This could certainly change the lopsided, slash and burn, "world domination" model that the UFC has being building.
Mark Cuban, billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks is looking to level the playing field in MMA by, get this - "paying professional athletes what they're worth...giving health benefits....building the fighter and not just the brand."
Cuban doesn't want to hold fighters to any exclusivity, he wants them to fight where they please! Sounds really interesting!
Read the article:
http://cbs.sportsline.com/print/mmab...ory/10333210/1
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban confirmed to CBSSports.com on Tuesday that he is planning to get more involved in the MMA business, and is currently in talks with members of Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko's management about securing the free agent's services.
"We are in discussions," Cuban told CBSSports.com via e-mail. "We met with White Chocolate and had a great conversation about Fedor and other WC athletes and their desire to partner with us."
Emelianenko is represented in the United States by White Chocolate Management LLC, who confirmed in a press release Tuesday that they have completed "high-level discussions" with Cuban concerning an MMA operation that might include coveted free agent Emelianenko and would potentially be broadcast on Cuban's HDNet TV network.
"Mr. Cuban has a strong interest in MMA," White Chocolate president Reed Wallace said in the press release. "He is very serious about Fedor and is entering the MMA business with very serious partners. Mr. Cuban is widely known to treat his athletes with great respect and care, and there were discussions regarding health insurance and many other areas for supporting MMA athletes and their families."
Cuban told CBSSports.com that his decision to invest more heavily in MMA was fueled by the popularity of HDNet's MMA broadcasts.
"It has worked very well for HDNet on Friday nights and the more research I did, the better the opportunity looked," Cuban said.
Cuban has hired MMA veteran Guy Mezger to run the day-to-day operations of his MMA project, and will rely on Mezger to handle tasks such as talent evaluation.
"We have already started," Cuban said. "Our first hire was Guy Mezger, who will be responsible for managing fight cards, attracting and signing fighters."
Cuban has not earmarked a specific amount of money for his MMA project.
"How much (money is invested) will depend on what it takes to be successful," Cuban said.
On the heels of Ultimate Fighting Championship's rise in popularity, sports fans and media have taken notice of MMA, which combines multiple fighting disciplines into one sport with unified rules.
"I love the UFC," Cuban said. "I think they do a good job on putting together spectacle-type events. I think, however, that they have focused on branding UFC rather than the fighters themselves."
While UFC's branding has been one of its reasons for success, Cuban feels the fighters should also enjoy more of the benefits of strong promotion.
"I think there is room for both," Cuban said. "Fighters who want to be part of a spectacle -- and the reality is there are significant financial opportunities there -- and fighters who consider themselves professional athletes and want to be treated as such."
In White Chocolate's press release, they indicated that former Pride Fighting Championships USA president Ed Fishman was present for the recent meetings with Cuban and Mezger. Fishman was the driving force behind Pride FC's pay-per-view events held in Las Vegas in 2006 and early 2007, in the days before the company was sold to UFC parent company Zuffa LLC.
The current vision for Cuban's MMA project is to work together with various promoters by providing talent for their shows, but Cuban noted that could change if the involved parties don't stay on the same page.
"Our plan is to affiliate with like-minded promoters and develop a set of standards so that we all focus on the same things," Cuban said. "If the promoters get the job done, we will provide athletes to their cards. If not, we will produce our own."
Emelianenko is considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and has been in stalled negotiations with UFC for months. UFC president Dana White told CBSSports.com last week that his most recent meetings with Emelianenko's representatives "didn't go well," renewing speculation as to whether Emelianenko would follow former Pride stars Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua to UFC or find another place to fight.
UFC is believed to have made Emelianenko a lucrative contract offer, but UFC insists on exclusivity for its fighters. Emelianenko reportedly wants to be able to fight for other promotions, particularly in his native Russia.
If Emelianenko signed with Cuban, that would not be an issue, Cuban said. He does not intend to keep his fighters exclusive.
"We would not ask for exclusivity," Cuban said. "I think that if the focus is on defining them as pro athletes and letting them develop their personal visibility and careers, we can't ask for exclusivity. I wouldn't have a problem with him fighting in a UFC fight or others as well."
In his last fight, Emelianenko defeated Matt Lindland in an April pay-per-view event held in Russia and promoted by Bodog Fight. That pay-per-view is reported to have drawn approximately 13,000 buys, fueling talk that Emelianenko -- while highly respected worldwide -- does not have serious drawing power in the United States. Cuban is not concerned with Emelianenko's star power.
"We are interested in Fedor because he could possibly be the best fighter in the world, not because he is a meal ticket," he said.
Besides Emelianenko, Cuban would not discuss specific fighters he might pursue for the MMA project, stating that the talent evaluations are Mezger's responsibility.
"We are interested in great fighters who want to expand their careers," Cuban said. "We are open to talking to any and all."
