A heavyweight fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Brock Lesnar is the bout most mixed martial arts fans want to see, but contractual obligations and medical problems are likely to prevent a showdown between the two for another year, Emelianenko's camp said Monday.
Emelianenko survived a cut nose Saturday to retain his unofficial standing as the top MMA heavyweight in the world by defeating Brett Rogers in a second-round technical knockout. He closed the victory with a stand-up, right-handed punch, then pounced on Rogers to deliver a left-right combination on the canvas before the referee ended the fight.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, November 11, 2009 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 National Desk 1 inches; 23 words Type of Material: Correction
Mixed martial arts: An article in Tuesday's Sports section said Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem was from England. Overeem is from the Netherlands.
Emelianenko-Rogers headlined CBS' "Saturday Night Fights" card of four bouts promoted by Strikeforce/M-1, with a near-capacity crowd of 11,500 filling the Sears Centre near Chicago.
The TV ratings are not final, but early numbers show the Strikeforce fights drew at least 3.8 million viewers, and a 267% increase in the number of males aged 18-34 who usually tune in for Saturday night programming, CBS said.
Lesnar, with a record of 4-1, is heavyweight champion of the rival, and more dominant, Ultimate Fighting Championship. A few months ago, UFC failed to reach a deal with Emelianenko for multiple fights.
Scott Coker, Strikeforce chief executive, said because Saturday's fights delivered "those 18-34 male [viewership] numbers in a big way," CBS will televise future cards. Emelianenko earned $400,000 on Saturday night. A CBS spokesman said no decision has been made on whether the network would telecast another Strikeforce card, although Saturday's bouts drew new viewers to the network.
Yet, Dana White, president of UFC, called the Strikeforce's overall ratings Saturday a disappointment.
"CBS would be out of their mind to put that rinky-dink [Strikeforce] . . . on the air again . . . and without that backing, [promoters] won't have the money to pay [Emelianenko]."
But Emelianenko (31-1-1) still owes Strikeforce at least two more fights, possibly more with options, Coker said.
The Russian heavyweight agreed to a Strikeforce deal when his promotional company, M-1 Global, failed to reach agreement with UFC. The Emelianenko negotiations collapsed, in part, because UFC rejected M-1's push to co-promote an Emelianenko event.
After those talks ended, UFC announced a Lesnar fight against UFC contender Shane Carwin scheduled for Nov. 21. But Lesnar became ill and was diagnosed with mononucleosis, causing an indefinite delay of the Carwin bout.
