– Fedor Emelianenko and M-1 officials held a press conference and media call. No solid word on Fedor’s next fight was given but they did confirm that he is in negotiations with UFC and Strikeforce, among others. Fedor had one fight remaining on his Affliction deal and it is unclear what that deal means now.
“We’re exploring all options at the time, legally with regard to Affliction and what we perceived took place,” Steve Bash, M-1 USA vice president of legal affairs, said. “I can promise you and promise Affliction, if something was done wrong, someone will be held responsible.”
As noted before, a M-1 source said that the reports of Fedor and UFC announcing something on Friday were not true. Now, a source close to UFC says that the company is devoting all of its resources to getting a deal with Fedor signed by Friday. It’s unknown if UFC is willing to co-promote with the M-1 promotion. M-1 officials want any UFC event Fedor is involved in to be co-promoted but Dana White has indicated in the past that he’s not interested.
They also announced today that Fedor will headline EA Sports’ new video game, EA Sports MMA. Dana White has declared war on EA regarding their new game that will compete with UFC and THQ’s Undisputed. Dana has also said that any fighter who signs on for the EA MMA game, with the exception of Randy Couture, will be banned from competing in UFC. No word yet if he would make an exception for Fedor.
