Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker commented Thursday on Fedor Emelianenko's absence from the April 17 Strikeforce-CBS card, downplaying the promotion's contract renegotiations with Fedor and his M-1 Global management."I look forward to having Fedor back and I think it'll happen sometime late second quarter and maybe in the summertime," Coker said Thursday on ESPN's MMA Live. "I feel confident that we'll get through this process, and move on."
M-1 Global last week confirmed Fedor would not be fighting on the Strikeforce-CBS card in April. According to M-1 Global, Fedor will fight in May against Fabricio Werdum.
In a recent interview with Mix Fight News, M-1 Global president Vadim Finkelstein admits contract issues contributed to the postponement and added that the postponement will allow them time to expand the availability of the fight to over 100 countries.
Coker is describing the renegotiations as the ironing out of "some last-minute details."
"This happens in sports all the time and MMA is no different," Coker said. "It's happened in the past with all different fighters -- some of you have heard about and some you haven't heard about -- It's just the nature of the sport. We look forward to having Fedor back in the cage where he belongs and we just move forward."
More: Fedor, Strikeforce and the Travails of Non-Exclusive Contracts
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