Fedor Emelianenko: 'The UFC didn't want me to fight there'

In the 10 year history of the UFC under the leadership of parent company Zuffa headed up by the Fertitta brothers and UFC president Dana White, the promotion has pursued and landed almost every prize free agent they've coveted.

Whether it was buying an entire promotion and signing fighters like Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson or just doggedly going after a fighter until the deal got done like Eddie Alvarez, the UFC rarely wants without getting what they are going after.

The only major exception to that rule is Fedor Emelianenko, who is widely considered the greatest heavyweight fighter to ever compete in mixed martial arts.

The Russian wrecking machine was the top fighter in PRIDE Fighting Championships for several years while boasting a nearly unblemished record while destroying every competitor that stepped in the ring with him.

When the UFC's parent company bought out PRIDE in 2007, the promotion moved to immediately sign Emelianenko and bring him to the United States where he could face the best of the best in the Octagon.  Unfortunately the two sides never came to an agreement and Emelianenko remains one of the only MMA superstars over the last 20 years who never competed in the UFC.

Now more than two years after his retirement from competition, Emelianenko still has no regrets about never fighting in the UFC due to their refusal to offer him the kind of terms that would make him want to sign with the promotion.

 "The UFC didn't want me to fight there so what could I do?" Emelianenko said during a new interview with AXS TV's Michael Schiavello.  "We were unable to make a deal. They offered unacceptable conditions."

Emelianenko continued by saying that at the time when the UFC was pursuing him in 2007, the best fighters weren't fighting there just yet.  He fought the best heavyweights in the world in PRIDE and stood tall as the greatest of all-time.

He didn't need a UFC title to justify his reign at the top.

"Actually, when I fought in PRIDE we had the best fighters in the world. Back then the UFC had a very serious and big crisis, they were going through some tough times trying to get top fighters. All the best fighters were in PRIDE," Emelianenko said.

"Later on, when PRIDE ceased to exist, the UFC didn't immediately pick up speed."

UFC president Dana White has stated on several occasions how the promotion tried several times to land Emelianenko and offered him 'millions and millions of dollars' but they could never come to an agreement.

Since leaving the sport, Emelianenko has stayed busy in his home country of Russia while reconnecting with his family following years spent away training for fights.  He still watches MMA from time to time, but it doesn't sound like the UFC is keeping him all that interested these days.

"Currently, the UFC is a super organization in the world, probably the best.  There are several top fighters in every weight category and in general it is hard to see the whole picture, I'd say," Emelianenko stated.

"There are some fighters who are interesting to watch but the rest of them, well, it's not interesting for me."