Yesterday, CBS radio host Carmichael Dave was provided by an unnamed source with the details of a supposed contract which the UFC had offered top heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko. Soon after, doubt was cast over the validity of the contract's details by various sources, including M-1 themselves. In response, Carmichael Dave, a well-liked and well-respected figure in MMA news, had this to say to fans on Sherdog:
I of course would never report ANYTHING without a credible source.
Not someone standing at the door. Not another website. A SOLID, TRUSTWORTHY, CREDIBLE source.
This is a ton of propoganda from both sides. Is M1 wrong? Who knows? I know what I was told, double checked it, triple checked it, and wrote it. I said on my show last night that the entire picture isnt clear, and there were I'm sure several different other parts of the offer that werent reported on.
There are always two sides of the story. My job isnt to decide who's right, lying, exaggerating, etc. I did not write an opinion piece. I got a leak from a credible source, and I reported what I was told. The rest is up to the public. I'm sure there will be much more in the next few hours, days, etc. But I absolutely standby what I was told, considering the source.
While it is unlikely that anybody outside of the UFC or M-1 will ever know the specific details of what was or was not discussed or offered, that fact is unlikely to stop fans, activists, or journalists from speculating further.