UFC's Fedor problem

Tonight's Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) pay-per-view event (UFC 100) is already being called the biggest mixed martial arts event in history so far. Former pro wrestler Brock Lesnar is taking on Brazilian jiu jitsu specialist and MMA veteran Frank Mir for the heavyweight title.

The co-main event is a welterweight battle between Georges St. Pierre (who is arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world) and Thiago Alves. The middleweight bout between Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping could have possibly been a headliner or a co-main event on a different card.

But there is one glaring omission -- not only from tonight's card, but from the UFC as a hwole. And to MMA fans that omission goes by just one name -- Fedor. Fedor Emelianenko is probably the best heavyweight MMA fighter in the world. He's 30-1 and a lot of people will argue that the one loss was a mistake, a poor judges decision during a fight in Japan.

Time magazine took a look at UFC's Fedor problem:

He has won 30 fights in his career and lost just one, a controversial referee's decision in Japan nine years ago. Fedor has already beaten five former UFC champions, two of them twice. He has finished four of them off in the first round.

"He's the best," says Freddie Roach, a famed fight trainer who has worked with boxing greats Mike Tyson, Oscar de la Hoya, Manny Pacquiao and Fedor's last opponent, Andrei Arlovski, whom Fedor knocked out in three minutes in January. "He's so calm. He sees things happening. If you make a mistake, he'll knock you out. That's the mark of a great fighter."

So why does this great fighter, who is fighting against a bunch of heavyweights who no longer fight for the UFC, still fight for second-rate MMA promoters?

Because UFC wants exclusive rights to Fedor:

Fedor says White demanded that he fight exclusively with the UFC. Given his stake in his own promotion company, M-1 Global, that would have been a significant sacrifice. Fedor also insists the UFC would have virtually owned him if he won and would have been able to dump him if he lost. "If I was the UFC champion, I would never be able to leave the UFC," Fedor says. "The contract would just keep extending and extending. But if I lost, they could just kick me out of the UFC."

Further complicating matters, Fedor also specializes in another form of martial arts called sambo. This judo-like sport was developed for the Red Army after World War I and is now a Russian pastime. Under White's dictates, says Fedor, he'd have to stay away from sambo. "That's something I do for the pride of my country and is very important to me," says Fedor.

Still, no one should be crying for the UFC. Tonight's pay-per-view event could possibly be the biggest non-boxing pay-per-view ever, with some analysts saying it will reach 1.3 million buys.

Of course, Dana White, the head of the UFC, said the same thing about UFC 94. But that was headlined by St. Pierre against B.J. Penn -- this time St. Pierre is relegated to a co-main event instead of headlining the card.