The press conference held by M-1 Global in Moscow today had both Fedor Emelianenko and manager/M-1 CEO Vadim Finkelchtein present. In an interview Finkelchtein spoke on the following:
“Two out of eight fighters in the tournament previously failed a drug test. Obviously, I’m talking about Josh Barnett and Antonio Silva. We want fair competition for everyone, so that’s why I will ask the commission to perform a strict drug testing. Fedor is not using any kind of substance to enhance his performance, and will be ready for any kind of testing. So if the commission decides to follow our suggestion, we’ll be ready.”
“Our organization paid a heavy price after the cancelation of the fight between Josh Barnett and Fedor. We did a lot of promotion for this fight, which in the end did not take place. That’s why as a promoter and manager, I don’t want this to happen ever again.”
“We have a new contract (for Fedor), which now includes M-1, Strikeforce and Showtime. The contract is for three fights and another as an option. So as for today, the Grand-Prix deal makes the most sense for us”
“Fedor has an exit clause in his contract if he gets into a losing streak.”
