Fedor’s manager: Fedor better than Lesnar, not looking for fight right now

cliquezone.com: Have you watched the fight Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez? If yes, what are your impressions?

Vadim Finkelstein: I have long said that Lesnar is more of a product of UFC’s PR rather than a serious fighter and that fight clearly confirmed it.

cliquezone.com: And how do you assess Velasquez?

Vadim Finkelstein: In my opinion, he is a very good fighter and also in his abilities and strengths. UFC now presents him as the best in the world and it is certainly debatable, but he is a real fighter, not a product of PR.

cliquezone.com: And what about the rumors that you are still negotiating with the UFC?

Vadim Finkelstein: It’s stupidity. We are not conducting such negotiations.

Now we are in active negotiations with Showtime on a contract extension, and perhaps we will renew it. But the UFC does not offer such opportunities and imposes its monopoly conditions. They believe that everyone should be in the UFC. We would love to fight with Lesnar, and Velasquez and all but why should we give up all these undertakings, all the years spent on Fedor’s development will go to them? Fedor did not grow in the UFC, right? So why should he go to the UFC? If Dana White wants to fight, he can easily hold it, because we do not mind. And while the contract with Showtime gives us more opportunities.

Fedor is now ready to fight. He is 34, he feels fine and is ready to work. He is ready to sign a contract for five or six fights, and do the job very well. He always says he’s ready to act. We need to protect our interests.

cliquezone.com: Should we expect Fedor to fight in Japan on New Year’s Eve?

Vadim Finkelstein: We discussed this possibility with the Japanese themselves were happy, but they had more difficulty and with an interesting opponent for Fedor, and many others. As a result, the negotiations did not even happened because there was no concrete proposal. Therefore, in the very near future have to wait for the completion of negotiations with Showtime, and even then it will become clear when and with whom Fedor will fight next.

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Lowkick.com: Were you surprised by the outcome of Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez fight?

Vadim Finkelstein: Brock Lesnar’s defeat did not surprise me. I expected him to lose, so it was. I really enjoyed Cain Velasquez’s performance. He had a very good gameplan coming to this fight, weathered the storm, went on the attack and won the fight. I always knew that Brock Lesnar will not have a long run as a Champion. Brock was supposed to lose in his previous fight, but he was lucky when he managed to miraculously bounce back against Shane Carwin.

Lowkick.com: Do you think Dana White will lose his interest for Brock Lesnar after this defeat?

Vadim Finkelstein: I don’t think people will forget about Brock Lesnar so quickly. At the moment he’s still quite a marketable product. People love to watch him fight, so why should White lose his interest to that type of fighter? Lesnar is a capable fighter, he’s big and strong. He’ll still create some intrigue in the division. But still, I don’t think he’ll become a Champion ever again.

Lowkick.com: Do you think that if Lesnar fought Fedor, the result would be the same as against Velasquez?

Vadim Finkelstein: Yes. I’m completely sure it would be the same. Fedor is much stronger than Lesnar in all aspects of fighting, on his feet and on the ground. Fedor is faster. Emelianenko would beat him up standing on submit him on the ground.

Lowkick.com:If we compare the Heavyweight divisions of the UFC and Strikeforce. Which one in your opinion is more intriguing for the viewer?

Vadim Finkelstein: It’s hard to say. Both promotions currently have very interesting fighters. Everyone loves something different. So the fans will choose what they like to see.

Lowkick.com:If there would be an option to arrange a fight between Fedor and Lesnar, would you consider it?

Vadim Finkelstein: We were ready to fight Lesnar, anywhere and anytime, as long as he was a champion. Right now, he’s doesn’t really interests us as a fighter. We have a goal – a rematch against Fabricio Werdum. After this, everything is possible. If this fight will interest the viewer and the UFC will make it possible, so why not?

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