With the death of Affliction, the fourth major MMA promotion to go out of business with Fedor Emelianenko as one of the top attractions (RINGS, PRIDE, and BoDog were the others), the Russian who is widely considered the top fighter in the world is looking for a new home.  He is negotiating with the Japanese, with Strikeforce, and most notably, with the UFC.
 
Yesterday the UFC floated information out to one of their media contacts Carmichael Dave, a California-based radio host close to Dana White, about the staggering offer the Russian contingent had turned down.  The deal, according to Dave, included a guaranteed $5 million a fight for six fights, a whopping $30 million guaranteed, plus a cut of the PPV revenue.  This offer would have been, by far, the largest ever presented to a UFC fighter.  It would throw the salary scale completely out of whack, as other fighters who have proven they can draw fans and dollars at the box office would demand similar or better contracts.
 
According to sources close to the negotiations, the actual offer was not nearly so generous.  The numbers being floated there are a little misleading. "The UFC's offer of $30 million over six fights isn't a guarantee," a source close to emelianenko said. " The number is based on Zuffa's projections of what Fedor's take of the PPV money would be, and the numbers they are projecting are based on selling a ton of PPV's."
 
The actual guarantee for Fedor is much more modest. It's true that if business stays at record levels Fedor could walk away with more money than any fighter in MMA history, but sources say the offer included a guarantee that was less than what Fedor made in Affliction.  The contract was also only for three fights, not the reported six.  Many in the UFC were uncomfortable even with this, the largest guarantee they have made in their history.  Company insiders expressed concerns about Fedor's doughy physique, his inability to speak English, and the difficulty of working with his management team.  Still, these insiders say that Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta are absolutely obsessed with getting Fedor in the company.
 
"They sometimes let their heart control their brain," an insider said.  "It's like when they paid too much for PRIDE.  It makes them crazy that they don't have this guy in the company."
If the UFC is able to sign Fedor, they plan to market him harder than any fighter they've ever had.  "We will have to," a source said.  "We can't afford not to.  His contract would make sure we did a Countdown special and pull out all our tricks."
 
Fedor's management team is apparently hung up on two major issues.  The first is the lack of guaranteed money upfront.  The UFC prefers to pay fighters with a cut of the PPV profits.  The UFC typically makes about $20 per PPV buy and shares a portion of that with main event fighters.  "If he's as valuable as they say," a confidential source said.  "Why are they worried about the PPV backend?  If he is unbeatable, why are they worried about the possibility of him being cut if he loses?  This is absolutely the best offer we can make them.  The only concern left is the co-promotion."
 
That is the second major issue the UFC-Emelianenko negotiating teams are stuck on.  The money is very good, more than Fedor can likely get anywhere else (Strikeforce, by contrast, is offering less than a $750,000 a fight).  The problem is the desire to use the UFC to help catapult the Russian's M-1 Global promotion.  The UFC will never agree to any deal that involves co-promoting fights.
 
The negotiations are stalled, but not dead.  The two sides continue discussions and the door for Fedor to join the UFC remains open.  Follow the story at Ring Psychology.