You really can't blame anyone here. The UFC will never co-promote, that is just the way they do business. M1 won't allow Fedor to fight without a co-promotion, and that is the way they run there business. Just like the UFC wont bend there rules, neither will M1.

I completely agree Mark and I'll even take it a controversial step farther. I now believe that Fedor is SCARED to fight Lesnar. I think he saw what he did to Mir and wants absolutely no parts of it. Kindof smacks of Roy Jones always being said to be so fantastic in his hay-day without really fighting anyone spectacular and then once he did, he was too old and eroded to compete. I admittedly have seen nothing of Fedor, but it's hard to believe all the hype when he seems to be ducking Lesnar. Hey, I understand...Lesnar's dangerous. If anyone could kill someone in the ring, it'd be him. I was worried about Mir for a little bit in that fight. It's a shame though, I sure would've loved to have seen if they Fedor hype was for real!

Watch some of Fedor's other material before you stick to hard to your guns on that theory. Fedor has taken down in relatively short order more experienced, larger fighters than Lesnar. Lesnar's big, he's quick, but at the end of the day, he's dumb. His basic strategy seems to be lay on top of the guy and swing. If that doesn't work, sit there until you have a chance to make it work. He had no business getting a title shot as early as he did and the fact that the UFC has a heavyweight champion with a whopping 5 fights under his belt (one of them a loss), is laughable. Fedor's record speaks for itself. The man's got nothing to prove, Lesnar does. Let Lesnar get to 30-1 against the caliber of fighters Fedor's fought and then we'll talk about Fedor being "scared" to fight him. The reason this fight isn't going to happen any time soon is Dana White's got more ego than common sense and won't agree to co-promote the event.

"Fedor isn’t worth the money the UFC is throwing at him. He’s not a pay-per-view draw and he certainly doesn’t deserve the biggest contract in the company."

This is another, great example of an American who writes such ludicrous, ignorant articles. As an American myself, it takes one to know a fellow one - but an ignorant one - who probably hasnt travelled abroad...much less but more importantly live abroad. Kelly, have you ever been to a pride fight? Ever heard the well known quote "UFC may have the most fighters, but Pride had the best."? Have you noticed the ratings transformation since UFC absorbed Pride? LOLOL. Are you in denial? Watching Pride fighters in UFC is analagous to Formula 1 drivers who "retire" into NASCAR, and yet place in the top 5 in almost all the races.

Do you get a remote understanding at what Im getting at here lol? I've seen more of the world than you might in your lifetime, and despite not being an MMA fighter I've developed the common sense to know the simple truth : MMA DID NOT START IN THE U.S. Fighters all over the world have been displaying their artistic kraft for decades before Dana White came in at the right place at the right time in the U.S. Even Dana will acknowledge : UFC roots came from...ahem. LOL. You can research that yourself.

Getting to the point: Simple. Fedor is to the MMA what a young, brutal Tyson was to the heavyweight division in boxing. Differences: Fedor is far more mature, disciplined, and frankly...humble. Oh yeah, which means he hasn't been exploited by the capitalistic, soul-less promotions like UFC. At least not yet. So, dont hide under your insecurities by criticizing the best fighter out there. Everyone knows..including that big, dumb ox called Lesnar. Wait and see what happens to that singe-digit IQ neanderthal when he fights a legend...Nogueira. Fedor rearranged Nogueira's face in his own country, but still couldnt knock him out. You think Lesnar has a chance against Fedor? UFC sweats Fedor, MMA fans in the U.S. sweat Fedor. The rest of the world...they're comfortable with the truth for quite some time now. Dana should let Fedor have what he wants. He'll end up getting something more valuable than any monetary or commercial benefit. RESPECT among the best in the world MMA has shown.

Nicholas - I hope your kidding about Fedor being afraid of Lesnar, also Fedor is no Frank Mir. You need to educate yourself on Fedor and his accomplishments, before you can accuse him of being afraid.

@NIcholas Sadaka - Fedor is the real deal, no doubt about it. While a victory over Lesnar wouldn't have been a certainty, Fedor would have entered that match a slight favorite.

I definitely do not think that Fedor is ducking Lesnar, or anyone else in the UFC, for that matter. I just think his management team does not have Fedor's best interest in mind when trying to secure deals. Even Fedor's brother criticized Fedor's management team.

I feel the worse part of this is that Fedor will have really hurt some of his most loyal fans. For years, these fans and true MMA fans, have been telling casual MMA fans and people who only know of the UFC, how unbelievably good he is. After UFC 100 (Lesnar's dominant win) and the demise of Affliction, it was truly the perfect time for Fedor to join the UFC (who offered great terms) and prove his legacy as the best heavyweight ever. Instead, he's joined Strikeforce and his fans are angry. What a shame.

Fedor is SCARED to fight Lesnar. I agree... I REALLY hope that brett rodgers beats the crap out of him like he did to the other Russin with the scarey mouthpiece.

Let strikeforce have him... It would be nice to see Lesnar vs. Fedor, but fedor is unrealistic.

What does the UFC need with M-1 Gobal? Nothing!!! The can promote their own fights.

Fedor will go down in the history books as being afraid of the UFC's competition.

The only MMA fights I would pay to watch are Fedor-Lesnar and GSP-Anderson Silva.

But I'm just a casual fan at best, so I can only assume Dana White isn't interested in courting people like me.

absolutely, jus shows Fedor would rather fight EX-champions and fighters not in their prime or on the top 5 ranked heavyweights right now, Fedor is a true coward in my eyes for not accepting to fight the best fighters in the world and thats in the UFC, Dana White gave in to all his demads shy of co-promoting which is such a slap to the face, id would call the cops on M-1 Global for using Fedor to steal half of the business, very greedy and definitely not worth the money, Fedor is a joke

Nicholas that's crazy talk. Fedor is not hype he's the best fighter in the world with a much longer track record than Lesnar. If he was scared of anybody he wouldn't have agreed to fight Josh Barnett the #2 ranked heavyweight in the world.

Mark, any chance the UFC goes after Barnett despite his screw ups?

Sorry Mr. Sadaka, I think you are mistaken. Fedor is not afraid of Lesnar. He is arguably the best all around fighter on the planet. He has beaten bigger men with much more all around skill than Lesnar. Lesnar cannot stand with Fedor, and with Fedor's world class Sambo, no contest.

There is no way that UFC will go after Barnett. I am sure they paid him to purposely test positive for steriods, just to watch Affliction fold. I also remember Dana White calling Josh "A meaty-breasted fag" lol. I am still in shock Fedor turned that offer down. M-1 needs to get over themselves and let the man fight the best.

I have been watching MMA since UFC 3 and have watched everyone since, almost all of the pride events and K1. You can almost say I have an obsession lol. But I have never seen an athlete and performer like Feder. He is not scared of Lesner and has no reason to be. Either he will win or lose, thats what it is. M1 is what is holding him back but you have to remember he also owns a portion and M1 is an investment to him. If you dont know about Feder I recommend watching a documentry on Youtube called Feder the baddest man on the planet. Very imformative and will show his skill sets and mindset. Lesner is good but like other people have posted, he is not a proven champion at 4-1 or whatever his record is. I respect them both as fighters though and it would be the fight of the century possibly.

Lol Fedor I meant. Watched a lil too much tennis this weekend!