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By Joe Ferraro
Every so often, during my beloved morning routine, I get a strange sensation that I’m about to read something that raises an eyebrow to the point, where I feel like “The Rock” from his WWE days. Today is one of those days.My goal this morning was to speak about last night’s “Impact FC: Uprising 2″ results from Sydney, Australia, especially after reading Sherdog.com’s Jordan Breen’s twitter updates about what was going down, in the land down under. From Paulo Filho refusing to cover his privates during the re-weigh in, to his split decision with Denis Kang, the show seemed eventful enough to discuss here, but alas, there is a few other items that come to mind.
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, a man who has been in this business for a very long time, as me taking a double take with some of his most recent statements.
While most of the MMA world is hoping for a rematch between Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum, Mr. Coker doesn’t agree.
Fedor wants it. Werdum wants it. But now with Werdum out (due to injury) until 2011, Coker must make the tough decision as to who to match “The Last Emperor” up against, for the final fight of his contract. At first, the promoter took heat when word leaked he was going to offer Fedor a title shot vs champion Alistair Overeem. A strange decision from a match making perspective, but if Fedor signs a new contract which defines the “champion’s clause”, then this route is one I have no issues with. Let’s face it, from Strikeforce’s perspective, this is a business, and locking in your number one ratings draw (i.e. Fedor) is good business.
But, in a recent interview, Coker stated that a proposed bout between Fedor and “The Reem”, doesn’t necessarily have to be a for a title fight and that it can just be a non-title affair.
Either Coker knows something we don’t (and I’m betting he does) or there is something very strange going on here. While I’ve maintained that Fedor will likely never sign with the UFC, I can’t help but think that perhaps, after the loss to Werdum, he and his team know that to preserve his legacy, he should make the move to the big show. If their cultural belief remains and they continue to stand firm with their negotiating points, knowing full well that they just won’t join the Ultimate Fighting Championship, it’s Coker, who, while making these seemingly strange statements, is the one who is going to have the last laugh.
On the surface, a lot of what is going on here does not make sense, but if you peel back the layers of the Strikeforce onion, at the core, I wonder if there truly is some method to the madness.
Misc MMA News and Notes
• Good news for UFC Light Heavyweight Rich Franklin, who recently had the pink cast removed from his arm. Looks like “Ace” will not require surgery and may return in December. In the meantime, the cast, signed by Chuck Liddell (who broke his arm), as well as Franklin, is going to be raffled off to raise funds for cancer research.
• The recent blind side from politicians in the state of NY, who recently pulled the plug on MMA legalization, caught UFC President Dana White by surprise. When I spoke to Marc Ratner, VP of Regulatory Affairs for the UFC, he said he had a sense it was coming all along. For a different perspective of what also may need to get done in The Empire State, check out this transcript and radio interview.
• Former UFC welterweight Yoshiyuki Yoshida has signed on with Bellator FC, and will face off against Dan Hornbuckle on August 19th
• Grappling Phenom, Robert Drysdale was successful in his MMA debut, defeating Bastien Huveneers via side choke at AFC 3. Other notable winners included Kalib Starnes in the main event, as well as highly touted light heavyweight prospect Misha Cirkunov.
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