Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker is dealing with the fallout from not following the UFC’s model and offering fighters more lenient contractual terms.

“I can tell you this,” Coker told MMA Junkie Thursday about negotiations with Fighters.com top-ranked heavyweight “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1), “we’ve been having really good dialogue with M-1 Global and [M-1 Global president] Vadim Finkelchtein, and I think we’re in the final stages of buttoning everything up to make [a fight] again. I think we’ll have an announcement soon on that, but I feel very confident we’ll be promoting Fedor here in the near future.”

Sounds great, but what are Coker and Finkelchtein talking about?  Don’t they already have a contract?

Coker explained to MMA Junkie, “When I dealt with companies in Japan, it’s the same thing. You have cultural differences, and you have expectations. When expectations and the cultural differences meet with the cultural differences here and the expectations of an American company, sometimes there’s some differences, and there’s some things that we needed to button up.”

Renegotiating with a fighter after every fight is an additional hurdle the UFC doesn’t have.  White says fight and you fight, with wiggle room allowed for injuries, preparation time, personal issues, etc.  But, if you’re a healthy UFC fighter and you’re offered a fight, you fight, sometimes on very short notice.

Emelianenko and his management are notoriously difficult to deal with, which is at least half the reason Emelianenko isn’t fighting in the UFC.

Also on Coker’s plate is convincing Strikeforce heavyweight champion “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (30-11) to return to the promotion to defend his title, or not.

Coker told MMA Junkie, “We’re going to make an announcement next week, so I don’t want to say anything about [the title implications of the fight between Overeem and sixth-ranked “Grim” Brett Rogers (10-1)], but it might be something that people are not expecting.”

Hell, Overeem actually fighting might be something that people are not expecting given his preference to take weaker matchups in nations where he’s more popular.  And, I don’t begrudge him that.  MMA is a business.

However, Coker’s hassles with Emelianenko and Overeem are additional problems Strikeforce has to deal with that the UFC doesn’t.  And, it doesn’t just affect the behind the scenes portion of the business.  I know when the UFC announces a matchup I’m going to see that fight on the announced date unless there’s an injury.  Following Strikeforce is like a Hitchcock film: twists and turns and surprise endings, which isn’t necessarily what I want in an MMA promotion.

James Toney is a boxer who has had some issues in the past with steroids, weight and has been known to be quite an odd character. Him getting the chance to enter the Octagon has freak show written all over it and the battle with Strikeforce could be the reason that Dana has sunk to such a low when he usually looks down on other promotions that pull such a stunt.

Dana told Yahoo Sports writer Kevin Iole that he was told that Strikeforce had been in talks with Toney in order to negotiate a huge fight between Toney and Herschel Walker (1-0). This fight would have given Strikeforce huge numbers on CBS or even possibly on the first ever Strikeforce pay-per-view event. Allowing Scott Coker and Strikeforce to put on a fight between those two would have drawn in the traditional sports media which by and large has ignored MMA. I will be the first to admit I laughed at the thought of Walker signing with Strikeforce however the press it brought to MMA was quite amazing. ESPN was all over it only because Walker is one of the beloved heroes from one of the older traditional sports. Now this media will be forced to cover the UFC for James’ first fight inside the octagon. Former boxing champion versus MMA fighter in a battle to determine once and for all which is the best combat sport.

Mr. White has always been a fan of boxing but the sport he works in has taken a beating by the old guard of boxing. This seems to be a very credible reason for the non-exclusive contract they offered to Toney. He is allowed to box and fight inside the Octagon. The UFC had a chance to sign arguably the best MMA fighter in the world in Fighters.com top-ranked “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1) and one of the requests he made was for a non-exclusive contract so he could compete in combat Sambo. Dana White was not going to allow that because if Fedor would have suffered an injury while competing outside the Octagon it would hurt his company and the ability to promote fights that fans have wanted to see for years now.

James Toney being able to still box leads me to believe that they are setting Toney up for failure to make a point. Rumors are flying that Toney will fight Kimbo Slice (4-1) in his first fight since Kimbo was supposed to debuting on pay-per-view at UFC 113 but that fight is not on the official UFC 113 card at UFC.com. I know this would be a highly marketable fight between the street brawler king and the boxing legend so to speak but I feel like they would ruining any shot at further promoting Kimbo after this fight. He has had trouble with strikers that throw clean straight punches and that is exactly what Toney does. I would think the UFC would put Toney in against a man with good stand up, great kicks and a high level wrestling background.

No matter who Toney first faces inside the Octagon you have to wonder what this will do for the sport of MMA. With the media circus we saw surrounding Strikeforce and Herschel Walker one would have to believe that this will be great for MMA and the UFC in particular. If Toney loses his first fight Dana White can say that this goes to show why MMA is the best combat sport in the world with the most well-rounded athletes. Now if Toney were to win his debut, this could set up a much larger fight for Toney in the UFC if he did not parlay the win into a another shot at the heavyweight title on boxing. It does not matter how you look at it. I fully believe it is a freak show fight but I know that it is going to be good for MMA as a whole and thus I can’t com plain to much.

My first thought upon hearing this is that the fight makes no sense at all. Then I learned that they did not actually come out and say if this is a title fight or not. My guess is that it will not be for the title but to me the fight still makes very little sense.

I am not a fan of any organization putting a champion inside the cage to fight and that fighter’s title not being on the line. Why have the champ fight at all if you do intend for that title to be at stake? It reminds me of a move boxing used to pull.

Brett Rogers is not a guy that should be getting a title shot anyway so at least that much makes sense. I understand that many of the casual fans are not that familiar with Overeem because he last fought in the United States back in November of 2007 at the Strikeforce Tournament Series. This is a time when the organization was not at the status it is now and thus the exposure for Overeem here is very limited. So in that regard a fight with Rogers makes sense.

Many fans remember the “fits” Brett gave Fighters.com top-ranked heavyweight “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1) so they are familiar with him and his skill set. If he steps into the cage with Alistair and gets beaten to a pulp then the crowd will be clamoring for a fight between Overeem and Fedor. However what happens if Overeem gets knocked out in this fight or Rogers wins a decision? Then what do you do with your champion?

This is an issue Strikeforce must be prepared for because in MMA anything is possible.

The fight that makes sense from my perspective is to have Overeem fight Fedor right away but this will not happen as Fedor’s manager, Vadim Finkelstein, said in an interview with sports.ru.

“I personally think that Alistair Overeem did not reach the desired level to challenge Fedor. He beat a lot of no-name opponents in Mixed Martial Arts. Overeem defeated Paul Buentello and then disappeared from the United States for more than two year, which is simply ridiculous. Also, pay attention that Werdum beat Overeem when they were fighting in Pride, four years ago.”

“We do not fight for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Title. Strikeforce are our partner, and any titles whether it is UFC, Strikeforce, WAMMA, Dream… they are just medals. Fedor is above these things. We are interested in the level of our opponent and his popularity among the audience.”

While I understand the sentiment behind this, many will scream once again that Fedor is ducking opponents. I believe he has a point here as Overeem is not in the top ten of any rankings.

This is a fight I want to see even though I despise watching a champ fight and the title not being up for grabs. However, the fanboy inside me yearns to see Overeem versus Fedor as it reminds me of a fight would see in the days of Pride. Hope for the sake of Strikeforce that Overeem wins this one in exciting fashion, that is if he can past the drug test.

We should begin with the debacle that is M-1 Global and the partnership with Strikeforce. M-1 is unhappy with the current deal, going so far as to say that Strikeforce has not honored their contract with them. According to a report from Head Kick Legend citing sources inside M-1, Fighters.com top-ranked heavyweight “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1) will only fight inside a Strikeforce cage again if they sign a new contract. M-1 is looking for a partner and to have Strikeforce cards featuring Fedor to be fully co-promoted cards.

This seems like more of some strong arm tactics from the Russians. They seem to be trying to force the hand of Scott Coker and Strikeforce by saying they are shopping Fedor around.  The loss of Fedor to the organization would be a huge blow. He was one of the top head-liners for the CBS/Showtime cards. Without him they are forced to rely on third-ranked middleweight “Hendo” Dan Henderson (27-7) to pull in the numbers. It is true that Dan is more popular now than he has ever been here in the states but can he pull off getting the numbers needed for a CBS card? I doubt it.

This leaves Strikeforce with a major problem. “Conviction” Gina Carano (7-1)has not been seen since her devastating loss in the title fight. She is now filming a movie and there has been no word when we will see her back inside the cage.

Without fighters that can pull in the big numbers Strikeforce might just split apart at the seams. After all, now only do you need good gate numbers but when you have a deal with CBS/Showtime you have to give them high enough numbers to bring you back again. So who do they use? Herschel Walker (1-0) is available and it is obvious he is quite the draw but do you want to go all in with a man as old as he is and hope he does well again?

All of this plus the fact that they can’t seem to get their heavyweight champion “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (30-11) to actually come back and defend his title is a kick right square in the pants for an organization that has shown flashes of promise.

Strikeforce has a lot on it’s plate and with a big announcement coming sometime today we should be better suited to see just where this organization stands. Could it be that M-1 is like kryptonite to any organization they work with? Only time will tell

M-1 Global officials apparently announced the change at an M-1 Selection Eastern European press conference Thursday.  M-1 Global is Emelianenko’s management company.  Strikeforce has not confirmed the change.

Yesterday Fighters.com reported that Strikeforce was considering Nashville for their April event, which has long been pegged to air on CBS.  However, Emelianenko’s contract mandates his fights be aired on CBS.  So, it’s likely the April event will be moved to CBS cable affiliate Showtime.

It’s also now unclear whether the matchup between Strikeforce light heavyweight champion “Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi (24-2-1) and “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal (4-0) will occur in April or May.  Mousasi has indicated he’ll only fight when Emelianenko fights, but it’s unclear whether that’s a contractual mandate or merely his desire.

The move of the Emelianenko-Werdum matchup to May also potentially allows Strikeforce heavyweight champion “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (29-10) to defend his title on the same card.  Overeem had stated he couldn’t fight for Strikeforce until May.

Emelianenko will likely fight ninth-ranked “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (12-4-1) .  Also likely is a matchup between Strikeforce light heavyweight champion “Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi (24-2-1) and “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal (4-0).  And, second-ranked Strikeforce middlweight champion Jake Shields (24-4-1) announced Tuesday at MMA Weekly that he’ll take on a challenge from third-ranked “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (25-7).

Shields also told MMA Weekly he knows the date and the venue, but wouldn’t elaborate.

Sports Illustrated has alternatively reported that Strikeforce is considering holding the CBS-broadcast event on April 24 in California.

Pride FC was a Japanese MMA organization that began in October of 1997 and ran until April of 2007 when Zuffa bought them out. There were some differences in rules from the UFC as well as the fights taking place in a ring rather than a cage. The difference in rules from the Unified Rules were significant.

Pride did not allow elbow strikes to the head of an opponent. Many think that this would have an effect on the numbers of fights that were finished in devastating fashion but that could not be further from the truth. They had a rule or two that led to some of the most devastating finishes in the sport. They allowed kicking and kneeing the head of a downed opponent. They also allowed what I call the Shogun Stomp to the head of an opponent. This move seemed to be perfected by Fighters.com third-ranked light heavyweight “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (18-4) who used it as a guard pass that just happened to be quite caustic.

Many Pride fans still debate which rules were better for the sport of MMA. They debate seems to revolve around fights ending due to cuts from elbows which can happen even if a fighter is winning the fight.

Fights in Pride seemed to never be dull and that may be due to the rule of inactivity. If fighters failed to engage they got a yellow card issued by the ref which took away ten percent of their fight purse.

Some of my fondest memories from Pride come from fights such as “Predator” Don Frye (20-8-1) versus Yoshiro Takayama (0-4) which was less of a technical fight and more of a raw and gritty battle that had me glued to the television in awe of what I was watching. These two men met in the middle of the ring at Pride 21: Demolition in what turned out to be more like a hockey fight than a mixed martial arts fight, none the less it was amazing.

There are many great fights that I remember from Pride and the for those that are unfamiliar with the now defunct organization I will list a few here:

“Shogun” Mauricio Rua versus “Minotoro” Antonio Nogueira at Pride: Critical Countdown 2005

Royce Gracie verus “The Gracie Hunter” Kazushi Sakauraba at Pride: Grand Prix 2000 Final Round

‘The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko versus”Minotauro” Antonio  Nogueria at both Pride 25: Body Blow and Pride: Shockwave 2004

Takanori Gomi versus Luiz Azeredo at Pride: Bushido 7

This is a small list and I could go on forever including men like Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop but these are the ones that stand out to me. What fights stand out to you as the best Pride had to offer?

When you look back on an organization that hardcore MMA fans look upon as the holy grail in the sport what comes to mind first? The different rules, the crazy female announcer or the epic wars? No matter what Spike TV is bringing back those fond memories and I am eating it up.

You can join me and my co-host, Gary Friedman, on MMA Gospel Radio each Wednesday from 8-10 PM EST by going to www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel. Join in the live chat and tell us your favorite Pride memories or call in to the show by dialing 347-857-1337 and tell us on air what stand out in your mind.

Business Week ranked Emelianenko the 82nd most powerful athlete in the world in their annual Power 100 rankings and Lesnar came in at 96.

Most would assume Lesnar would rank higher than Emelianenko.  Lesnar has been a bankable star since debuting in the WWE in 2002.  His title fight versus third-ranked Frank Mir (13-4) at UFC 100 in Las Vegas last July attracted the largest number of pay per view buys in UFC history.

Neither fighter’s total earnings is known, but Lesnar is sponsored by Wildlife, Jack Links, and Dymatize Nutrition while Emelianenko has no key sponsors.

However, fight performace was taken into account by Business Week to project future earnings.  Lesnar lost his UFC debut to Mir at UFC 81 in Las Vegas in 2008 and, at the time the rankings were being created, Lesnar future in MMA was questionable after a bout with  diverticulitis.

Emelianenko is certainly a better bet to continue winning, but, if Lesnar had been healthy while Business Week projected his earning ability, would he have outranked Emelianenko?  Now that Lesnar has announced he’s healthy and will return, should he outrank Emelianenko?

Remember, the Power 100 is a ranking of ability to earn money, not whose a better fighter.  While North America isn’t the only large MMA market in the world, Emelianenko’s inability to speak English severely limits his ability to attract sponsors in this very large market.  While already the biggest name in American MMA, Lesnar has a higher ceiling of marketability worldwide than Emelianenko’s ceiling in North America due to language and, let’s be honest, his aloof demeanor.

Emelianenko’s advantage is his earning power not being entirely determined by Strikeforce’s success, while Lesnar will likely go the way the UFC goes.

However, there’s every likelihood the UFC will continue to grow both in North America and worldwide, so doesn’t it seem like Lesnar has higher earning power than Emelianenko?

Martial arts have always revolved around respect and has been the selling point for may parents who enroll their children in arts such as karate, tae kwon do or jiu jitsu. It was no surprise to me when I watched the sport of MMA start to blossom that we witnessed the same respect seen in dojos around the world. Now the sport is pushing to become more main stream and with that push we are watching respect for ones fellow combatant slowly begin to degrade and I have to wonder why this is the case.

MMA, in it’s push to become a top tier sport, needs to ride high on the back’s of it’s best athletes. Fighters such as Fighters.com and UFC welterweight champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (19-2), middleweight champion Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4), lightweight champion “The Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-5-1) and Fighters.com top-ranked heavyweight “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1). These men are the elite in MMA and as such must carry the burden of being the face of the sport. Ambassadors to the general public as well as to the people in charge of legalizing the sport in those states that are still behind the times. People all across the country are watching and some tune-in to find out what all the fuss is about.

When a fighter such as UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar (4-1) acts more like a clown after a win like he did at UFC 100, it causes some to tune out and others to feel they were right to not support something like what they just witnessed. After beating Fighters.com third-ranked heavyweight Frank Mir (13-4) Lesnar decided to run around the Octagon and flip off the crowd in attendance at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. He got in the face of Mir as Mir was being attended to by his corner and the ringside physicians. Then after all of this he decided to blast the UFC’s main sponsor of the night, Bud Light, and talk about climbing on top of his wife. Exactly what I expected from a former pro wrestler but not what we expect to see in MMA. Yes, it is cage fighting but it has become it’s own martial art and should be respected.

I understand that fighters need to market themselves to sell fights and some take the role as villain in these pre-fight interviews we so often see. However, many of these men admit to doing just that, selling a fight. Once the fight is over these men can often be seen congratulating one another and showing much respect for the person they just went to war with inside the Octagon. Some fighters believe that your last fight should be all that is needed to sell your next fight and I tend to agree but I also see the value in whipping up a war of words. The war of words and the role of villain should end once they step inside and are prepared to fight.

Touching gloves is a pre-fight ritual that is a show of respect. It is something we see often in boxing, muay thai and other combat sports. This is where all the pre-fight banter should come to an and end. A majority of the time it does but on those rare occasions two men enter who just do not like one another and thus we do not see the touching of gloves. What I would like to point out is that during these rare fights, at the end we see them shake hands and congratulate one another. It ends there and nothing further is needed to be said. This is respect and the actions of Fighters.com second-ranked “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-4) at DREAM’s New Year’s Eve event, DYNAMITE 2009 was a complete lack of not only respect but class.

After breaking the arm of Mizuto Hirota (9-3) he then decided to channel his inner Lesnar and flip off Hirota and the entire audience. The breaking of one’s limb can occur in MMA when the pride of one fighter gets in the way of him tapping out. I do not think Aoki is the only one at fault for what happened as the ref should have stepped in and stopped the fight. It was the actions afterward that brought the negative attention once again to our great sport.

If MMA is to truly become a main stream sport we need ensure fighters get back to showing respect for one another post-fight rather than showing a complete lack of respect for the other fighter, the fans and the sport. This is not pro wrestling and if this decline continues the critics will continue to associate the sport with just that.

Both seventh-ranked Shane Carwin (10-0) and unranked Cain Velasquez (7-0) have been hyped as top contenders ahead of dos Santos primarily because Carwin is all-American and Velasquez is Mexican-American, two key UFC demographics.  Dos Santos has a better record than both Carwin and Velasquez over the last two years and with every bit as exciting finishes as either.  But, dos Santos has been underhyped also because Nogueira is both still a contender and a big draw.  Only one of them can be marketed as a potential contender at a time because they won’t fight each other, and Nogueira is the bigger name.

But, Fighters.com thinks dos Santos’s time gaining experience versus quality opponents like Yvel and “Cro Cop” Mirko Filipovic (23-6-2) will benefit him in the long run more than being rushed to a title shot like Carwin and Velasquez have been.

In boxing, prospects take a long road to a title shot, building their record and experiences on the path.  They beat power punchers, technical fighters, European stylists, pressure fighters, brawlers, and every look they can get while gradually increasing their level of competition.  They might even lose a fight or two along the way and good fighters will learn from those losses as much as from their wins.  By the time they fight for a title, if they’re management has served them well, they’ve seen it all and are confident going into their first title challenge.

In MMA, prospects are often rushed through the ranks and granted title shots because they’re getting a lot of hype or are marketable, not necessarily because they’re ready physically and mentally.

However, because dos Santos’s rise through the ranks has been limited by his teacher’s contendership, he’s earning an eventual title shot the old fashioned way.  And, he’ll benefit from that in the long run.

Just in the UFC, he’s beaten a world-class submission grappler and certified top ten heavyweight ninth-ranked “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1), a 6′11″ young thoroughbred “SkySkraper” Stefan Struve (23-3), an MMA legend and patient kickboxer Filipovic, and now a intimidating, wild kickboxer in Yvel.  Dos Santos also has one loss under his belt, a 2007 armbar submission to Joaquim Ferreira (3-3).

Dos Santos is already a top contender, though you wouldn’t know it in the UFC’s marketing.  However, when his time finally comes, he’s going to have the skills, experiences, and seasoning to be a long-serving champion.

Fighters.com January Heavyweight Rankings

1. “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1)

2. Brock Lesnar (4-1)

3. Frank Mir (13-4)

4. “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1)

5. “Cigano” Junior dos Santos (10-1)

6. “Grim” Brett Rogers (10-1)

7. Shane Carwin (10-0)

8. “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5)

9. “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1)

10. “The Natural” Randy Couture (17-10)