because of that? Remember when they would have fought in the GP anyway if Alistair didn't get injured and if Fedor beat Bigfoot because they were in the same bracket for the tournament?
"DC he fought for the SF title?"
Only became a notable name after Fedor left Strikeforce. Completely moot point and a poor attempt to talk shit on Fedor's career.
"Maybe it was Barnett?"
Josh got caught roiding in 2009 and turned down the fight in 2006 (but still fought Minotauro on the same card). It was his fault that the fight didn't happen, not Fedor's.
"He squeaked by the tire salesmen"
If you mean won the first round by schooling Brett (highly ranked, just slept Andrei in 20 seconds and was 10-0 with 9 stoppages) on the feet and taking him down multiple times, then KTFO him in the 2nd, sure. He 'squeaked' past him. lolz
"lost to old man Henderson (the guy who had just lost to a welterweight)"
Old Man Henderson? Hendo was better than ever at that point, just KTFO Feijao and Babalu and had been on TRT for years. No weight cut and on a great run. The Hendo that Fedor fought was arguably the best Hendo to ever step in the cage. And yes, he lost to Shields after gassing himself out in the first round because he owned him so hard in the first round. So what? Hendo was still one of the best ever and is world-class. Stop clutching at straws to hate.
"Brock, Shane, Frank, they would have beat him."
Not assured by any means. Brock folded once he took punishment, Carwin was robotic on the feet and had little cardio, and Mir has always had a weak jaw and susceptible to guys that take it to him. Fedor had beaten better guys in the past and even though he was over the hill in 2009 I'd still favour him to beat those guys.
"It was never about money, or some irrelevant Russian MMA concerns."
Wrong. Even Dana himself said this: "Fedor's not afraid to come over here and fight, he's just got nutty managers that try to strong-arm us."
There you have it. Fedor's #1 detractor and a guy actually present in negotiations himself disagreeing with you. Look at that. Sorry that reality doesn't fit with your anti-Fedor 'he was scurred because I say so!' agenda.
