Fedor Emelianenko says Dana White 'doesn't stand by his words' over failed UFC talks

Fedor Emelianenko has accused Dana White of changing his story about why the UFC never signed him. The former Pride heavyweight champion said it to the Russian YouTube channel Ushatayka, according to Sherdog. The first reports, including İdman və Biz in English, ran on Wednesday, October 28.

The interview is in Russian; the quotes below are English translations, credited to the outlet that ran each one.

Fedor's side

Fedor said the UFC never came for him as a free agent, per Sherdog. The offers only arrived once he'd signed elsewhere.

"I was free and they didn't sign me. It happened every time."

He said signing with the UFC while tied to Strikeforce would have meant "legal proceedings" and could have kept him out of competition in both promotions. That is his account; none of the coverage backs it with documents.

He then turned to White directly. "First he wanted me, then he didn't. Then he regretted it, then he's glad he never signed me," he said, per Sherdog. "The man talks and changes his story. He simply doesn't stand by his words."

On whether White is a legend, Fedor said, per MMA Sucka: "If someone thinks he's a legend, let them."

What he's answering

The "glad he never signed me" line most likely refers to White's appearance on The Pivot Podcast, reported by LowKickMMA on July 22. White said the UFC offered Fedor "so much money" and wanted to match him with Brock Lesnar. He said he doesn't regret it falling through: "thank god they said no."

The deal is reported to have collapsed because Fedor's management insisted on co-promoting with M-1 Global, which the UFC refused, according to MMA Sucka. Fedor went to Strikeforce instead and lost three straight there, per his Sherdog record. Fabricio Werdum submitted him in the first round in June 2010. Antonio Silva won by doctor stoppage in February 2011, and Dan Henderson stopped him in the first in July 2011.

White has never rated Fedor that highly. When Fedor retired in February 2023, White said "He never got to test himself over here" and "I was never one of the guys who thought he was one of the greatest of all time," Yardbarker reported.

We think the two accounts talk past each other. White's is about the deal that broke down over M-1 before Fedor joined Strikeforce. Fedor's is about a later approach, once he was already under contract. Neither side has produced an offer sheet.

Ngannou and what's next

Fedor also denied talk of a fight with Francis Ngannou. "I never said we were in negotiations," he said, per Yahoo/SB Nation. He said the idea came from a question by young people about who he'd like to fight. He blamed the media for blowing it up.

He said that "if we're talking about a real dream" he'd box Ngannou, but called it "just me thinking out loud," MMA Sucka reported. He ruled out MMA: "I couldn't manage MMA now because I have too many injuries."

Fedor finished 40-7-1 and never fought in the UFC. His last fight was a first-round TKO loss to Ryan Bader at Bellator 290 on February 4, 2023.

In March, before he turned 50, he told Sport-Express he wanted to enter the 2027 Russian Combat Sambo Championship, TASS reported. He also said a boxing match with Mirko Cro Cop was at the letter-of-intent stage. No event or date has been set for either.

Neither White nor the UFC had responded as of Thursday, October 29.