Latest M-1 Global Stories

On Wednesday afternoon, M-1 Global released a statement in which Fedor Emelianenko was quoted as saying that he now wanted to fight Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem sooner rather than later.

But when MMA Fighting spoke to Overeem shortly thereafter, he said he had no interest in fighting anyone other than Fabricio Werdum under the Strikeforce banner, and that his next fight will be for K-1 in October.

A transcript of our conversation is below.

In a dramatic about-face, Fedor Emelianenko released a statement Wednesday saying he wants his next fight to come this year against Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.

"This is an important match for me and something that I personally want to happen," Fedor said in a statement released by his promotion, M-1 Global. "There have been conversations about putting this match-up together in the past and now is the time to begin making this bout possible."

Within minutes of Fabricio Werdum beating Fedor Emelianenko on June 26, Fedor's handlers at M-1 Global began calling for a rematch, and in the weeks since then, Fedor's promotion has been steadfast in its insistence that the only fight it wants to make is Fedor-Werdum 2, hopefully in the fall.

But it takes two to make a fight, and Werdum does not appear to be on board with the idea of a quick rematch.

Despite M-1 Global's claims that there's nothing left to negotiate before the third and final fight on Fedor Emelianenko's contract with Strikeforce, Strikeforce says at least one issue does need to be negotiated: A champion's clause in the contract that would prevent Fedor from leaving to fight in another promotion if he becomes the Strikeforce champion.

M-1 Global says it wants Fedor's next fight to be a rematch with Fabricio Werdum, who beat Fedor on June 26. But Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has said that his preferred option for Fedor's next fight is a bout with Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, and Strikeforce spokesman Mike Afromowitz told MMAFighting.com that a champion's clause is going to be negotiated.

Hours after I wrote that M-1 Global was closing its Netherlands office and that officials with the organization were panicking in the wake of Fedor Emelianenko's loss, I spoke with M-1 Global Director of Operations Evgeni Kogan, who said the story was not true.

Kogan acknowledged that four employees of the promotion's Netherlands office have been "made redundant" in a "restructuring" of the company that took place over the last 10 days, but Kogan claims it's pure coincidence that M-1 chose to restructure after Emelianenko's loss. He said he himself is still at the Netherlands office, but he refused to name any other employees who remain there.

Despite Kogan's denials, one of the original sources has reiterated that in the days following Fedor's loss, Kogan told multiple employees of M-1's Netherlands office that they are losing their jobs because the office is closing. Told that Kogan had denied the original story, the source said Kogan was "lying."

Ten days after Fedor Emelianenko lost to Fabricio Werdum, Fedor's promotional organization M-1 Global is in disarray as it attempts to adjust to a world in which Fedor is no longer considered the best fighter in MMA.

Specifically, sources with knowledge of the situation say M-1 Global has closed its head office in the Netherlands, that some of M-1's investors have already cut ties with the organization, that officials within M-1 know they've lost most of their negotiating power, and that overall, according to one source, the people at M-1 are "panicking."

The UFC heavyweight champion is now the undisputed heavyweight champion of mixed martial arts.

Zuffa's belt already signified the best fighter in every weight class from bantamweight through light heavyweight, and now the two big heavyweight fights of the last two weekends -- Fabricio Werdum's shocking upset over Fedor Emelianenko and Brock Lesnar's comeback win over Shane Carwin -- have resulted in a changing of the guard in the heavyweight division as well.

Lesnar is undeniably the sport's No. 1 heavyweight, but how does the rest of the top 10 shake out? Find out below.

Fedor Emelianenko met with the press immediately following his first professional MMA loss since December 2000. Emelianenko explained what was going through his mind when Fabricio Werdum was locking in his triangle choke and how he felt following the first submission loss of his career.

"The Last Emperor" also apologized to his fans for the loss and talked about his future.

Watch highlights of the press conference below.

The best fighter in the history of mixed martial arts lost in a shocking upset on Saturday night, as Fedor Emelianenko was submitted by Fabricio Werdum early in the first round of their Strikeforce fight in San Jose.

Fedor knocked Werdum down with a combination of hard punches at the start of the fight, doing exactly what he wanted to do and taking control early on. But then he made a huge tactical error, going to the ground with Werdum, who's the best Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner in the sport.

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UFC President Dana White and co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta have both said many times that they want Fedor Emelianenko in the Octagon. But they're not trying to accomplish that by developing a positive relationship with Fedor.

Instead, they're going to try to demonstrate to Fedor that they're the major players on the global MMA scene, and that if Fedor won't play ball with them, they'll make sure major sponsors won't play ball with him.

Brett Rogers lost to Fedor Emelianenko, then looked terrible in his next fight. Andrei Arlovski lost to Fedor Emelianenko, then looked terrible in his next fight. Tim Sylvia lost to Fedor Emelianenko, then looked terrible in his next fight. Noticing a trend here?

Emelianenko himself says there's nothing to it. But there's no doubt about it: Of Emelianenko's last eight opponents, not a single one has notched a significant victory since losing to Fedor. You have to go all the way back to Fedor's victory over Mirko Cro Cop almost five years ago to find anyone who has accomplished much of anything in the ring or cage after fighting Fedor.

All eight Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum main card fighters successfully made weight Friday afternoon at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., including headliners Fedor Emelianenko (229) and Fabricio Werdum (238).

Full results here.

Check out the weigh-in video, which was shot and edited by MMA Fighting's E. Casey Leydon, below.