UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta was recently asked about Fedor Emelianenko and his association with Affliction. Fertitta had this to say:
"Right now Fedor's with a small promotion in America called Affliction, which is really irrelevant. We have the best fighters. And Fedor's career -- he needs to fight in the UFC. He's out there saying he's the best fighter. Well, let's come in and test it. His career is irrelevant if he never fights in the UFC."
Fedor Emelianenko doesn't seem like the kind of guy to back down from a fight, so I'm curious to see if this will bring about a UFC/Affliction match like Randy Couture vs. Fedor. If Fertitta is trying to egg Fedor into signing with UFC this is probably the wrong way to ago around it.
A long-anticipated fight between UFC’s Randy Couture and Affliction’s Fedor Emelianenko may actually happen! It was believed that such a fight would be prevented by Fedor’s contracts with Affliction and M-1, but M-1’s Joost Raimond recently said that Fedor’s contract would NOT stand in the way.
"The contracts that Fedor has at this point in time would allow for such a fight to take place, and specifically the Randy fight,” said Raimond, “so we’re free to make that happen if the opportunity presents itself.”
While this means there is one less obstacle blocking the fight ticket, Affliction still has be dealt with. They are probably the biggest roadblock in a Fedor vs. Randy Couture matchup.