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HOUSTON -- In 2009, UFC president Dana White and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta flew to an island off Venezuela to meet all-time great heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko and his representatives with the intention to sign him to a contract.The goal was to put Emelianenko into a bout with then-UFC champion Brock Lesnar that would have been held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It likely would have been the highest-selling pay-per-view in UFC history, had it happened.
[Related: By all appearances, Roy Nelson worth watching at UFC 166]
Emelianenko is regarded by many as the greatest heavyweight in mixed martial arts history and by some as the greatest fighter in the sport's history.
A deal was never reached -- White said Thursday that Emelianenko's representatives laughed at the offer -- and Emelianenko retired without ever competing in the UFC.
Emelianenko was in the news this week because he told a Russian TV station he felt White hated him and pointed to that as a reason a deal was never completed. White chuckled at that thought.
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UFC president Dana White (Getty)
White said the UFC made three runs at Emelianenko, twice with Fertitta alone doing the negotiating on the UFC's behalf and once with himself and Fertitta on the island in Venezuela.He said that Emelianenko's representatives wanted the UFC to build an arena in Russia as a condition for Emelianenko fighting in the UFC.
"When I tell you we did everything, someday I'll tell the story of how much we offered that [expletive], too," White said. "People will [expletive] [expletive]. It made no sense [how much we offered]. It was one of those type of deals like, you know that these networks, the NFL does $9 billion in television revenue. It makes no sense for the networks. The network doesn't make a dime off that. But you have to have the NFL, right? The NFL pulls ratings like anything.
"This is one of those deals [we offered Emelianenko] where it's like, 'This makes no [expletive] sense whatsoever.' Literally, when we got onto the plane when we were flying back, we were like, 'Thank [expletive] God they turned that offer down.' We were like, 'Thank God they turned that down
[Related: By all appearances, Roy Nelson worth watching at UFC 166]
Emelianenko is regarded by many as the greatest heavyweight in mixed martial arts history and by some as the greatest fighter in the sport's history.
A deal was never reached -- White said Thursday that Emelianenko's representatives laughed at the offer -- and Emelianenko retired without ever competing in the UFC.
Emelianenko was in the news this week because he told a Russian TV station he felt White hated him and pointed to that as a reason a deal was never completed. White chuckled at that thought.
View gallery
.
UFC president Dana White (Getty)
White said the UFC made three runs at Emelianenko, twice with Fertitta alone doing the negotiating on the UFC's behalf and once with himself and Fertitta on the island in Venezuela.He said that Emelianenko's representatives wanted the UFC to build an arena in Russia as a condition for Emelianenko fighting in the UFC.
"When I tell you we did everything, someday I'll tell the story of how much we offered that [expletive], too," White said. "People will [expletive] [expletive]. It made no sense [how much we offered]. It was one of those type of deals like, you know that these networks, the NFL does $9 billion in television revenue. It makes no sense for the networks. The network doesn't make a dime off that. But you have to have the NFL, right? The NFL pulls ratings like anything.
"This is one of those deals [we offered Emelianenko] where it's like, 'This makes no [expletive] sense whatsoever.' Literally, when we got onto the plane when we were flying back, we were like, 'Thank [expletive] God they turned that offer down.' We were like, 'Thank God they turned that down
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