Rumors have swirled in the mixed martial arts world about the status of the sport's heavyweight champion, Fedor Emelianenko, who was surprisingly not included in the upcoming Strikeforce card on CBS. Is Fedor hurt? Will Fedor still fight Fabricio Werdum? Are Fedor and his promotion, M-1 Global, having problems with Strikeforce? Will Fedor fight in Japan? Will he fight in the UFC?M-1 Global's official response: Yes, maybe, no, maybe and no.
I contacted M-1 Global with those questions and was sent an official response from the promotion's spokesman that said things are fine with Strikeforce, and stated emphatically that neither Fedor nor anyone else affiliated with M-1 Global has had any talks about Fedor stepping into the Octagon.
The information I got from M-1 Global:
1. Fedor isn't fighting on the April 17 Strikeforce card because he wanted to have more time to prepare following the recovery from his hand injury. Hand problems have plagued Fedor for much of his fighting career, and he suffered another hand injury in his win over Brett Rogers in November. M-1 Global says Fedor wasn't able to get in a complete training camp before April 17, and that's why he's not on the card.
2. Whether Fedor will fight Fabricio Werdum on the May 15 Strikeforce card is currently being worked out. Although most people expect that fight to take place on a great heavyweight card that also features Rogers vs. Alistair Overeem and Andrei Arlovski vs. Antonio Silva, it's no sure thing that Fedor-Werdum will happen. M-1 Global says we should expect more news on that front later.
3. Everything is fine between Fedor, M-1 Global and Strikeforce. Behind the scenes, maybe there are issues between M-1 Global and its co-promoter, Strikeforce. But M-1 Global isn't going to make those issues public. What they told me is that everything is just fine.
4. Fedor is not ruling out fighting in Japan this year. Fedor is popular in Japan from his days in Pride, and although he hasn't fought there since New Year's Eve 2007, he won't close the door on fighting there in 2010. Dream has made some noises about beefing up its heavyweight division, although it's not clear whether Dream can come up with the kind of payday Fedor would want.
5. Neither Fedor nor anyone involved with M-1 Global has had any recent talks about Fedor fighting in the UFC. They were emphatic about this one. We don't know when or where Fedor is fighting next, but according to M-1 Global, it's not in the UFC.
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