Vadim Finkelstein: Strikeforce deal was done behind my back
Vadim Finkelstein: What can I say? Everyone handles their business in their own way. This deal was a total surprise to…
Vadim Finkelstein: What can I say? Everyone handles their business in their own way. This deal was a total surprise to me, since it was done behind our back. I knew nothing about the course of any negotiation [between ZUFFA and Strikeforce].
Nevertheless, it wouldn’t have any sort of effect on M-1 as a company, and on Fedor Emelianenko as a fighter. We will continue to operate in the same way we did before.
Championat.ru: Did you speak to Scott Coker about the issue? What did he tell you?
Vadim Finkelstein: No, I didn’t speak to Scott Coker about it. And to tell you the truth, I don’t think the topic will surface up when we meet. If he ever wanted to discuss this deal, he would tell me about it a while ago, at its early stage.
Championat.ru: Is there a new possibility of co-promoting with the UFC, which was previously not possible?
Vadim Finkelstein: It’s not something that depends on us. If the UFC wants to cooperate with us, we are ready to consider their proposals. I have repeatedly said that we would be interested to work with this company, we’ll see.
Championat.ru: Evaluate the prospects newfound union.
Vadim Finkelstein: It’s hard to tell what the future will be for Strikeforce. I do not think it will last a long time under the control of the newfound owners. The only advantage is that now there will be opportunities to conduct a joint fights … definitely we can say that we will see a lot of good fights.
Read entire interview… (original Russian)
