Strikeforce & M-1 Global close to agreement, Fedor could return in June

According to a report that’s surfaced earlier today, Strikeforce and M-1 Global are in the final stages of agreeing a revised deal which will see the then co-promote events in the United States during 2010, as well as see the return of number one ranked heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko.

Sources close to the situation revealed the news to Sherdog.com over the weekend, as well as the news that “The Last Emperor” could see action as early as June.

Evgeni Kogan, M-1 Global’s Director of Operations, said:

“We were renegotiating. I think we’re pretty much at the end of that road. After the CBS show, we thought that the terms needed a little bit tweaking -- nothing major, just a little bit of tweaking. So, we had a round of negotiations with Strikeforce. Everything went positively. We’re pretty much at the end.”

“I think June, July is realistic (for Emelianenko’s return). It’s not 100 percent. Don’t take this as a fight announcement, but I think during the summer. Obviously, we are much more than the management company for Fedor.”

“For us, it’s really important that the M-1 Global brand is acknowledged on these co-promotion events. As much as the partners made a lot of effort to acknowledge the co-branding, the media basically picked up on the fact that it was Strikeforce and kind of forgot about everything else, which wasn’t the most ideal for us.”

Kogan also revealed that there was no truth in the rumour that M-1 officials had met with the UFC in the interim. The additional time off will of course give Fedor time to heal the hand injury he sustained during training this past month which was revealed by MMABay on Sunday.

By Michael Pepper. (Follow me on Twitter)