Friday was one of those days.
You know, the kind where things are constantly changing and you’re just trying to keep up.
In the media, it goes something like this.
Early in the day, I wondered if and when Affliction was going to finally announce a replacement for Josh Barnett in the championship bout vs. Fedor Emelianenko for the main event of its upcoming show.
I was really interested to see if it was going to be a suitable opponent, assuming they were able to find one at all who was ready to step up on short notice. Vitor Belfort seemed like a great option, and I couldn’t see why it hadn’t become official yet.
An announcement early Friday gave us a hint on that note, when the news broke that not only would Affliction not be putting on that fight, but it was cancelling the event entirely.
Okay, I’m thinking, it’s time for a blog about how we’re going to have to wait even longer now to see the much-criticized Emelianenko face a top-calibre opponent again, furthering the question as to how he can be considered the best in the world when he hasn’t fought anyone of consequence for some time.
Then later we learn that Affliction was returning to the UFC as a sponsor, which obviously means there won’t be anymore Affliction events, ever.
Which means Emelianenko vs. Brock Lesnar is closer than we thought.
Okay, so the blog will have to change a bit. Now it will have to be about the anticipation for potentially one of the biggest fights in the history of MMA and speculation on who would have the upper hand (Right now, I'd say Fedor's experience gives him the edge. But Brock just keeps getting better with every day of training he puts in).
But wait, even more news.
Dana White tweets: "welcome back Tito."
That can only mean one thing, right? The UFC has signed him.
Okay, the blog will have to change again. Now it’s about how everything—and everyone –all comes back to the UFC.
Not so fast.
I listen to White on ESPN radio, and he won’t confirm the Ortiz signing.
"I don’t know," he says. "It’s a possibility."
Come on Dana, why are you stringing us along?
Apparently he had a big smile on his face when he answered the question, suggesting he was simply being coy. But it’s radio, we can’t see that!
He also wouldn’t divulge a timeframe for a Fedor signing, only giving us what he always says: "We’re working on it."
See, just because Affliction has folded as an MMA promotion—essentially a condition of joining the UFC as a sponsor—that doesn’t mean the UFC will automatically inherit its fighter contracts, especially that of Fedor, who is managed by M-1 and was only with Affliction on a fight-by-fight basis.
But at least now, the Russian superstar has one less alternative to the UFC.
I’m not saying he’s been avoiding the big show and its top-level talent. As much as White might think so, I don’t believe he’s scared of the challenge. He just wants something more than what the UFC offers, make that, demands.
Essentially, he doesn’t want to be tied to one organization. That’s his decision and his right. And with the background and resume he has, it’s hard to say he hasn’t earned it.
But back to the radio program. White said his usual piece about Fedor:
"It drives me crazy that people put him (as) the best pound-for-pound (in the world). To me, you have to consistently fight the best in the world."
The thing is, at one point in his career, Fedor was. And he was beating every one of them. Consider the men he beat, in the prime of their careers: Ricardo Arona, Renato Sobral, Heath Herring, Mark Coleman (twice), Minotauro Nogueira (twice) and Cro Cop, among others.
For goodness sake, his only loss in 30-plus fights was because of a cut.
People can argue he hasn’t faced anyone of consequence since he beat Coleman in 2006 for the second time.
That may be true, but it’s not his fault the organization that has the only competition you think will give him a challenge won’t give him non-exclusivity.
When he signed with M-1, and subsequently Affliction, I’m sure he thought he’d be offered some tough fights. And even if you don’t consider what Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski brought to the table against him much of a challenge (I would agree) he still showed why he has the "best in the world" tag by putting them down in efficient fashion.
The good news is White was a little more specific about the UFC’s plans for Emelianenko.
He said that if and when they sign him, his first fight will be for title (against Lesnar, assuming he’s still the champion when it happens).
I loved White’s response to the question about why they wouldn’t require Emelianenko first win a debut fight in the Octagon before getting a title shot.
"Apparently he's the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world," White said. "What does he need, a tune-up first?"
Good point.
He’s had plenty of "tune-ups" over the past three years.
Later on in the program Rashad Evans was a guest, and he posed this question:
"If you've got what it takes, why wouldn't you want to be in this organization?"
Well, if you get a better offer elsewhere, that would be a reason.
Let’s just hope that at this point, there won’t be one for Mr. Emelianenko.
