What impact does the shrinking competitive landscape have on fighter paydays?

"It's not good. As it stands now most guys are fighting as part time work, because they just aren't making the money yet. It's no different than boxing where 99% of the fighters make very little money and 1% makes almost all of the money. I tell guys all the time to fight because they love to fight, not because they want to get rich. If they go in with that mindset then they will be successful and the money will come. In the early days I did not make a lot of money, I fought because I loved getting in the ring and testing myself. It was not until later with organizations like PRIDE that I started making good money."

"Also, in fairness to the UFC, I think they pay pretty well. The UFC takes all the financial risk; they are running a business and need to make a profit. I think this is one of the reasons Affliction failed, they paid too much money to too many fighters, and their business did not support that type of payroll."

There is a lot of speculation that Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko has either signed with the UFC or will do so in the coming days. What would Fedor fighting for the UFC mean to MMA?

"I just spoke with the folks at M-1, and they told me that Fedor has not signed with the UFC yet. However, if Fedor does sign with the UFC it will answer a lot of questions about how good he really is. Fedor will face stiff competition right off the bat. I'm sure he'll face Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture. Both of these fights would be huge events and are clearly what the fans want to see. From the business perspective, it will make it more difficult to grow because all the top talent will be in one organization. But for the fans, it would be a great thing!"

Dana White has already stated that if Fedor signs with the UFC his first fight will be against Brock Lesnar for the heavyweight title. Who do you think wins that fight?

"Brock Lesnar is a tough fighter. He is a really good wrestler with good boxing. Not to mention that come fight time he probably weighs 285 pounds. But, I think Fedor can win."

As you've already stated, Brock Lesnar is a formidable opponent, he certainly is no Hong Man Choi, but he also does not have the experience or skill of Fedor. If you where training Brock for his fight against Fedor what would your strategy be?

"Brock Lesnar is a really good athlete, he is a decent boxer; he is a natural counter puncher with a really good chin. So I'd tell him to keep the fight...