Fedor Returns: Will Face Fabricio Werdum Live On Showtime From San Jose, Calif. June 26

After months of anticipation, the world’s No. 1 heavyweight and pound-for-pound Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter, Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (31-1), will make his eagerly awaited return to the cage to face two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion and top-ranked superstar Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum (13-4) in a STRIKEFORCE and M-1 GLOBAL co-promoted event at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. on Saturday, June 26,  live on SHOWTIME® at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

The Fedor-Werdum match will headline an event which will feature up to five televised fights on SHOWTIME and several non-televised undercard bouts that will be announced in the coming weeks. A special pre-sale ticket purchase opportunity for the event will take place for “STRIKEFORCE Insider” e-newsletter subscribers (http://strikeforce.com/insider.html) from 10 a.m. PT Monday, May 10, until 10 p.m. PT on Thursday, May 13.  Insiders will receive an e-newsletter with the pre-sale code.

Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. PT on Friday, May 14, at the HP Pavilion box office, all Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-3000, Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com <http://www.ticketmaster.com/> ) as well as www.strikeforce.com <http://www.strikeforce.com/> . For more information, please also visit www.M-1GLOBAL.com <http://www.m-1global.com/> .

For M-1 GLOBAL’s Fedor, it is a means of gaining revenge three and a half years after the 32-year-old Werdum defeated Fedor’s brother Aleksander Emelianenko, via submission (arm triangle choke) in the first round (3:24) of a bout in Rotterdam, Holland, on Nov. 12, 2006.

The M-1 GLOBAL superstar is simply referred to as “Fedor” by millions of fans around the world.  He stands at 6-foot, 235-pounds and hails from Stary Oskol, Russia.  He has become the most dominant MMA fighter of all-time since he began his professional career 10 years ago.

Fedor is one of the founders of M-1 GLOBAL and has competed for the organization since its inception more than two years ago.  The 33-year-old has faced and defeated nearly every other rival superstar and champion of this era, including Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Andrei Arlovski and Mark “The Hammer” Coleman.

A master of the Russian military combat system, Sambo, Fedor made his live, primetime network television (CBS) debut in his last start on Nov. 7, 2009, when he faced unbeaten rising star Brett “The Grim” Rogers in a STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global co-promoted event. After a difficult first round in which he sustained a cut and began bleeding profusely, the Russian suddenly turned the tide in the second round, sending Rogers to the canvas with a right hand and finishing him with a series of punches.

While the fight world still regards him as undefeated, Fedor actually has one official loss on his record, the result of a doctor stoppage due to a cut he sustained seconds into a matchup with Japan’s Tsuyoshi Kosaka on Dec. 22, 2000.  Fedor avenged the TKO loss with his own first round TKO of Kosaka at a PRIDE Fighting Championships event in Japan on April 3, 2005.

Since joining the ranks of STRIKEFORCE, the 6-foot-4, 240 pound Werdum, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and member of Brazil’s vaunted Chute Boxe fight squad, has notched a pair of impressive victories, the first of which came on Aug. 15, 2009 when he quickly submitted Mike “Mak” Kyle with a guillotine choke in the first round (1:24) at HP Pavilion. The following Nov., 7, Werdum battled his way to a close unanimous decision victory over Antonio “Big Foot” Silva in a live CBS primetime televised match-up.

During an eight-year tenure in MMA, Werdum has conquered a number of other superstars, including reigning STRIKEFORCE World Heavyweight Champion, Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem; and UFC stars Gabriel Gonzaga and Brandon “The Truth” Vera.

About  STRIKEFORCE

STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com <http://www.strikeforce.com/> ) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history.  The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265.  Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts (MMA) series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.”  In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose.  In March 2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage live events on the premium cable television network.  The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events on the CBS Television Network.

About M-1 GLOBAL

M-1 GLOBAL (www.m-1global.com <http://www.m-1global.com/> ) has been one of the leading Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organizations in the world for well over a decade. M-1 has promoted over 150 shows worldwide since 1995. During the last two years, since the inception of M-1 GLOBAL, the organization has promoted events all over the world, in over 20 countries and is shown on television in well over 100. In 2010 M-1 GLOBAL is promoting the Selection tournament, a competition to find the best new talent in MMA the world over. 160 fighters started in February from four global regions, and will be reduced to 20 champions by September. M-1 Breakthrough will be taking place in the U.S. and Europe starting in the fall and will pit MMA’s better known athletes and stars in a one-on-one competition.

About Showtime Networks Inc.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL(tm) and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2(tm), SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL(tm) XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL(tm) HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL(tm) ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

Source: Mike Afromowitz/StrikeForce

Related Posts

• 
  Mix It Up Sports MMA Event Nov. 13
• 
  Ten Tips For MMA Beginners
• 
  The Immortal of TUF 1