“We’re still trying to figure out this whole Pride and UFC thing. The deal is done. We acquired the company yesterday or the day before…. Talking about all the Pride stuff, we’re going to work on that stuff over the next [weeks] now that the deal is officially closed. You can’t start running a business when you don’t own it yet. We’ve owned it for two days. I know we made the big announcement [on March 27], but it might have been a little premature. The deal wasn’t done yet. The deal was pending, but we were far enough along where we felt comfortable announcing the deal. Now that it’s closed two days ago, we’ll get that straightened out.”

They say  – In a new interview on his homepage (http://fedor.bel.ru) Pride FC heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko has stated that he currently has no standing contract with any fight organization, including the UFC and Bodog Fight organizations.

You say  – Ok so Fedor says he’s a free agent. Dana has said that he is under contract with Pride. I know Fedor loves fighting in Russia, Bodog may be able to sway him on that fact alone. I think he could do more for Russia by fighting outside Russia. I’m sure the boys at Zuffa will make him an offer to fight that he can’t say no to. Fedor will fight for Pride. Zuffa will make Fedor happy to stay. He won’t fight in or for the UFC until after the MMA ‘superbowl’. – Beatts35, forums.mmanews.com

I love the fact that the ball is in Fedor’s corner, he’s got all the cards….he can ask for as much money as he wants and either Bodog or UFC/Pride will have to pay it. Hope he makes at least a mill per fight. – KaroThrow101, Sherdog.net

We say

Damian: I wouldn’t say the ball is entirely in Fedor’s court. It takes two fighters to have a truly great fight, and while Bodog may be able to lure Fedor in, the same can’t be said for every other top fighter. The reality is that Zuffa Inc. is holding some major cards right now, but Fedor has also cemented his own demand as the #1 fighter in the world. Yet both sides are bound by a simple business need that makes them bedfellows whether they like it or not: Zuffa needs the best fighters, which is Fedor, and Fedor himself needs the best competition which Zuffa has. So in the end, I think both sides will negotiate strongly but there is no reason an agreement can’t be reached.

Jose: I don’t know what Bodog could do long term for Fedor, but the man has really done it all in this sport. If he wanted to take a couple of multimillion dollar fights a year, who’s to say he’s wrong about that? The fans would miss out on some potentially great fights for however long Fedor chooses to stay out of the Zuffa picture (and who says that has to be permanent?) but lets be honest, for five years Fedor has destroyed all top contenders to his throne. If he’s got something good going with Bodog for a while, I don’t see how that should shed a negative light on him. I do think we will see him eventually make a deal with Zuffa, I just hope the interim isn’t long enough that he would be stripped of the Heavyweight title. But Fedor is such a bad man; it probably wouldn’t be too much trouble to get his property back.

Fedor Emelianko has pretty much declared himself a free agent.  Mixed Martial Arts number two organization, Bodog Fight, wants him.  Dana White and the UFC, which now owns PRIDE, claims Emelianko is theirs and they are willing to ensure the reigning Heavyweight champion stays with PRIDE.

FightOpinion  reports that Zuffa (UFC parent company) lawyers are looking at PRIDE’s financial records and contracts right now in Tokyo. Therefore, due diligence is supposedly taking place as we speak (the asset transfer is/was supposed to happen on May 1st).

From FightOpinion:

If the PRIDE fighter contracts are personal service contracts, they likely could/would not be transferrable to third parties in an asset sale deal. In other words, fighters could possibly choose to be free agents if they wanted to be (or if they wanted to expose any loopholes in the deals).

Then we had these three questions to Dana White from FightOpinion:

If you say that guys are locked up to PRIDE contracts (exclusive or non-exclusive), then why are you trying to negotiate new deals?

What’s the point of buying the PRIDE assets from DSE if the contracts are worthless or of little value?

If the PRIDE contracts are personal service deals, how could you possibly get an injunction against a fighter in a court.

White is also said to be unhappy with Fedor Emelianko’s appearance last week in Russia for Bodog Fight.  Bodog Fight’s "Clash of Nations" received overwhelmingly positive reviews and helped the up-and-coming MMA organization secure a massive television deal in Russia.

Emelianko told Sports911.com days before that fight when asked about current negotiations:

"I am in negotiations with both Pride and Bodog but that is a question for my manager."

Bodog Fight founder Calvin Ayre expressed to Sports911.com this past week:

"We are happy to entertain any ideas he (Fedor Emelianko) may have working with Bodog in the future," said Ayre, who had nothing but kind things to say about Emelianko.  "(Fedor) is an unbelievably classy guy.  He doesn’t seem to have any type of weakness.  He is a complete fighter.  Unbelievable!"

But Emelianko fighting for Bodog again won’t happen if White has his way.

“He’s not a free agent and absolutely we’d slap an injunction on him,” White said.

Bodog Fight is preparing to shoot Series 5 of its reality fight show in Whistler, British Columbia this June.  Ayre announced to Sports911.com that a major television deal was in the works in Europe and sources close to the company also claim that Bodog Fight could be looking for added television coverage in the States as well.  The show is currently showcased on ION (formerly PAX), a troubled infomercial-filled cable network in the process of redefining itself.  UFC, meanwhile, is broadcast on the popular and established SPIKE TV.

Still, ION does have extensive coverage throughout the US and this has helped to garner viewers for Bodog Fight.