As if the Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (21-4-2) signing wasn't big enough, UFC fans were drooling over the prospect of Fedor Emelianenko (25-1) following suit sometime this year.
Unfortunately, it won't happen any time in the "foreseeable future," according to a report from MMAWeekly.com.
Here's a snip:
... Pride Fighting Championships have come to an agreement on terms of a contract extension that will keep the promotion's heavyweight champion [Fedor] on their roster ... details of the contract were not disclosed.... It is not yet known whether Fedor's contract extension with Pride is a multi-fight contract extension, or whether it's the latest in a series of one-fight contracts that Fedor has signed with the Japanese promotion.
This announcement comes on the heels of public comments from Dana White that the UFC was pursuing the Russian. How intense that pursuit was will probably never be revealed, but it was obviously not enough.
While not the best news to report, it certainly doesn't come as a huge surprise.
Fortunately, the free agent acquisitions of Cro Cop and Heath Herring (26-11) have injected some spice into the once lackluster division, which should hopefully fuel the next big announcement.
Fedor's half-brother, Aleksander (9-3), would be a nice one.
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