Time to Tell The Emporer He Has No Clothes

We’ve created a monster!

Today, ProElite Live Events President Gary Shaw confirmed, “[Two-million dollars per fight] is what [Fedor Emelianenko (27-1)] asked for on several meetings.”

The news comes on the heels of M-1 Global’s release of Emelianenko, after which former M-1 Global CEO Monte Cox told MMA Weekly, “It would not have been profitable to move forward with Emelianenko under the current situation.”

April begins the thirty-second month since Emelianenko has risked his chops versus a top ten ranked heavyweight mixed martial artist.

The Russian has fought just once in the Red, White, and Blue, and broke no PPV records for PRIDE 32.

Yet, Emelianenko and his management have determined he’s worth four times more than the next most lucrative MMA contract known.  (”Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-5) reportedly makes $500,000 per scrap, win, lose, or draw.)

I’ve confirmed with a reliable source that ProElite is offering Emelianenko $300,000 for his first fight and $400,000 for each fight thereafter if Emelianenko wins the fight before, in addition to a PPV bonus for the final two fights of a proposed four-fight deal.

How can Emelianenko’s request be so far from ProElite’s offer, assuming ProElite is serious about signing Emelianenko?

It’s our fault.  If Emelianenko never fights another legitimate contender, it’s the fault of blind allegiance and nostalgia among long-time MMA fans.

Despite his lack of competition in two-and-a-half years, two popular MMA websites, Sherdog and MMA Weekly, continue to rank Emelianenko atop the field.

Even the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts, the self-appointed objective mediator of MMA, ranks Emelianenko first among heavies.

I used to contribute to the rankings of a popular mixed martial arts website that continued to rank Emelianenko first in his division as the fighter fell lower on the rankings I submitted.

After “Cro Cop” Mirko Filipovic (23-6-2), Emelianenko’s last ranked “W”, got mauled in Manchester by then-unranked “Napao” Gabriel Gonzaga (8-3), I dropped Emelianenko as low as seventh.

When that website’s rankings were revealed that month, Emelianenko still topped the mountain of heavyweights.

I pointed out to the editor, “I know how many people are ranking besides me.  I ranked Emelianenko seventh.  Even if everyone else ranked him first, my seventh place ranking would’ve dropped him from the cumulative rankings’ top spot.”

I wasn’t asked to contribute to the next month’s rankings…

UFC President Dan White has claimed, “[Emelianenko] is not even top five.”

He’s almost right!  I rank him fifth.  Anything higher is unfair to the top heavyweights regularly testing their medal against other top heavyweights.

If rankings were a prediction of what might happen in match-ups, Emelianenko would rank first because I think he’s that talented.  Rankings, however, reflect what has happened with a predilection towards the most recent.

His last outing versus “Techno Goliath” Hong Man Choi (1-1) proved that no matter how freakishly large a kickboxer stands, he’s outmatched on the ground versus a sambo champion.  Fine, and Emelianenko has no obligation to cater to objective MMA enthusiasts; but, neither do we have to continue ranking him atop the division with no empirical evidence.

However, the world of dollars is much more objective than that of MMA rankings.

Emelianenko’s management has an obligation to drain every dollar out of a potential deal for Emelianenko; but, they also have the obligation of protecting their fighter’s legacy.

No one will pay $2 million per fight for Emelianenko because, as Cox explained, the money isn’t there.

The hype is!  But, even among Emelianenko stalwarts, the innate desire to see Emelianenko fight a serious fight is beginning to bleed a bit of objectivity onto their brains.

The time has come to kill the monster we’ve created and encourage Emelianenko to sign a reasonable contract to fight top competition.

If Emelianenko chooses to spend his remaining years wrestling circus freaks, that’s his decision; but, that’s not quality MMA and not worthy of our attention as writers, fighters, and fans.