According to Evgeni Kogan, M-1 Global’s Director of Operations, Californians can expect to see a lot of Fedor “the Last Emperor” Emelianenko next month. In an effort to interact more with American fans, the stoic, Russian fighter plans to attend the Strikeforce: Los Angeles event, featuring Robbie Lawler vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral, on June 16 at the Nokia Theatre. That same week, Emelianenko will appear at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the annual video game industry conference, to promote “EA Sports: MMA.”

Less than ten days later, “the Last Emperor” will head north to face Fabricio Werdum on June 26, in an unofficial number one contender match. The winner will likely fight current Strikeforce heavyweight champion, Alistair “the Demolition Man” Overeem, for the title.

The champ has made it clear that he wants to face Emelianenko. After dispatching Brett Rogers on May 15, Overeem called out Emelianenko during his post fight interview. “The Demolition Man” also insinuated that M-1 Global turned down previous offers to set up a fight between the two heavyweights.

Kogan refutes those claims, stating that their management team has never seen an official request for Emelianenko to square off against the Golden Glory fighter.

“If (Overeem) can point to where Fedor turned down a proposed fight, we’d like to hear it.”

Despite what Overeem says in the media, Kogan insists that M-1 Global is open to discuss the future title bout.

“We have nothing against Overeem as an opponent and we’re completely open to discussing that fight after June 26, if Fedor does well.”

Should Emelianenko defeat Werdum, Strikeforce will have virtually no other choice, but to set up the long awaited Overeem vs. Emelianenko fight. With demands coming from both Golden Glory and M-1 Global, it will be a tenuous, but necessary balancing act. To not put this bout together would be a travesty in the eyes of many MMA fans.

Strikeforce: Los Angeles and Strikeforce/M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum will air on Showtime.

(Source: Sherdog)

UFC President, Dana White, sat down with The MMA Hour to discuss various topics including the Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. “Sugar” Rashad Evans bout, Josh Koscheck and Jake Shields.

White touched on…

The possibility that “Rampage” has been distracted with his burgeoning acting career:

“The one saving grace for Rampage in this whole thing is how much he hates Rashad Evans. The motivation for him to train and how angry he is and fired up he is for this fight. I think the fact that he’s fighting Rashad is probably the best thing in the world for him.”

Jackson’s upcoming appearance on WWE Monday Night Raw as part of the A-Team cast:

“Stuff he does on the side, If he was going to professionally wrestle on the WWE, then he’d have to talk to me, but if he’s making an appearance, absolutely not.”

The UFC Undisputed 2010 video game:

“It’s actually a lot different. I’m actually blown away by how much the game has changed in just a year, how much they’ve upgraded it in just a year. People who liked it last year are going to love this new game.”

His relationship with welterweight Josh Koscheck:

“It’s not like me and Koscheck are buddies. Don’t think that Koscheck came out of the Ultimate Fighter and we’re buddies and I’m looking out for Koscheck. I think Koscheck is as much of a dick as anyone else does. We have no beef. It’s — he’s not a team player. His personality — you’re never going get along with Koscheck and hang out and be good buddies with him. Just can’t. He’s not that type of guy. It’s not a bad thing. It’s who he decides to be. It doesn’t mean I can’t do business with him. But I’ll tell you this, I respect Koscheck as a fighter. I think that he’s getting better and better every time he fights. He goes out there and goes after it.”

Koscheck’s upcoming title shot:

“To say that Koscheck doesn’t deserve a shot is crazy. Koscheck’s been out there beating guys left and right. A lot of people are judging him on the knee. It’s not like me and Koscheck are best buddies, but who are we to say that Koscheck didn’t get hit with that knee. We’re not in there fighting.”

Tuesday’s major announcement from Toronto:

“The reason that we’re holding the press conference up there is we’re basically going to show everybody how committed we are to Canada and how much Canada means to us.”

The UFC Primetime series on Spike TV:

“I like the real time of it, how real time it is and and you actually get the look and try to figure out their head And that’s why I like so much about the weigh-ins. At the weigh-ins you get to see what shape your guy is in. You find out if he makes weight easy. How does he look? How does the stare down look? I love all that stuff. The other thing I love about Primetime is that we have so many different guys and so many different characters that you can see. How many times can you watch Floyd [Mayweather] throw money around? it’s the same thing every time. Boxing doesn’t have enough depth.”

Strikeforce middleweight champion, Jake Shields:

“I don’t know what the deal is with his contract, but when his contract is up, I can guarantee you that he and I will be on the phone.”

(Source: MMA Fighting)

UFC middleweight, Michael “the Count” Bisping, heads into his bout with Dan Miller this Saturday on a mission. First, he wants to put away the 28-year-old in devastating fashion. Second, he wants his shot at current champion, Anderson Silva, before the Brazilian moves up to the light heavyweight division.

After seeing Silva’s bizarre performance at UFC 112 against Demian Maia, “the Count” has become fed up with the champ’s actions. According to Bisping, Silva would not be able to pull the same kind of shenanigans on him should the two ever square off in the Octagon.

“I think everyone wants to fight Anderson Silva off the back of the Demian Maia fight — I want to fight him after that. If he tried that s**t with me he’d get a toe-punt right on the chin! I couldn’t understand it. I suppose it was a bit disrespectful to start with and, to be honest, I thought Demian Maia won the last two rounds. When it came to the decision I wasn’t sure, you’re never sure, Demian might have stolen it.”

Before Bisping can even be considered for title contention, he must first defeat Miller, a young, but talented fighter. If he should win, would Bisping be worthy of the next shot at the champ after Chael Sonnen or does the Brit need to put together a few more victories?

(Source: ESPN.co.uk)

Former UFC heavyweight champion, Tim Sylvia, can never seem to win in the court of public opinion. After defeating Mariusz Pudzianowski at Moosin: God of Martial Arts, Sylvia found himself answering to critics rather than celebrating his victory. Heading into the bout, the Miletich fighter tipped the scales at over 300 pounds. MMA message boards lit up with fans questioning the fighter’s dedication to the sport. According to Sylvia, the extra weight was all part of the plan.

“I did that on purpose. I wanted to be heavy for the fight. I wanted to be as big as he was. When we took the fight, he was 336 pounds and then he was 300 during the press conferences we were doing. He lost another 23 pounds between the press conferences and when it came to the actual fight day. I actually hit 285 during training and then I just went back to eating five times a day again. At the peak of my training, I was 285, which is pretty much what I am when I fight for the UFC, actually about 275 and then I cut 10 pounds to make the weight when I fight (at 265).”

Pudzianowski proved to be not much of a challenge. Although successful in strong man competitions, Pudzianowski’s lack of MMA skills quickly showed.

“He didn’t have the reach, and him being so muscle-bound, he couldn’t throw straight punches to begin with. We knew he was going to kick and then try to get me down to the ground. It wasn’t a good leg kick. It was just hard and powerful. He didn’t kick me where he was supposed to kick me. If you kick anybody, like the three I put on him, you want to kick on the quad. That way it takes your legs away. He kicked me in the calf. And then the next one was just below the knee and the third one I was able to check.”

After a short feeling out process, Sylvia made Pudzianowski tap to strikes at 1:43 in the second round. In typical Sylvia fashion, he proceeded to irritate fans by declaring himself “something of a legend in MMA” during his post fight interview. While he certainly shows no humility, Sylvia stands firm in his belief that he is one of the best in the sport.

“I know what I’ve done. I know no one else has been a five-time UFC heavyweight champ besides Randy (Couture). As soon as Brock (Lesnar) defends it and makes that, then he’s in that division too, but no one else is. Not even Arlovski.”

Being a fan favorite doesn’t matter to Sylvia. He knows that he has critics, but he refuses to change.

“It is what it is. I am who I am. I’ve made statements and stuff. If you hate me, I hate you. I don’t care. I don’t care if you don’t like me, to be honest with you. That’s just the way it is. I’m not going to change for anybody. I’m not going to kiss people’s butts and so on and so forth. That’s just not me. I’m from the East Coast, and that’s just the way we’re all brought up.”

Part of the public’s perception, according to Sylvia, may stem from the fact that fans typically see him during the final week of preparation for a fight. During that time, he becomes solely focused on the task at hand, which often comes across as abrasive.

“I’m drastically different. I have no patience. I’ve worked my butt off for 10 weeks to prepare myself for my opponent, and it’s constantly going through my mind. When I go to bed, when I get up, it’s all about who I’m fighting and what I have to do to win this fight. That’s when a lot of the fans, they’ll come in to the show and they’ll see this standoffish guy who’s set on beating the guy in front of me.”

Whether he’s being booed or not, Sylvia continues his quest for bigger fights. After putting a couple of more wins together, he hopes to reintroduce himself to the masses.

“I’d like to think (by) 2011. I’d like to be with Strikeforce or UFC.”

(Source: Sherdog)

UFC CEO, Lorenzo Fertitta, and President, Dana White, made their “big announcement” today from the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Leading up to the press conference, there was heavy speculation that the news would revolve around the Canadian province finally legalizing MMA.

Instead, the UFC officially opened a Canadian field office and appointed former Canadian Football League Commissioner, Tom Wright, as the head of the new division.

Establishing this branch of the UFC, along with hiring Wright, reflects the company’s “full court press” toward regulating MMA in Toronto.

“When we thought about what we had accomplished in the U.S., we decided we had a product we really wanted to take global,” Fertitta said. “Obviously things have gone well for us in the U.K. and Europe. As we sit here today, our focus is now Canada.”

While the news wasn’t as ground breaking as fans had hoped, it does pave the way toward an eventual UFC event in Ontario.

UFC middleweight, Alan “the Talent” Belcher, is ready for higher profile fights. After defeating Patrick Cote at UFC 113, Belcher believes he has proven his worth within the 185 pound division. That said, the organization hasn’t been quick to offer “the Talent” a chance to move up the ladder.

“I don’t know what [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva’s deal is. Through my career, I’ve pushed for certain fights, and I don’t know if it’s Joe’s personality or what, but I think he’s not an Alan Belcher fan. They haven’t brought me in to lose any fights. They haven’t tried to set me up or anything. [Joe Silva is] cool and everything; it’s just … I don’t know. It seems like I’m sitting there screaming: ‘The fans want to see me fight big fights.’ I’ve got a big following, and I’ve got not just a flashy style; I have an explosive striking style. The fans want to see it, but he’s not hearing it, man. It doesn’t matter. As time goes by and I keep winning fights, they have to give me the big fights.”

During his post fight interview following his victory over Cote, Belcher made it known that he had eyes on taking the belt away from Anderson Silva. With the champ already scheduled to battle Chael Sonnen at UFC 117, Belcher will have to wait his turn. As Nate Marquardt and others have signed contracts for future bouts, the 26-year-old finds himself on the outside looking in. Nevertheless, the stars are aligning for a possible fight with a competitor that fans have been anxiously waiting to return: Vitor “the Phenom” Belfort.

Although a definitive timetable for the Brazilian hasn’t been set, the circumstances could be right for Belcher to get the opportunity to welcome Belfort to the UFC middleweight division.

“I’m down. I’d love that fight. Vitor Belfort’s a legend. I haven’t fought anyone with that kind of name yet. It’d be an awesome fight for me. It’d definitely tell us who the next number one contender is.”

There has been some speculation on whether or not Belfort will be given an immediate title shot upon his return. He was set to face Silva before injuries forced him to take a hiatus. The UFC has not revealed their plans, but Belcher would find it peculiar if “the Phenom” jumped right into a championship bout.

“I think it may be something with Belfort’s contract. Probably said if he beats Rich Franklin, he gets a title shot or something. It’s probably something like that, because have you ever heard of someone getting a title shot after someone else gets a title shot? Chael gets this, [and] then after he loses, Vitor gets the next one? I never heard of that before.”

Increasingly frustrated, Belcher is critical of the UFC’s lack of a structured ranking system.

“It’s all a mess, man. All the best guys in our division have all been losing. It’s just weird. The ranking system in the middleweight division … it’s all jumbled up. You’ve got Belfort trying to get better. It just sucks, man. I just wish there was a little bit more of a clear path to know who I [have] got to beat to get where I want to go. Even if I’ve got to fight two or three more fights, I wish there was just an easier way of ranking us and moving us along that way.”

Feeling like he’s in his physical prime, Belcher wants his chance to be properly promoted by the UFC. In order to do so, he’ll have to face stiffer competition and thus far the organization has opted not to give it to him.

“What do I have to do to get on a poster? What do I have to do to get on a ‘Primetime’ show or when Spike TV comes to your school and stuff? I need to put a lot of work into this, and I feel like I’m on top of the game and there [are] a lot of fans out there that haven’t gotten the opportunity to know who I am yet. I just feel like I should be pushed a little bit more, and I feel like I should be making more money. The part of my career where I’m at right now I just feel like I’m one of the top guys. I just want to get the reward from it, and I don’t want to miss out on it. And if it’s going to take more work or more wins or whatever, that’s cool. I don’t want to be here two or three fights from now in the same situation.”

(Source: Sherdog)