"PRIDE and M-1 CO-Present . . ."

Wait, no they didn't.

Hollywood Blonde - Wait, no they didn't.



That.

erm.. m-1 global didn't exist pre-2007.

Styro - erm.. m-1 global didn't exist pre-2007.


M-1 existed before then. No reason they couldn't have started "M-1 Global" pre-2007 and insisted on co-promotion.

Styro - erm.. m-1 global didn't exist pre-2007.


And, regardless, who the fuck cares? My point is the same.

Hollywood Blonde - 
Styro - erm.. m-1 global didn't exist pre-2007.


And, regardless, who the fuck cares? My point is the same.

no it's not, wtf why would vadim want to copromote if he doesnt have a promotion of his own, what the fuck would he be promoting?

Hollywood Blonde - 
Styro - erm.. m-1 global didn't exist pre-2007.




M-1 existed before then. No reason they couldn't have started "M-1 Global" pre-2007 and insisted on co-promotion.


  Here's an interview Vadim did with SD in 2007 that explains what he wants and his visions continue to exceed what the UFC is interested in getting involved with. It's a good read, IMO.



Cindy




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Finkelstein Discusses UFC, Fedor Emelianenko   http://www.sherdog.com/news/interviews/Finkelstein-Discusses-UFC-Fedor-Emelianenko-8422/o:p


 









Friday, July 27, 2007



by Evgeni Kogan /o:p











 

 /o:p



8422/o:p


Sherdog.com: How do you see the development of MMA in Russia/st1:place/st1:country-region, and how has your organization (M-1) contributed to this over the last ten years and where do you see the promotion going in the future?



Vadim Finkelstein: That's a few questions; I'll try to address them one at a time. I started M-1 Mixfight here, it St. Petersburg/st1:place/st1:city 10 years ago. Since that time we have developed a lot, to the point of having regular television coverage on a state channel with large ratings and staging events frequently.



Sherdog.com: Please discuss the last event that you organized.



VF: That was the BodogFight event in St. Petersburg/st1:place/st1:city on April 14. I thought Bodog behaved very badly in regard to that event. They acted as though the whole organization of the event and everything surrounding it, the VIPs such as Jean Claude Van Damme and Vladimir Putin: was because of them. In reality I and my brother [Evgeny Finkelstein] organized 90% of it.



 

 How M-1 Global came about.



Cindy



Thursday, July 30, 2009

http://www.mmanews.com/other/Press-Release:-Monte-Cox-Named-President-CEO-Of-M-1.html




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<![endif]-->FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:



Sibling Sports Announces New MMA Organization M-1 Global and Names Monte Cox President and CEO



NEW YORK - Sibling Entertainment Group Holdings, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: SIBE) ["Sibling Holdings"] announced Sibling Theatricals, Inc. ["Sibling Theatricals"], a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sibling Entertainment Group, Inc., together with Garlin Holdings Limited as Managing Members, have formed Sibling Sports, LLC (a Delaware limited liability company) for the purpose of creating M-1 Global, LLC (a New York limited liability company), a new mixed martial arts organization.



In addition, Monte Cox, a 13-year veteran of the mixed martial arts industry, was named President and CEO of M-1 Global.



Sibling Entertainment Group, Inc. is the company with which Sibling Holdings has previously signed an Agreement of Acquisition and Plan of Reorganization, the closing of which is currently pending. (See “Note to Editor” below for an explanation of Sibling Holdings relationship to Sibling Entertainment Group, Inc.).



“We are excited to announce the formation of Sibling Sports, LLC and our new mixed martial arts organization M-1 Global,” said Mitchell Maxwell, President and CEO of Sibling Holdings. “Mixed martial arts is the fastest growing sport in America/st1:place/st1:country-region. It is the boxing of the 21st century. We see our entry into sports entertainment as an integral part of our strategic plan to develop new and unique entertainment products worldwide.”



“We have pulled together a world-class group of people to lead our new organization. Our new management team has extensive mixed martial arts experience in Europe, Russia/st1:country-region, Asia and the US/st1:place/st1:country-region. We have developed a strategic alliance with SFX Media & Events, one of the premiere sports marketing, event management, and athlete management companies in the world,” he said.



“We are thrilled to have a strategic alliance with M-1 Global and the outstanding team that Sibling Sports has put together,” said Dennis Spencer, executive vice president of SFX Media and Events.



“We are pleased to announce Monte Cox as our CEO. Monte has been recognized as one of the most influential persons in mixed martial arts in the world today. He is generally considered one of the world’s most successful fight managers, having produced a record seven world champions in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and built an impressive team of nearly 60 world-class competitors,” Maxwell said.



Cox said, “I have been involved in mixed martial arts for almost 13 years. While I have been offered many other positions over the years, this is the first one that I have accepted. I am elated to have the opportunity to work with Mitchell Maxwell and the great team of managers he has been able to assemble. We look forward to continuing to move mixed martial arts into the mainstream, not only here in the US, but worldwide.”



We have developed an alliance with M-1 Mix Fight and we are honored to be working with Vadim Finkelchtein, Apy Echteld, and Joost Raimond. They have many years of experience managing fighters and staging events in Europe, Russia/st1:country-region, and Asia/st1:place. Rounding out our new management team are Bob Clark, currently serving as President of Sibling Theatricals, and Brian Patton, a CPA, and business manager for MMA legend Matt Hughes,” Cox said.


  

 And lastly, clarification from Vadim about M-1 Mix-Fight and M-1 Global (what it alllows regarding Fedor).



Cindy

source: http://cbs.sportsline.com/mmaboxing/story/10677292/1

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(page 1:)



This past October, the Sibling Entertainment Group held a lavish press conference at the Ecko building in New York City to announce that it had not only signed Fedor Emelianenko to an exclusive contract but that it had also acquired the fight promotion M-1. M-1 had been an Eastern European MMA promotion owned by Fedor's manager, Vadim Finkelstein, but was re-branded as M-1 Global under Sibling's ownership and vision of a major presence in the U.S.



The announcement took the MMA industry by storm and generated a great deal of excitement from hardcore MMA fans. If nothing else, M-1 Global presented the prospect of yet another viable alternative for the MMA fan and a platform that offered the potential to finally make Fedor a star in America.



Fedor, the final reigning heavyweight champion in PRIDE, is considered by many pundits to be the No. 1 mixed martial artist in the world. But most typical casual MMA fans have never even seen him fight.



Unfortunately, the initial excitement generated by Fedor's signing would soon turn to confusion after a potential December debut for the promotion failed to take place. Soon after, Fedor represented M-1 Global in a match against 7-foot-2 kickboxer Hong-Man Choi on a card that took place in Japan under a different promotional banner. At that point, confusion had turned to frustration as fans were without concrete news regarding an official debut for M-1 Global.



Much of the frustration is believed to be derived from internal communication problems between M-1 Global's management and Emelianenko's. Finkelstein continues to operate a promotion in Russia and Europe called "M-1 Mixfight." By using the M-1 moniker and operating a website that at times could be construed as the official mouthpiece for the company, fans have been left wondering about M-1 Global's true identity and direction.



CBSSports.com requested an interview with M-1 Global CEO Monte Cox to help gain some clarity in regard to the state of the promotion.



CBSSports.com: Can you provide a quick update on the general status of M-1 Global?



Monte Cox: We've spent the last five months trying to figure out the best way for us break into the U.S. market and still keep a presence worldwide. And it's taken a lot of time to work out exactly who is responsible for what and who is in charge of what. The good news is that I think this week we've had a breakthrough and it looks like we're finally all getting on the same page.



Q: There have been some rumors going around that Fedor Emelianenko's management was shopping him around to other promotions. There have also been rumors that the relationship between Fedor's management and M-1 Global was not going very well. At any point during recent discussions, was the possibility of severing ties with Fedor ever discussed?



MC: I think in the last five months we've looked at every scenario possible. We've looked at continuing without Fedor and I'm sure Fedor has looked at working with somebody else. It's been a difficult five months but like (M-1 Chairman) Mitchell Maxwell says, anything worth doing takes time. And there's difficulty involved in that and that's what I think is happening here. I think it would have been easy to just say let's go out and do a show and then figure it out. And all of us involved said "No, no, no."



When we go out and do a show we're going to have all of our ducks in a row. We're going to have complete agreement as to how we're doing something at that date and time. The language barrier is something that definitely adds to the time. All documents have to be translated into Russian, and that's not easy. Then it goes back after a few changes and it gets translated and then we re-change it. So it's really been a lot more difficult than I expected but we had a breakthrough this week and I think we're getting close.



Q: There's been a lot of confusion as to exactly what M-1 Global is and precisely what was acquired by its parent company, Sibling Entertainment Group. Part of that confusion has been the website M1Mixfight.com and some of the information that has been disseminated to the public from there. Can you address some of the confusion that exists?



MC: M-1 Global is a subsidiary of Sibling Sports. So M-1 Global is owned by Sibling (and) part of M-1 Global is the fighting services of Fedor. The M-1 Mixfight website belongs to Vadim. As M-1 Global, we don't have any control over those things. Certainly the website has caused some problems. I think all of this has been addressed in our discussions this week and I think we're starting to get a better handle on how our M-1 Global information is going to be released. I hope that our trouble with that website is behind us.



 

 (page 2)



page 2:



Q: So M-1 Global owns the exclusive services of Fedor. And if his management wants him to fight for an outside promotion they still have to go through you to get permission?





MC: Correct.



Q: UFC president Dana White was engaged in negotiations with Fedor's management at one point before he signed with M-1 Global. White was not too kind in his comments toward Fedor's management. What's your experience been like working with them thus far?



MC: I'll tell you, I've gotten to know Vadim the last five months very well. I think he's a very smart guy. He's been very successful in Russia. He's built something over there that no one else has been able to do. At the same time we have different ideas as far as how to be successful and that certainly has caused discussions and negotiations.



As I've told other people, we've had three successful people in Mitchell Maxwell, myself, and Vadim all come together and defining each person's role and giving each person control over certain areas has been a negotiation. It's difficult to just sit down and say "Alright, you handle this; you handle that; and you handle this." I wish it was that easy but there's a lot of money at stake (and) there's a lot of prestige and ego and such and all of us just had to sit down and work this out until we were comfortable. And I think the same could be said with Fedor and his contract. You know, there are a lot of things that go into a contract and we've gone over every item bit by bit and we've gone back and forth until we have something we're happy with on both sides.



Q: Vadim Finkelstein is Fedor's manager and is in charge of M-1 Mixfight, which in spite of the "M-1" moniker is owned by M-1 Global. What are Finkelstein's day-to-day responsibilities with M-1 Global?



MC: I think the biggest responsibility for Vadim is to ensure that M-1 Global actually remains global. He wants to make sure we maintain an image and a presence in Europe and Asia and he's looking to build something in those continents. And that's something I think he will be very successful at. I'm going to concentrate more on the U.S. market and the Fedor product and see what we can do here in the U.S.



Q: On the Mixfight website there's been some promotion for a European event called the "M-1 Challenge." Is that an M-1 Global event or is that just something Vadim is working on?



MC: Well, Vadim is heading it up but it is something all of us are a part of and all of us are contributing to.



Q: Is there any concern with the fact that the main promotion is called M-1 Global yet Vadim is still is using a variation of the M-1 name in regard to his Mixfight promotion? Is there any push to get him to stop using the M-1 name?



MC: He owns the M-1 name and it's very famous and prestigious in Europe and I don't think we're going to ask him to stop using it. I just think that when it comes to M-1 Global news, we have to have a system for putting it out.



Q: Is there any truth to the rumors that M-1 Global will hold its first card on May 3 in Chicago?



MC: I have the All-State Arena in Chicago on May 3 reserved. I'd love to do that as our first show but that's as far as we've gotten so far. Everybody involved has to come together with a working agreement by the beginning of next week to keep that date in play. If that doesn't work, I've got an arena for June. We'd love to do May 3 in Chicago but we probably won't know for sure for a few days yet.



Q: Have any fighters been signed to the M-1 Global roster outside of Fedor?



MC: There's some guys that I have agreements with that are going to fight for us but we'd really like to announce all of that at the same time when we announce where we're headed.



Q: Is there any update on the status of a television contract?



MC: That's an area where we've been in touch with a lot of different media markets. We have worked some already with HDNet and we have agreements to work with them some more. And then there are others that are in play that we're talking to. So no real update to report but if all of this stuff with Fedor keeps going the way it is then we're going to be looking to go to pay-per-view fairly quickly.



Q: A lot of people ask me about your involvement as M-1 Global's CEO and also an agent of more than 40 professional fighters. The feeling by some is that it's a conflict of interest and my assumption has always been that since both M-1 Global's ownership and your fighters have signed off on it that it's really a non-issue. What's your reaction when people tell you it's a conflict of interest?



MC: Nobody comes to me and says that (laughs). I read it but nobody comes to me and says that.



Q: What's your reaction when you read it?



MC: My situation is this; I've managed the guys that I've managed for a long time. I've got guys that I am managing that I've managed for 10 or 11 years. These aren't just clients, these are my best friends. These are the guys that I hang out with; these are the guys that I live the life with. I go to every one of their fights and I watch them train. I've grown up with them and they've grown up with me. We're friends. I'm not going to decide to drop these people that don't want me to drop them. I'm not going to drop them just because someone on the Internet says it's a conflict. I don't care what those people think. This is way bigger than that for me.

 

 (page 3)



page 3:



When I took the M-1 Global position almost every fighter that I manage -- which is almost 60 -- called me and said, "You're not stepping down as my manager, right?" They don't want it and as everybody knows, I don't have contracts with these guys. None of them. Not a single contract. That's what ruins the conflict (of interest). If at any time they are unhappy or feel or they think that I'm using my position with M-1 Global to my advantage, they can walk.



There's no law against this (in MMA). There's a law against it in boxing because people like Don King would have a contract with a guy that would say "You can only fight exclusively for me with me as your manager." Then they could go back to them and say, "You're fighting for me in my show and for this amount of money and if you don't like it, you can't fight anywhere else." Well, if I tell them the same thing they will flip me off and say "See ya!" I don't have a contract with them, I can't force anything. And that's the difference is that if anytime these guys want to go, they can go. It's just that nobody is going.



Q: You haven't had any fighters walk out yet?



MC: In ten years of managing I think I've lost two guys.



Q: Did either of those two leave because of your dual role as manager and fight executive?



MC: No one that I know of has come to me and said, "I'm leaving because you're with M-1.”

 Have you been waiting for a thread about M-1 all day or are you that good?

So Monte, Vadim, and Fedor all have to approve the deal before Fedor could sign with the UFC. What a clusterfuck.Or is that no longer the case? Fucking hell I am confused.

cameltoenail -  Have you been waiting for a thread about M-1 all day or are you that good?



 

I just remembered when it went down and researched it then because it seemed so confusing.



Cindy

ScottCL - So Monte, Vadim, and Fedor all have to approve the deal before Fedor could sign with the UFC. What a clusterfuck.Or is that no longer the case? Fucking hell I am confused.


All ties have been severed so Vadim doesn't have to ask Monte anything.



Cindy

Crazy Russians. Dana was so right.

Styro - 
Hollywood Blonde - 
Styro - erm.. m-1 global didn't exist pre-2007.


And, regardless, who the fuck cares? My point is the same.

no it's not, wtf why would vadim want to copromote if he doesnt have a promotion of his own, what the fuck would he be promoting?

Uhhh, Vadim DID "have a promotion of his own" back then - it just wasn't called M-1 "Global" yet. That was HB's point - which still stands.

(Btw, LOL @ Cindy's random mass copy-and-paste job about all things M-1 Global - except it's all pretty much a big tangent that doesn't quite fit into what this thread was actually talking about. It seems like she was just waiting for any peripheral opportunity to post that stuff, regardless of thread context.

Although her own pasted interviews actually do mention how M-1 had already been a fight promotion of Vadim's even before it became "Global.")

 They didn't co-promote but Fedor did get to go and fight for a competing organization while Pride champion over the objections and threats of Pride - which they ultimately didn't stand behind.