Strikeforce
M-1 Global says no hang-ups on their part for Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson fight happening this summer
Apr 27, 2011 - 11:30:30 AM M-1 Global says no hang-ups on their part for Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson fight happening this summer

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

If there are any hang-ups in negotiations for a summer fight between Dan Henderson and Fedor Emelianenko, M-1 Global says it's not coming from them. A reported conflict with the fight was just weight the fight would be contested at, with Emelianenko reportedly wanting a 220 lb. catchweight and Henderson wanting a heavyweight fight; however, M-1 Global's director of operations Evgeni Kogan, in comments made to Sherdog.com, says that's not a hang up at all.

"Fedor and M-1 have previously agreed to the fight with Dan Henderson at heavyweight," Kogan said.

The other perceived issue was negotiations on whether the fight would be broadcast on Showtime or on pay-per-view, as it was reported earlier this month that Zuffa was targeting late July to put Strikeforce on pay-per-view for the first time. Once again, Kogan says they're not holding anything up.

"There have been no hang-ups from M-1 in any of these matters,” said Kogan. "We've agreed that this bout would take place in mid-summer and have been equally clear on our acceptance of the fight being either a Showtime event or a Showtime pay-per-view."

"No special terms have been requested for the fight. Communication and discussions have been normal and we're now waiting for the go-ahead, [after] which Fedor will begin his focused training camp, some of which has already been planned to take place in the Netherlands."

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Penick's Analysis: If what Kogan is saying is true, then who knows what is holding up this fight from being agreed upon fully and signed. Scott Coker said last week that there were a number of little things that needed to be worked out, and perhaps they're still waiting to see what type of card they can put together for this event to decide whether they will actually move to pay-per-view or not. This is a very good fight for both fighters that should happen next, though, so whatever still needs to be figured out will likely be figured out over the next few weeks and we should see this fight in some capacity in July.