Why Didn’t Fedor Join The UFC?

[Elegant]

Because he knew what would happen

Which was later proven during his Strikeforce run

He was a good fighter under a specific ruleset, in a specific setting, under very specific circumstances, but he just couldn't hang when the stars weren't aligned for him and the competition got a little tougher, likely a top 15 guy and legend but nothing more

 

[HHJ]

UFC never lived up to their potential, but not building that stadium

 

[HHJ]

Because he knew what would happen

Which was later proven during his Strikeforce run

He was a good fighter under a specific ruleset, in a specific setting, under very specific circumstances, but he just couldn't hang when the stars weren't aligned for him and the competition got a little tougher, likely a top 15 guy and legend but nothing more

What the fuck is this BS lol

Strikeforce had nothing to do with PRIDE's "specfic ruleset" so what fucking difference dos it make, and had guys just as tough, if not tougher than UFC did at the time.

Shit, a bunch of dudes who were there left to go fight him, leaving it pretty lean for a good while.

 

[Trabaho]

Short : Sherdogs management wanted the UFC to co-promote eventes with Fedor. They wanted half the money. M1 Global was the organisation Fedors manager owned, Vadim something was his name. UFC will never make another organisation big, they won't enable their competition or give them half money of events.
They tried offering Fedor and his team many milions but they only wanted to do events together.


/ finish


Anyone else saying anything else is invalid

Long live Oliver Trabaho and his nerd knowledge

 

[orca]

Fedor would not bow to Dana's demands and be his bitch.

This was his greatest accomplishment.

but bowing to yakuzas fixed fights and many more?
btw why are you even using the word "bow"
lol

 

[IIIIIIII]

from what i remember, fedor always stated in interviews that ufc contracts were too controlling for athletes, with all power going to the ufc. i also remember fedor saying how he doesn't do business with people of questionable character. this must say a lot about scott coker. fedor had no issues with him, though he got all he wanted.

the ufc wasn't anywhere as big as it is today obviously, and they had just merged with pride. the future was uncertain with lots of moving parts that were shaping the future.

 

[moreorless87]

What the fuck is this BS lol

Strikeforce had nothing to do with PRIDE's "specfic ruleset" so what fucking difference dos it make, and had guys just as tough, if not tougher than UFC did at the time.

Shit, a bunch of dudes who were there left to go fight him, leaving it pretty lean for a good while.

To be honest I don't see rule differences as significant at all, elbows didnt play any part when he did lose and during his career he rarely used soccer kicks, stomps or knees.

 

[Tweak896]

I know right after Brock won the belt and after UFC 100, there was a time where Fedor was undefeated with his aura unbroken and a free agent and Brock was unstoppable, so everyone wanted Brock/Fedor at that moment. Because of Brock they could've sold that fight and both guys would be paid huge, and I think they put it out there. Instead Fedor signed with Affliction and the rest is history. It would've of been the GSP/Penn of HW, probably 2x as big with the PPVs. UFC probably could've done Fedor/Randy then Fedor/Brock after if they signed him earlier. It's a shame the damage negotiations have stolen amazing fights from fans.

 

[moreorless87]

Honestly though in retrospect the Randy and Brock fights we missed out on were really not THAT significant were they? they'd have been good matches but looking but neither of them would be career defining wins in terms of achievement for Fedor if he'd pulled them off, not on the level of beating Crocop or Nog, honestly I think Arlovski was probably a better win when it happened,

 

[Lawrence]

Fedor couldn't join the UFC because he was afraid of Tim Sylvia.... you know its true

 

[Laheys'Liquorland]

Awesome the streak of Fedor threads in the UFC forum has reached another year.
2025! Thank you OP.

 

[nonoob]

I know right after Brock won the belt and after UFC 100, there was a time where Fedor was undefeated with his aura unbroken and a free agent and Brock was unstoppable, so everyone wanted Brock/Fedor at that moment. Because of Brock they could've sold that fight and both guys would be paid huge, and I think they put it out there. Instead Fedor signed with Affliction and the rest is history. It would've of been the GSP/Penn of HW, probably 2x as big with the PPVs. UFC probably could've done Fedor/Randy then Fedor/Brock after if they signed him earlier. It's a shame the damage negotiations have stolen amazing fights from fans.

@Bullitt68 your memories kick ass, adding much to us fans with far less background.
Anything you can add about Fedor is much appreciated, TIA.

 

[JBGuy420]

Really I feel like the key point were Fedor could have joined the UFC was in 2007 just post Pride not in 2009 post Affliction, by that point he was signed up with M-1 on a long term deal and Dana/The UFC was never likely to agree to work with someone under those conditions.

I suspect the big reason why he didnt sign in 2007 was that whilst the UFC were offering "ok" money to ex Pride guys back then it wasnt really that big relative to their status and Fedor or Vadim realised they were actually being lowballed, that were were actually other options. M-1 offered Fedor a much bigger deal which was garneted for years with the view to farming him out to other promoters, basically his retirement contract and the UFC didnt want to match it because it would potentially mean offering more to other fighters so they lost him.

M-1 paid its fighters much much less than the UFC.

It had no big names and failed as an organization.

 

[moreorless87]

M-1 paid its fighters much much less than the UFC.

It had no big names and failed as an organization.

The numbers of Fedor's deal were leaked years ago and as I remember they were significant, I spose its possible Vadim may have screwed him somehow but via the contract he would have earnt $10 million+.

M-1 by itself was a fairly small org which didnt pay massive amounts but Fedor was not really an M-1 fighter in that sense, the intension was always for M-1 to co promote and get other orgs to take most of the cost of Fedor's contract.

At that point espeically there was ALOT of money sloshing around in MMA outside the UFC as other orgs tried to break though, Affliction paid Arlovski over 2 million to fight Fedor I believe.

 

[markg171]

If Fedor had signed with the UFC in 2007 two of the three biggest fights for him would have been Sylvia and and Arlovski and we saw how those matches went.

Randy would have been the other and honestly whilst that fight would have had insane hype I really don't see Randy having much chance in it, he'd have been grossly overmatched standing and in serious danger on the ground,

When he did loose it was to another ex Pride fighter in Werdum.

I like Fedor and everything and the people who live by Fedor are cool too but we need to be honest about Fedor and he would have gotten absolutely murdered in the UFC. Maybe not right away, but there were enough killers, bigger and stronger waiting for him. He would have done fine, but that's about it

If he wanted to make a career of it, it's not just Werdum, A Silvia, and Henderson, it's Cain, JDS, Mir, Brock, Overeem, even Brown, Hunt, Rothwell, and Big Country Nelson could have posed problems

The issue is Pride people always fixate on that he'd have possibly won some of his initial fights and still proven he was the best HW in the world, when the argument is more the latter here that there's no way he makes it to 2010 without a loss in the UFC like he did by fighting elsewhere.

His reign on top was extended by fighting outside the UFC, and ultimately never lost to "a UFC fighter" like he would have had he gone over. That's the issue.

 

[markg171]

Honestly though in retrospect the Randy and Brock fights we missed out on were really not THAT significant were they? they'd have been good matches but looking but neither of them would be career defining wins in terms of achievement for Fedor if he'd pulled them off, not on the level of beating Crocop or Nog, honestly I think Arlovski was probably a better win when it happened,

Getting 2 of his top 5 greatest wins ever does nothing for him?

Are you high?

 

[moreorless87]

Getting 2 of his top 5 greatest wins ever does nothing for him?

Are you high?

I didnt say it does "nothing" for him but compared to the hype at the time those fights don't see so massive now.

 

[Bullitt68]

@Bullitt68 your memories kick ass, adding much to us fans with far less background.
Anything you can add about Fedor is much appreciated, TIA.

I appreciate the shout-out. I always try to walk the line between adding context and interesting perspectives and just annoying people with "Back in my day" reverie

With Fedor, I remember everyone hating the M-1/Vadim shit, but also hating Dana White, so it was just a shitty situation all around. Everyone wanted Fedor in the UFC, but nobody could fault him for not liking Dana. With the years that Dana had spent absolutely trashing Fedor in the media, shitting on his greatness and his legacy, to then sit down across from him and pretend "It's all business" and pretend like Dana hadn't been shit talking him for years...Fedor don't play that shit. He didn't like Dana and he didn't really want any part of his BS, so he peaced out with his Russian homies. It's too bad history-wise/legacy-wise, but at least we got to see him take out the UFC's top HWs in Sylvia and Arlovski, so he really got to enjoy the best of both worlds even if it would've been cool for us as fans to have seen him take on UFC guys like Randy and Brock inside the Octagon.

Speaking of which...

Honestly though in retrospect the Randy and Brock fights we missed out on were really not THAT significant were they? they'd have been good matches but looking but neither of them would be career defining wins in terms of achievement for Fedor if he'd pulled them off, not on the level of beating Crocop or Nog, honestly I think Arlovski was probably a better win when it happened,

...this is true enough, but still, it's why we want to see Jon Jones fight legit threats like Pereira or Aspinall, not one-dimensional schmoes like Gane or ancient has-beens like Stipe. It's just cool to cement your greatness to be able to hang around for a long time and beat all the top guys who come through when and as they come through. Hindsight is whatever, but at the time, Randy and Brock were the top dogs, and it would've been cool to see if Fedor could've iced Randy inside of a round or snatched up a slick armbar on Brock the second they hit the mat. Victories over Randy and/or Brock (and/or, depending on when he got to the UFC and how long he competed, a returning Mir, a Cro Cop rematch in the cage, Werdum prior to their 2010 match, a young JDS or Cain) definitely would be better achievements than beating Matt Lindland, Hong Man Choi, and Brett Rogers.

 

[markg171]

I didnt say it does "nothing" for him but compared to the hype at the time those fights don't see so massive now.

If he'd beaten Randy and Brock we wouldn't still have people arguing Stipe or whoever might in fact be the HW GOAT, and it obviously would've helped his argument that he's the MMA GOAT.

They'd have been massive for MMA and for his career. It's beyond silly to pretend it wouldn't have been.

 

[Ibm]

Man Fedor vs Brock is 09 would have been the biggest fight ever, I really wish that fight happened. Both of them would have made some solid cash on the biggest fight in history.