Thanks for the discussion.

Frankly, I think (and this should be clear from my previous post) that what M-1 is doing IS shady and probably has some legal complications.

The difference, though, is that M-1 is copromoting, actually sending their top talent, for money, to other promotions. As far as I’m concerned, this is like pimping and (clearly) I’m not a fan.

So what your saying is M-1 wants to represent the fighters they are also promoting on fight cards.

Wouldn’t that be like Dana White representing half the fighters in the UFC while also running the UFC?

If Dana White was trying to represent fighters in the UFC while running the UFC I would consider it almost criminal. There is a clear conflict of interest if someone is doing both.

So why shouldn’t I feel that way about M-1 representing the fighters they are promoting on fight cards?

I’ll use this phrase, to explain my fear of what M-1 Global may very well be trying to do: I think M-1 may be trying to set themselves up as a pimp for their notable fighters.

Are there good potential outcomes? Sure. But I don’t think that the ones that pro-fighter-union individuals are thinking of are on the table with M-1.

I agree about Fedor’s drawing power, though. You’re right on that point.

I’ve thought for a while the fighters need a union instead of negotiating directly with the orgs or through their managers. They need a base pay rate and guarenteed medical coverage. All that stuff, as far as we know, is up in the air. Maybe the UFC pays for their fighter’s hospital expenses, maybe they don’t. But seeing some guys get paid 10K and others get 500K on the same show (I believe someone was actually paid 6K at UFCentury while Lesnar got half a mil)

Anyway this isn’t about the money issue. I figured that Fedor/Rogers wouldn’t pull better than a UFC show. As good as he is Fedor has no drawing power outside of his aura of dominance. Mainstream fans won’t appreciate his trip setups off of his right haymaker, they won’t see the beauty of his armbar technique, and they’ll never understand how he controls the ring/cage with small steps. Mainstream fans will never understand how a 5’11″ 235 pound heavyweight can make all of the giants in the world cower in fear while never changing his expression.

What I think you’re missing, Matt, is that the co-promoting is an important part of representing the fighters. It’s not traditional, but it is a big deal.

Apart from gaining visibility, which is important, what co-promoting does is it gives M-1 a chance to insert their up-and-coming fighters into larger events (which is what they’re doing with King Mo later this year). It gives them a chance to represent all of their fighters.

Additionally, it gives them leverage in negotiating and drawing the attention of fighters who are looking to go to M-1, because it gives them the ability to say, “This is where M-1 fighters end up. See? You could be the next Fedor. Or the next Mousasi. Or the next King Mo. We can make that happen.”

It’s definitely about exposure, but bringing additional exposure isn’t about promoting their events.

If M-1 Global wanted exposure, they could have Fedor and Mousasi fight free agents as the co-main events for their card. They’d get huge publicity. But that’s not what they’re doing.

They’re building themselves up as an organization that works together, that is about bringing their fighters into the mainstream. It’s definitely new, but I’m not convinced it’s a good idea (or one that is really good for MMA as a whole).

If I’m understanding this correctly you seem to think that M-1 appears to be going the route of focusing more on representing fighters rather than focusing on M-1 as a promotional organization.

Demanding co-promotion with M-1 to get a deal done with Fedor tells me the exact opposite for some reason.

Vadim made sure to point out when the UFC deal didn’t work out and the Strikeforce deal did that exposure for M-1 Global was what he wanted and the money didn’t matter.

This is a quote from an article on The Fight Network made by Vadim in September when they announced the Fedor/Rogers fight:

“We are extremely proud to be working with Scott Coker, Strikeforce, CBS, and SHOWTIME, in what we consider to be a true co-promotional relationship,” said President and Founding M-1 Global owner Vadim Finkelchtein. “To be able to bring exposure to the M-1 name in front of such a large American viewing audience on national television is a tremendous achievement for M-1 Global.”

http://www.thefightnetwork.com/news/mma/4618/m1_global_officials_confirm_fedor_vs_rogers_on_nov_7

So to me based off of demanding co-promotion and his statement above about the reasons for it being exposure. I can’t believe M-1 is happy with the amount of exposure they got out of that if exposure was really what they wanted out of co-promoting.

Frankly, I think M-1 Global is doing what organizations like WAMMA failed so phenomenally to do: they’re acting as a mediator by representing the biggest independent fighters.

As we start to see names like Mamed Khalidov spring up, I think M-1 is going to work to make sure they represent these guys, but they’re not going to promote them on their own brand. They’re already doing this with King Mo. It’s an interesting way to make money, and it is, to the best of my knowledge, a new approach.

Of course, I may be misreading this, but it seems to me that M-1 Global has a lot of resources, and they have shown a good deal of disinterest in their own promotion. This seems like a pretty good indicator that I’m right on that one.