Fedor-ing to the masses: Trump presser likely to unveil reality series, contract extension
By: Jesse Holland
Vot a cahntry!
Affliction and M-1 Global, the Turner & Hooch of mixed martial arts, are the latest tandem to join forces in hopes of expanding their share of the market in the combat sports world.
And “The Donald” makes three.
The trio are expected to announce a new partnership during a press conference tomorrow around noon at the Trump Tower in New York City. In attendance will be Donald Trump, Affliction’s Tom Atencio and M-1 Global’s Vadim Finkelchtein.
With current WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko perched atop the bow of the partnership like a wooden maiden, Trump will likely announce the fruition of “Fighting Fedor” and M-1 Challenge.
Fighting Fedor is a reality show that pits sixteen fighters against each other in a sequestered environment with the winner getting a shot at the current title holder.
Sound familiar?
See for yourself:
Unfortunately the series has been in pre-production longer than Duke Nukem Forever and despite the hackneyed narrator trying to sell us the premise as “Groundbreaking” and “The likes of which have never been seen before on American television“, that sales pitch only works on people without SpikeTV - or brains.
Not to mention the ending is a bit anti-climatic. Imagine if Amir Sadollah had to fight Anderson Silva at the conclusion of the Ultimate Fighter 7.
M-1 Challenge on the other hand, has already been taking place around the world. It has also produced some quality fights - though the premise is basically The International Fight League (IFL) on tour.
A summary from the M-1 Web site:
M-1 Challenge is a series of events planned to be held in different places of the Earth where the 10 best MMA clubs compete against each other.The Challenge introduced by Vadim Finkelstein presents an international team competition among young prospective fighters who aspire to gain more experience and prove themselves at the international level. The most talented ones will earn an opportunity to be chosen to partake in major M-1 events. The teams consist of 5 athletes (in every weight class), one trainer and one coach. Every participating country brings two complete teams which then compete against each other. Every team members fights at least 4 times totally.
The idea has merit, but again the question remains as to how they will capture a stateside audience that has already been branded by the UFC.
Outside of Fedor, how many fighters come to mind when you think of M-1 Global?
The absolute worst case scenario for all parties involved is a defeat by Emelianenko at the hands of Andrei Arlovski at their upcoming Affliction bout in early 2009.
UFC President Dana White has already watched one promotion collapse at the hands of a fighter the UFC didn’t want when Seth Petruzelli knocked out Kimbo Slice. Imagine his joy if Arlovski stopped Fedor in similar fashion.
Stay tuned for more of the finer details following tomorrow’s presser.
118 Comments »
Wasn’t Mayhem involved with M-1 Global too?
the difference between elite xc and M1 though is their main bread winner can actually fight and wont lose to some chump with pink hair from a jab… if he loses its going to be a crazy finish that everyone will enjoy, except maybe fedor… but really both guys are big names and i think its a win win situation for the company
a loss for fedor would not be the end of the world for them or his career, shit everyone loses and aa is not some joke of a fighter nor would fedor get desroyed by anyone, i don’t see him losing but if he did and true mma fan would now its only 1 loss.
im glad we agree roy
fedor wont lose to Arlovski or any one else for that matter.
anyone think it was coincidence that they showed him smashing nog? the ufc champion? nice…
elitexC Nov 8:
Brett “Grim” Rogers vs. Paul Buentello! This is an amazing match up! look forward to this show!
^ yeah that fight will be sick!
Brett/Paul is dam good matchup! One thing EliteXC has started to do is make some good fights!
If only they would promote the fighters in their organization that can actually fight . . .
Fedor is going to kill any of these guys. There is no point of this show.
chase i found a good website for you
http://www.gothscene.com/
So if you win….you get your ass kicked? Awesome idea for a show, Brilliant…. pure genius. Where do I sign up?
If history repeats itself, then Fedor will lose to Arlovski before this show hits the air. Remember, when The Comeback season of TUF was taped, and even when it first aired, the 2 champions they were competing to face were Rich Franklin and Matt Hughes.
>Fedor is going to kill any of these guys. There is no >point of this show.
Fedor destroyed an ex-UFC champ and schooled Nog who is the best HW in this putrid UFC division.
Who does he have to fight really?
Barnett and Arlovski (he aint fighting his little bro).. that’s it.
And dont bring up old man Couture please.
People keep saying that he should fight decent competition.
Fine.
Name me 3 fights besides Barnett and AA.
There isnt.
Nothing in the UFC but Nog and do you really want to see part 3?
The old PRIDE guard aged quickly. The only thing he can do is fight some guy like Monson who is skilled but not a top 10 guy. Something like the Lindland fight.
So all you shittalkers stop holding your balls and tell us who Fedor has ducked in his career.
And who Fedor should fight next?
Im looking at the top 10 HW and there is nothing there for him. The fact that Gonzaga and Verdum are in any top 10 list shows how the quality of HW has dropped.
LOL, i love the clips of fedor beating the dog piss out of Nog, just abusing him like a red headed stepson. In 40 minutes of fighting with the ufc ‘interim’ HW champ, fedor was never at any time in any kind of trouble whatsoever. just pure domination of the ufc ‘interim’ HW champ
I thought he was gonna kill Nog in that fight.
He almost did. It was a credit to Nog’s Noggin. He took massive blow after massive blow as Fedor put a clinic on him, dominating him from the ground and yet Nog still managed to persevere. I thought Nog was going to finish the fight and then go find some place quiet to die.
This whole idea of associations not wanting their marquee fighter to lose is slippery and dangerous. Let the best fighter win, and if he loses, that he’ll have the character to get back in the ring, beat some more people, and have an epic re-match. Sort of like GSP did when he lost. If Fedor loses, it just adds more dynamic and drama to his story.
this is one of the reasons that Fedor isn’t one of my favorite fighters. I could name 10 fights he could take that would intrigue me, but he always gets involved in these freak shows. So they have a tournament, winner gets beat by fedor…who wins? no one will watch this crap. Sign me up so I can tell Fedor what a joke his (once great) career is becoming.
does’nt that 1 fighter look just like mac danzig? i though i caught a glimpse of ben rothwell as well. probably just me.
I thought that was Danzig as well–not just you.
That has to be Mac….. or his doppleganger.
Yeah i was thinking the same damn thing. It has to be him.
how many top 10 guys did liddel fight in his unbeaten streak?he will fight who ever this fight hasn’t even taken place yet and right know the only guys he can fight or sylvia(done) aa(next) and barnett(hopefully after aa) so he is doing the best he can with whats out there.
yeah, plenty of lhw’s in the UFC…oh yeah, he’s tough to deal with…hence doesn’t care about top competition, only getting paid. I can respect that, but it doesn’t make you the best…which he is…for now!
liddell fought vernon white!!!
Tito was probably top 10 at the time that Chuck fought him. Twice. So was Babalu. Twice also.
randy couture twice?
lol, guess you made zero point huh roy?
pwnd!
In fact if you look at the lists of any top mma fighter, I would say that Liddell has fought the toughest list of anyone in mma. Besides the fighters named during his streak, he also beat Vitor, Randleman, Metzger, Overeem, Monson, Wandy. Not a bad list if you ask me. Lately Chuck has just had a problem beating guys that he SHOULD beat.
It should say: Fedor, the man who has crushed more cans than any recycling facility in history. I give him props for beating Nog a few times, but his best opponents at HW after that are CroCop and Tim Sylvia.
couldnt have said it better myself
why is danzig in the commercial? anyone else notice?
It would be better if all 16 fought Fedor at once.
LOL truth!
would anyone actually want to win the show? LOL great i won now its time to get destroyed by fedor…
Fighting PHILLIES baby! Painting the town RED tonight!
Evryone wants to win the show, but most are really scared to fight the experiment.
Are u crazy ? If u’re an unknown fighter this is an opportunity of a life time . Of course u should take this opportunity , what’s the worst that can happen ? U can’t do it much worse than Sylvia had right ? This is an opportunity unknown fighters can only dream about , to get this kind of exposure . Even if Fedor beats you in two minutes if u were a bit impressive during the show it can lead u to the UFC or other places…
However I’d hope they also put some known fighers in it , I’d like Barnett to fight in the show because he’s a fun dude to watch . and because I want him to fight Fedor…
(Yawn) Boring! Why does this “Fighting Fedor” series remind me of “The Contender”, that boxing reality show hosted by Sly Stallone?
I don’t really know what is needed to save Affliction, but I don’t think this is it. They were unable to capitalize on any momentum they got from their first show, and the UFC is running circles around them. M-1 Global and Donald Trump only increase the circus.
I had an idea to save EliteXC though - very simple too. It would get them worldwide mainstream press recognition. The headline reads: “Gina Carano carrying lovechild of Kimbo Slice”.
Sort of a beauty & the beast/King Kong type of thing.
lol what a freakshow elite xc is
id like to see carano beat kimbo in the cage. now that would draw.
Or just show Gina at the next weigh in on live tv, but with no towels.
elite xc isnt that bad…
they actually have a pretty decent roster of all around fighters. NOTE* check the next card . Its Solid.
true
waste of money. I don’t think anyone cares that much about fedor to watch a crappy show about him. Sure, Fedor is a beast once a year, but he has the personality of a door nob.
has anyone been watching m-1 challenge, its pretty good.
Yes, I have. JOHN, your buddy , lil Fedor , Kiril Sidelenkov or whatever fought some huge dude on an episode three weeks ago. You would have ENJOYED!!!!!
I have the last 2 episodes on the DVR still…
BUT I MUST SAY, I think that the picture of Fedor playing with a goose just surpassed Fedor with two ice cream cones as my favorite Fedor picture. Even if I tried, I couldn’t come up with funnier/dumber/more pointless photos than that.
Actually, my sick mind probably can, but whatever, its time to bounce!
Where do they air that show ?
“Not to mention the ending is a bit anti-climatic. Imagine if Amir Sadollah had to fight Anderson Silva at the conclusion of the Ultimate Fighter 7.”
HAHA…or imagine if Matt Serra got to fight GSP after winning TUF 6….
so true, who would have thought a 155pounder would beat one of the p4p best.
those geese are cute
Why dont they just call it “The Contender:MMA”
I will just call it a failure.
That will work.
Yep, I see Extenze commercials in this shows future. Maybe even ShamWow.
one of those dudes in that video looks a lot like Mac Danzig.
i just mentioned that above. looks just like him.
So this is the Russian version of TUF, or TUF the comeback??? Hopefully AA throws a monkeywrench into those plans!
AA has looked good in his last 2 fights, but not that good. I still think he has lost that killer instinct. Hopefully I am wrong, but most likely he is going to get a beating.
yeah its really tough to see a guy losing when hes been so dominant and undefeated for so long (ie:anderson silva) and then match him up with a guy who weve seen get knocked out a few times and lose a decision
It looks like they lifted the stock footage from Mac Danzig from the pre-fight intro of the UFC.
Jesse, you and Mania are too funny! All the Fedor pics are classic…
“Affliction and M-1 Global, the Turner & Hooch of mixed martial arts”
Or How ABout
Affliction and M-1 Global THE TANGO AND CA$H of mixed martial arts
You did not just reference Duke Nukem Forever…
LOL!!
Guilty as charged. I was so excited about that game coming out back when I worked at Gamestop. That was 1998. They say it’s almost done. Nothing like sticking to the budget.
lol what a ironic name for the game
I have to admit that until this post, I never heard of that video game. Then again, I was busy drinking and having sex in 98.
LOL @ 00.30 a shogun twin
@ 00.38 a danzig twin
I do see a problem though…..there sure seems to be a lot of Pride footage in that ad. I see a lawsuit in the near future.
True.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=W2mtQRKqerA put this on your site! a 11 minute Bisping blog! some funny parts when Kongo eats loads of junk food all day cookies and Hot dogs while Bisping has to eat nothing.
Fedor looks so cute feedin’ the geese…LOL
“UFC President Dana White has already watched one promotion collapse at the hands of a fighter the UFC didn’t want when Seth Petruzelli knocked out Kimbo Slice. Imagine his joy if Arlovski stopped Fedor in similar fashion.”
First of all, comparing Seth Petruzelli (a guy who never won a fight in the UFC) to a former UFC champion is a completely stupid thing to do.
Second of all, Dana White came out publicly, before Arlovski signed with Affliction, and said that he was trying to do everything in his power to sign him. So to say that the UFC didn’t “want” Arlovski is another acenine comment.
I usually love mmamania articles, but I think that comment was a little sloppy.
If the UFC wanted Arlovski, he would still be there.
You think he fought Jake O’Brien on the UNDERCARD of UFC 82 because they were doing everything in their power to sign him?
Get a clue.
thats when they where trying to down play him, but wants they realized the fans still wanted him hell yeah they tried to keep him.
That was their mistake, Dana White even said so and said he wanted to resign him.
Of course, he wanted to save face in front of the fans - because most of them love AA. But they really did him wrong leading up to his departure.
Dana said he wanted to re-sign him - so why didn’t he?
Again, if they wanted him bad enough he would still be there.
Why don’t you pull your head out of your ass before you tell me to get a clue - Jesse Holland. Like Bill Maher said - Dana White said it himself. Think before typing - Novel idea, huh? Why don’t you retract a stupid comment before trying to defend it on several different threads and looking even more like an ass.
Why are you so angry?
Not angry, but trying to prove a point that your comment was sloppy. Maybe you just worded it wrong to get your point across - but I believe several readers got the same impression. That you were making comparisons between Petruzelli and Arlovski and Kimbo vs Fedor. Affliction has legitimate headliners (so far) that would and could compete in the UFC. EliteXC - I’m not so sure.
Also, every fighter Dana has wanted - Dana has not got.
fedor?
ok, I am pretty sure this article just compared Fedor to Kimbo Slice, which is automatic fail. And the UFC didn’t let AA go, he left because he was getting shit fights, (comparatively) bad money, and put on the prelims.
No stupid, I compared EliteXC and Affliction, who are both putting way too many eggs in one basket.
Instead of over-extending themselves with the glorification of Fedor, they should be focusing on the very talented stable of fighters they have amassed. Why am I not hearing about Chris Horodecki?
And you can’t fail me because I am the teacher and you are the student.
maybe your a sub
lol…nice
“UFC President Dana White has already watched one promotion collapse at the hands of a fighter the UFC didn’t want when Seth Petruzelli knocked out Kimbo Slice. Imagine his joy if Arlovski stopped Fedor in similar fashion.”
How is that not a comparison?
You don’t hear about Horodecki because Fedor is the #1 Heavyweight in the world and the only non-UFC top ranked fighter. They need a serious headliner. They put on an undercard, so it isn’t like they are not building fighters. If you want to build brand recognition, you need elite fighters in combination with new talent. If you do new talent alone, you go bankrupt like the IFL did. I would never pay comparative UFC money for a bunch of no names.
I agree, but there doesn’t seem to be any balance. What happens if Fedor gets injured and can’t compete for a year?
Affliction spent an obscene amount of money to sign Fedor which is fine, but they need a Plan B.
Well Jesse i bet u heard they’ve tried . They tried putting a show without Fedor when he was injured throwing AA at Barnett which is actually a very good fight . Did anyone bother to buy a ticket ? nope .
That’s why right now they’re more focused on promoting Fedor than Chris Horodecki (which is a fighter i like btw). They’re just trying to survive . They’ll get many people watching their show because of Fedor , but on the way the people will see many more fighters and if Affliction manages to put on good fights then maybe they’ll have a chance . But business wise I totally understand what they’re doing right now
The worst prize for a game show EVER = getting beat on by Fedor
As long as they put on decent fights I would want any free MMA, no matter who the promoter is.
id be willing to bet youd rather fight him then brock lesnar
not really
Yeah because there is a chance that Fedor would just take me down and choke me out, brock would just knock me out. Plus in the odd chance that some how I was able to land some miracle punch and actually won the match, I would rather be known for beating Fedor than for beating Brock.
Why do most of my comments not get posted?
Is this site open to everyone’s opinion even though it may not be your typical MMA Mania UFC nutthuggery? Or do you have to cater to the main stream UFC shit all the time?
WTF?
“UFC President Dana White has already watched one promotion collapse at the hands of a fighter the UFC didn’t want when Seth Petruzelli knocked out Kimbo Slice. Imagine his joy if Arlovski stopped Fedor in similar fashion.”
are you kidding me? comparing a joker like kimbo and the arguably the best fighter in the world, fedor is nonsense. fedor will not lose to arlovski, but i am anticipating the fight.
barnett/sylvia should be on the same card, but i doubt tim will be fighting anytime soon since he’s probably busy spending that last ridiculous paycheck.
Where does it say that Kimbo is on Fedor’s level?
You think that it wouldn’t be a big deal if Fedor gets knocked out by a former UFC fighter - right after they signed him to a long-term contract and based an entire reality show around him?
What an original idea! M-1 Global is still pretending to be around? Trump needs to take his “silverspoon *ss” for a hike.
Or they should do a cross promotion with Elite and have bob sapp fight kimbo slice
Poor Bisping, Kongo killing him LOL!!! Hotdogs cookies icecream !! Anyways GOGOGOGO BISPING!!!!!