UFC's White looks back on failed Fedor deal: 'We were relieved he said no'

UFC President Dana White says he is now grateful that the promotion never managed to sign Fedor Emelianenko, who dominated the heavyweight division from the 2000s through the mid-2010s.

After acquiring rival Japanese promotion Pride FC in 2007 and cementing its monopoly on the sport, UFC rarely lost out on a fighter it wanted. Fedor, the Pride FC heavyweight champion, was the rare exception — years of courtship failed to bring him to the octagon.

The pursuit was serious enough that Lorenzo Fertitta, then UFC chairman and co-owner, flew to Russia alongside White to negotiate directly with Fedor and his team.

Appearing on The Pivot podcast, White recalled: "We never got the deal done with Fedor, but Lorenzo and I looked at each other on the plane leaving and said, 'Thank God he said no.'"

The reason, he said, was that the money on the table had grown far beyond what made sense. "We offered him an absolutely insane amount of money. When you're sitting in those negotiations, all you can think about is getting the deal done," White admitted, acknowledging they had been willing to commit a sum that did not add up financially.

The period in question is believed to be around 2015, when Fedor was preparing for his return after a three-year absence following his 2012 win over Pedro Rizzo at M-1 Global. Through his Pride FC years, Fedor had been in effect unbeaten — his only stoppage loss came via a TKO ruling tied to a cut under the sport's bleeding regulations. Three straight defeats to Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Silva and Dan Henderson had dimmed some of his mystique, but he remained unquestionably the most recognizable name in heavyweight mixed martial arts.

UFC was particularly keen at the time to book Fedor against Brock Lesnar, the former UFC heavyweight champion who had crossed over from WWE. North American outlets agree that, had it happened, the bout would have been one of the biggest cards in UFC history.

"At the time we wanted to make Fedor vs. Brock Lesnar," White said. "That is the one matchup we really wanted and never got to make." He added, however, that he harbors no regret over the fight falling through.

During his peak in the 2000s, Fedor was nicknamed "one in 6 billion" — a nod to the world population at the time — to convey that no one on earth could match him. The global population has since surpassed 8 billion.