From MMAjunkie.com
Fedor Emelianenko, the former PRIDE heavyweight champion who became a free agent after last week's surprising split from M-1 Global, is in negotiations with EliteXC, but his $2-million-per-fight asking price could keep a deal from being reached.
EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw confirmed the dollar figure during a recent interview that can be heard tonight (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT) on with The Lights Out Show on the TAGG Radio Network, a content partner of MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com).
MMAjunkie.com reported last month that EliteXC had offered Emelianenko a four-fight, seven-figure deal that would put the fighter on the first two show EliteXC-CBS shows. He'd also get two pay-per-view slots and would share in a portion of the revenue.
Apparently, though, the deal -- which would give a base pay of approximately $300,000 to $500,000 per fight -- wasn't good enough.
"[Fedor] wants $2 million per fight," Shaw said. "We keep going back and forth, but he has to fight soon. It's been almost two years."
Emelianenko actually last fought at the "Yarennoka!" New Year's Eve show back in December, but it's been nearly two years since he's faced a top-tier opponent in his own weight class. And while that drought of meaningful fights has many fans questioning his once near-unanimous standing as the world's top heavyweight fighter, Shaw still considers him one of the best.
In fact, he seems to think the talent pool is fanning out and that his biggest competition is struggling.
"[The UFC's] got a hole in their dike right now," Shaw said. "It's leaking... No one organization owns the best fighters."
Despite the comment, the UFC is still considered one of Emelianenko's most likely destinations, though he's rumored also to have offers from Japanese-based organizations.
