On Monday a rumor broke out that Fedor Emelianenko might be back in negotiations to come to the UFC:

There has been talk speculating that Fedor Emelianenko’s next opponent is going to be Olympian Satoshi Ishii on New Years. However, a source from Emelianenko’s camp has informed us that they are negotiating with the UFC once again. The terms are much different now due to the fact that he lost three in a row and is no longer as valuable as he once was, and Fedor’s management knows this. As of right now, nothing has been signed, but negotiations are going smoothly.

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Update: This rumor was later denied by his management to Fighter’s Only magazine, but a cryptic tweet from M-1 Director of Global Operations Evgeni Kogan suggest maybe there is something to the story:

Shit’s about to get real. As real as it gets.

Nobody can be sure what he is referencing, but the term ‘as real as it gets’ has been used for years to promote the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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Update 2: Seems now as though perhaps there is some truth to this rumor, as Fedor’s manager Vadim Finkelstein has given an interview to a Russian website claiming that they do indeed want a fight with former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez

– M-1 will offer UFC a one-time fight Fedor vs. Cain. – The fight is to be in Russia. – Vadim believes that a fight between Fedor vs. Cain would bring in just as much money if not more than any UFC fight. Says the interest in Russia towards MMA and Fedor in particular is huge. – Says Alexander is still not signed with M-1, but if he signs there may likely be DREAM vs. M-1 fights and Alex will participate. – For New Year’s show, they are trying to have Fedor vs. Ishii, but nothing is signed yet, but M-1 is hoping it will go through. Vadim mentions potential concerns on Ishii’s part (I presume Vadim is speculating), where Ishii may be afraid to fight Fedor in Japan and lose in front of his home audience. – Putin called Monson in the hotel room to see how he was doing after the fight. Monson was touched. – Fedor went to Monson after the fight in the dressing room, apologized for the damage, and thanked Monson for taking the fight. Monson says Fedor is a great person. – At the end of the interview, Vadim is asked “I can only imagine how Dana will be surprised for the Fedor vs. Cain fight offer”, and Vadim says “Dana will say: again this crazy Russian ! (laughing)”.

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translation of key points by forum member judom…