Fedor Emelianenko to “headline” EA Sports videogame, currently “negotiating” with UFC | MMAjunkie
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By: MMAjunkie Staff	July 29, 2009 7:35 pm	Follow @MMAjunkie
Fedor Emelianenko and M-1 officials today held a coinciding press conference and media call to discuss the latest news with the Russian fighter.
Unfortunately, no definitive news was released regarding the fighter’s future, other than that Emelianenko and his manager, M-1 boss Vadim Finkelchtein, are currently in negotiations with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Officials, though, did announce that Emelianenko will “headline” EA Sports’ new videogame, EA Sports MMA, which will compete with THQ’s and the UFC’s hugely successful “UFC Undisputed” videogame franchise that debuted with a 2009 edition earlier this year. “EA Sports MMA” will also feature Gegard Mousasi and Renato “Babalu” Sobral, officials announced.
Emelianenko, a longtime PRIDE champion who’s widely regarded as the sport’s No. 1 ranked heavyweight, was slated to fight Josh Barnett on Aug. 1. However, after the California State Athletic Commission denied Barnett a license due to a failed drug test (anabolic steroid), Affliction briefly sought a replacement but first canceled its “Trilogy” event and then announced it would cease promotional operations altogether and return to the UFC as a sponsor.
Emelianenko had one fight remaining on his Affliction deal. It’s unclear what that deal means or could mean for the fighter.
“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.”
In the mean time, Finkelchtein confirmed that in addition to the UFC, Emelianenko is negotiating with multiple organizations, including Strikeforce.
Emelianenko and the UFC have negotiated in the past, but no deal ever came to fruition. One sticking point has been that Finkelchtein wants any UFC event featuring Emelianenko to be co-promoted with the M-1 brand. Finkelchtein said that remains one of their demands.
As we mentioned earlier today, the L.A. Times recently reported that the UFC and Emelianenko were finalizing a deal that would be announced at a UFC media call scheduled for Friday. Although a source close to M-1 told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) the report was “untrue,” we’ve since updated the story to include information from a source close to the UFC who said the organization is devoting all its resources to getting a deal done with Emelianenko by Friday. It’s not known if the UFC would be willing to co-promote with M-1, which is something UFC president Dana White has often said he’s unwilling to do.
White has also stated that any fighters who sign on with the EA Sports videogame would be barred from competing in the UFC.
Again, it’s unknown if an exception would be made for Emelianenko.
For complete coverage of the story, stay tuned to the Fedor Emelianenko section of MMAjunkie.com.
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