Strikeforce and M-1 Global held a joint media conference call today concerning their co-promotional efforts involving Fedor Emelianenko. Scott Coker, Vadim Finkelchtein, Ken Hershman, and Fedor himself all fielded questions from the media. PRO MMA (promma.info) also took part in the call.
Despite the fact that every organization Fedor has fought for is no longer in operation, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker assured the media that this deal with Fedor will not be a financial burden upon the promotion and he would not have signed Fedor if he thought there was a possibility it could put Strikeforce out of business.
Here is the complete audio of the call. (They had a few technical challenges at times)
Strikeforce / M-1 Global conference call with Fedor Emelianenko
[podcast]http://promma.info/audio/fedorstrikeforce.mp3[/podcast]
There has been much talk, even from Fedor’s brother, that Vadim Finkelchtein uses Fedor for his own business gains. However, Fedor wanted to stress the fact that he makes his own decisions and is fully aware of all contract negotiations and that Vadim is his spokesperson.
Memorable quotes from the call:
“Think about it, it will be the first time Fedor fights in a cage in his career.” – Scott Coker
“If Fedor comes to the UFC, he will make the UFC famous outside of America.” -Vadim
“I’m sorry my fans won’t get to see my fight against Brock Lesnar in the near future.” -Fedor