Why Fedor will go to StrikeForce

If you're like me then you're probably wondering what Fedor is going to do next now that Affliction went down.However ,  if you're mature enough to just wait and see how things fold without trying to guess what will happen then you can stop reading (and seriously , what are you going in the mma community anyway this is what we like to do..).

I am going to completely rule out that Fedor will fight in Japan . Yes , the Japanese fans know him and some of them like him (Fedor was actually much less liked than Cro Cop and possibly even Barnett and Nogueira) , but we all sense that in the last phase of his career Fedor and his management are trying to break into the american market which is now the biggest in the world .

Therefore , only two options remains - the UFC and StrikeForce .

What hasn't been said already about Fedor fighting in the UFC - how many tears were shed and angry words written?  Some like to blame Dana White and his arrogant and disrespectful way of negotiating with a fighter who should get the respect of a handful of champions . Others would blame Fedor's management and their perpetual demand for co-promotion . I don't think there are 'good guys' and 'bad guys' in this story , just people trying to promote their interests the best they can . Fedor is tied to M-1 by ways of friendship (to longtime friend and business associate Vadim Finkelschtein) and by financial interests . I don't know the exact details but I can only guess that Fedor has some shares in M-1 and probably sees his future in M-1 as a promoter when he finally retires . Therefore one can conclude that Fedor's relationship with M-1 is very important to him and of course to M-1 who other than Mousasi don't own any star-caliber fighters . Fedor , almost entirely by himself made M-1's name if not famous then at least semi-known in the mma world . That is why the co-promotion demand is perpetual and one can esaily understand why M-1 insists on it - without Fedor they will go many steps back as a promotion . The only thing that can make M-1 (and Fedor) yield is serious , serious money - which I doubt the UFC will be willing to pay .

Another important factor we need to keep in mind is that in the UFC Fedor will be 'unprotected' - he may lose to Brock , and then get another tough fight (Shane Carwin for example) and lose that one too - and in the harsh reality of mma fighting he's now 'washed up'  (much like what happened to Cro Cop). After milking the money on the Brock-Fedor fight , the UFC will just use Fedor as they see fit . In M-1 however , Fedor will be protected - case he loses a fight rest assured he will get an easy opponent after the loss. This is very critical for a fighter's market value and career.

So why StrikeForce ? Rumors have it that StrikeForce offers Fedor between 500-700 a fight and complete freedom of co-promotion and fighting anywhere he wants . If the rumors are true StrikeForce is very serious and the initial money offer can only climb and climb in negotiatons . The UFC will never want to co-promote for obvious reasons , and in terms of compensating M-1 they will be willing to go only that far. Dana will probably try to give StrikeForce a fight but will eventually "lose" because of the co-promotion issue. And lets keep in mind that Fedor still has at least two more years of fighting (if he wants it) . He can always re-negotiate with the UFC , only that then probably as the  StrikeForce champion and much more familiar to american audience . We might see Fedor ending his career in the UFC when he exhausted all other options and when M-1 knows they can bank the final and best payday out of him . But until then - we might enjoy watching Fedor fighting Overeem , Werdum or Rogers on american T.V ...not that bad in my humble opinion.