“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.”

Following Quinton "Rampage" Jackson’s stunning defeat of Chuck Liddell Saturday night in Las Vegas, UFC organizers have announced that Dan Henderson will take on Rampage Jackson on a date to be determined.

Henderson is no stranger to the Octagon, as the 36-year-old defeated Allan Goes (Pictures) and Carlos Newton (Pictures) to claim the UFC 17 middleweight tournament crown 9 years ago in Mobile, Alabama.

The 36-year old American-born mixed martial artist fighter is also the current welterweight and middleweight champion of the PRIDE Fighting Championship.

Henderson’s MMA record stands at 22-5-0.

His most recent fight was at PRIDE 33 in Las Vegas on February 24, 2007, where Henderson scored an upset by defeating Wanderlei Silva via KO to become the new Middleweight Champion.

Henderson is only the second fighter in MMA history to win two world titles in two different weight classes in a major organization (along with former Team Quest stablemate Randy Couture) and is the first fighter to ever hold them simultaneously.

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.

Reported by MMAWEEKLY - On the last stop of their 3-day media tour, Pride Fighting Championships saved the best for last. At the Fox Sports Grill in Irvine, California last night, the promotion announced two of the pairings for their October 21st, United States debut, as well as, many of the other fighters slated to participate.

In somewhat of a surprise move, Pride announced that heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko will face Mark “The Hammer” Coleman and Middleweight Grand Prix champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will square off with Coleman’s teammate Kevin Randleman.

With the already announced participation of Coleman and Rua, it was highly speculated that the two would be paired up when Pride debuts in Las Vegas. Rua has been very vocal about wanting a rematch since being upset by Coleman in February earlier this year. Pride instead opted for the Emelianenko-Coleman rematch.

Perhaps the biggest surprise at the press conference was the attendance and announcement of former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. According to Pride president Nobuyuki Sakakibara, “We have formed an alliance with Mike Tyson and we are planning projects replete with MMA appeal. He’s not merely a guest, but a partner who will help us create an MMA revolution.”

However, neither Pride nor Tyson would give any specific details as to their partnership when he was asked if he will be fighting for the promotion in the future. Tyson would only say, "I am happy that I can be a part of PRIDE, which is a great organization. I can’t comment on my contract, because it’s confidential.”

Whether or not he ever fights for the organization, Tyson’s presence at the press conference and his planned attendance at the October 21st event are sure to ignite plenty of speculation.

Also announced, although no further pairings were stated, were the intended participation of several other Pride stars for “The Real Deal” fight card at the Thomas & Mack Center. The card now also features Josh Barnett, Kazuyuki Fujita, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Phil Baroni, Vitor Belfort, and middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva.

With UFC president Dana White’s recent comments in a Canadian interview in regards to an already announced bout between UFC champion Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva in the UFC in November, “I don’t even know if Silva’s going to happen… the Japanese are very hard to do business with and you never know what’s going to happen,” and Pride’s announcement of Silva on their October 21st U.S. debut, it now seems apparent that the bout between the two champions is off.

 The first match announcements for PRIDE Fighting Championships "THE REAL DEAL", PRIDE’s first American event, have been announced. The event, held on October 21st at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, will feature PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko and Middleweight Grand Prix Champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua!

PRIDE Heavyweight Champion
Fedor Emelianenko (Russia/Red Devil)
VS
PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Champion
Mark Coleman (America/Hammer House)

Fedor Emelianenko’ comeback match will be held in Las Vegas! The "emperor", unable to compete in the Open Weight Grand Prix due a slow-to-recover injury, has chosen America as the location to get back in the game. His opponent will be veteran Heavyweight fighter and the pride of America, Mark Coleman.
Mark Coleman comes from a wrestling background in the great wrestling state of Ohio, winning a silver medal in the 1991 freestyle wrestling world championships’ 100kg division and placing 7th in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics freestyle division. Wrestling is a popular sport in America and Coleman use that wrestling to gain fame when he twice dominated UFC tournaments. In short, Mark Coleman is a real American hero. On the other hand, Emelianenko’s background is sambo, the national martial art of Russia. This match will pit the American hero against the Russian emperor and American wrestling against Russian sambo. In Rocky 4, the Russian boxer Drago destroyed Rocky’s friend Apollo Creed in the ring and Rocky went on to take his revenge on Drago. Can Coleman become the modern-day Rocky? Or will he be sent to the mat like Apollo?
Coleman has made it clear that he won’t stop fighting until he has become the PRIDE Champion again. Although this is a non-title fight, a rematch with the current Champion is Coleman’s big chance. Coleman is on fire as he aims for the American dream.

PRIDE Grand Prix 2005 Champion
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (Brazil/Chute Boxe Academy)
VS
Former UFC Heavyweight Champion
Kevin Randleman (America/Hammer House)

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua will make his comeback in Las Vegas. Shogun’s popularity was proven at the frenzied autograph session held recently and in his seminars, which were packed with students eager to learn from the master. Shogun dislocated his arm in an Open Weight Grand Prix preliminary match against Mark Coleman in February of this year and with that, his dreams of conquering two weight classes disappeared. Shogun’s opponent this time will be Kevin Randleman, a student of Coleman, the man who stole Shogun’s dreams.
When Randleman is on his game, he’s even more dangerous than Coleman. Will Shogun be able to make his comeback against Randleman, a man with superhuman physical abilities and wrestling techniques?