No fighter in the history of MMA had better management (except maybe Chuck and Tito who had BLAF as their defacto manager long after he wasn't officially their manager).
Fedor only took MMA fights to generate a legit (non leg breaker for the mob) income for himself and his family. Vadim paid for his training, helping him to use his natural talents and National level Judo skills to become the best HW this sport has ever seen.
More importantly, Vadim made Fedor bucket loads of money and cut him in as a partner of M-1 which is a huge promotion outside of the US. Sure, Vadim, Japanese MMA and Fuji TV execs worked together to set up high paying freakshow fights (which the Japanese television viewers love. Check the highest rated fights and this will be clear to you.) They even fucked over Pride for their own interests by fighting for Inoki. Would you turn down millions of dollars to fight guys like Choi, Zulu and Hunt?
Fedor's team once again made a wise decision by taking Bodog millions to fight Lindland when few if any fighters were making anything close to that. When that promotion went under they did the wise thing by taking heaps of money from Affliction to fight big name former UFC champions in very winable fights (again for millions) with their eyes on a potential bank breaker versus Randy. This also served as Fedor's offical US coming out party that would drive up his price for an eventual signing with the UFC.
When the UFC deal fell through, they once again did the smart thing by lining up with Strikeforce who were willing to open up their checkbooks and pay through the nose to make a splash and land the man considered the top fighter in the world and allowing them to control who he fought.
By the time Fedor landed in Strikeforce, he was a shell of the man he was in Pride during his epic 03-06 run, but was still paid as if he was the guy beating Nog and Cro Cop.
So a guy who cares nothing about the sport of MMA was able to make tens of millions in MMA by creating an incredible legacy due to his talents and those of Vadim and co with what they considered minimal risk to their cash cow. Even looking horrible for 3 years didn't stop SF from paying Fedor top dollar for the Hendo fight based solely on his reputation and former glories.
Mission Fucking Accomplished. Only a child or a man without financial responsibilities in his life could see this as a bad thing. Fedor did what was best for Fedor whether you like it or not.And if you don't....not a fuck is given in Stary Oskal.
Good post, Fedor has always said he didn't care about his legacy, the way he has been booked over the last 5 years has backed that up. He's also done a great job of letting his management take the heat for their negotiating tactics while his name has stayed relatively clean.
"So a guy who cares nothing about the sport of MMA"
I know who does care... Dana fuckin' White
Khunti - "So a guy who cares nothing about the sport of MMA"
I know who does care... Dana fuckin' White
LOL, yeah Dana cares deeply about the growth of the sport, which is why he makes it his mission in life to squash any and all possible competitors.
OP is correct. if your manager is trying to keep the UG happy, fire the clown
and get offa the juice
Fedor did say he never cared for his legacy looking at him now....he wasn't lying 
Rookie Fighter - Fedor did say he never cared for his legacy looking at him now....he wasn't lying
fanboys cry and he laughs all the way to the bank double fisting ice cream cones
jjj2121 -The audacity of Dana, How dare he not want his competition to survive. If you guys don't know it by now, Dana's goal is for the UFC to prosper, with established plans for MMA to be a Global Sport. What sort of a business manager, much less President, would possibly target their competition and calculate tactics for their demise?Khunti - "So a guy who cares nothing about the sport of MMA"
I know who does care... Dana fuckin' White
LOL, yeah Dana cares deeply about the growth of the sport, which is why he makes it his mission in life to squash any and all possible competitors.
i agree with most of the op.
but i also believe his management is to blame for his downfall. Fedor never believed he was the best ever, but his management sure did. and being surrounded by a bunch of arrogant yes men is the reason he has lost 3 in a row in my opinion.
his training was near laughable when looked back in hindsight. kettle bells and childrens playground equipment (yes i know he didn't always do these things)
but he also never sought out to train with the best MMA fighters in the world (only for this most recent fight after 2 straight losses did it seem he took training more seriously). In this day and age when most fighters are traveling the world to train and learn from the best, Fedors management was content to sit around and stroke there egos that they had an unbeatable fighter.well they didnt.
Fedor is not old
Fedor is not broke down
He can still compete with the best imo
he just needs to get with some serious trainers and camps and rework his game a little.
But all in all im sure Fedor is a happy man and could care less about his legacy or what we all think.
He has made millions of dollars over the past years and will still draw a decent paycheck if he decides to keep fighting.
CGJiuJitsu -jjj2121 -The audacity of Dana, How dare he not want his competition to survive. If you guys don't know it by now, Dana's goal is for the UFC to prosper, with established plans for MMA to be a Global Sport. What sort of a business manager, much less President, would possibly target their competition and calculate tactics for their demise?Khunti - "So a guy who cares nothing about the sport of MMA"
I know who does care... Dana fuckin' White
LOL, yeah Dana cares deeply about the growth of the sport, which is why he makes it his mission in life to squash any and all possible competitors.
I could list any number of ways that Zuffa crosses the line in regard to protecting their product. There is a reason they are the target of a FTC investigation.
And my response was to the guy who told me that Dana White cares about the sport of MMA. Dana White cares about the UFC, understand that and everything else will clear up for you.
Ya I'm sure his Russian Management Team is taking care of him. I wonder what their cut is?
And Fedor got choked out in 60 seconds by a 2-2 UFC castoff, then beaten to a pulp by a guy who lost to said castoff and then knocked the fuck out by a 40 year old MW.
Kudos to him for doing whats best for him... but why do I have to give a fuck about a guy who held the #1 ranking hostage after Big Nog gave him an opportunity he wouldnt give other deserving contenders.
Now his followers can shut their pie hole because there's nothing worse in the world than a fedor fan... except maybe a jahovas witness.
Yeah I agree Fedor did what he wanted to more power to him. He didn't care about being the GOAT and that is fine . He seems very content with himself and his place in MMA. It's his fans that need to give it up and realize you can't be the GOAT when you spend half your prime not fighting top level guys.