UFC
Fedor Emelianenko says PRIDE had the best fighters; UFC offered "unacceptable conditions" in negotiations
Sep 16, 2014 - 12:05:49 PM Fedor Emelianenko says PRIDE had the best fighters; UFC offered "unacceptable conditions" in negotiations

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"Well, the UFC didn't want me to fight there, so what could I do? We were unable to make a deal. They offered unacceptable conditions. Actually, when I fought in PRIDE, we had the best fighters in the world. Back then the UFC had a very serious and big crisis. They were going through some hard times being able to get top fighters. All the best fighters were in PRIDE.

Later on, when PRIDE ceased to exist, the UFC didn't immediately pick up speed. Currently, the UFC is a 'super organization,' in the world, probably the best. There are several top fighters in every weight category and in general it is hard to see the whole picture, I'd say. So there are some fighters whom it is interesting to watch, but the rest of them, well, it's not interesting for me."

-Fedor Emelianenko takes some shots at the UFC during an interview with Michael Schiavello on AXS TV (transcribed by David St. Martin at MMAFighting.com).

Penick's Analysis: The UFC's version of negotiations is massively different than Emelianenko's, and where the UFC says they offered him "obscene" amounts of money at the time, Emelianenko says they offered "unacceptable conditions." Well, some of the demands allegedly made by Emelianenko and M-1 were of the "unacceptable" variety as well. Regardless, it didn't come together because neither side ultimately decided to come together on anything. As for the "best fighters" angle, it's certainly the case for PRIDE in some areas, but not in all. It's disappointing Fedor never fought in the UFC, of course, but it's clear his mindset wasn't one of needing to fight there, and that played as big a part in things as anything else.