Fedor All-Access: Jerry Millen’s Photo Journal of SHOWTIME Promo Shoot

Editor’s Note: The below photo journal was conducted by M-1 U.S.A. Vice President Jerry Millen during a recent promotional photo shoot conducted by SHOWTIME and Strikeforce in anticipation of M-1 Global’s Fedor Emelianenko’s upcoming Strikeforce bout against Brett Rogers. You can also enlarge the pictures by clicking on them. Photos courtesy of Nick Komic Photographic.

I’ve had the unique pleasure of knowing Fedor and Vadim Finkelchtein for many years, dating back to my work for the PRIDE Fighting Championships. When Vadim decided to created the M-1 Challenge, it was an honor to be asked to join the company as a U.S.-based Vice President and the person in charge of producing the weekly M-1 Challenge show.

I also have a long-standing friendship with Strikeforce CEO and Founding owner Scott Coker, so I was more than happy to be on the set of the SHOWTIME-sponsored promotional photo and video shoot and work with everyone. Fedor and I are pictured hear talking to each other just before the shoot was about to begin.

The next photo is one of the first-ever meetings between Fedor and Brett Rogers. One of the things I love about MMA is the sportsmanship that exists between so many athletes.

While Fedor and Rogers will look to take each other’s head off come fight time, the two were extremely cordial and respectful towards each other during the entire shoot and there were no issues on the set.

I’m not sure in boxing if two guys who were slated to fight each other could have spent as much time together on a set as Fedor and Brett did together.

The primary shoot was conducted inside of an old warehouse that gave a very edgy feel to the whole production. But prior to that, in New York, a lot of footage was taken of Fedor working out.

While some people have claimed Fedor’s training is basic and not state-of-the-art, a lot of programs have emulated some of his training technique, such as using sledgehammers to smash tires. In this photo, Fedor is merely getting ready to do a few rounds of jumping rope.

Here you see a scenic shot of Hoboken, New Jersey and the site of the warehouse where SHOWTIME conducted its primary shoot. Hoboken is located just over the bridge, across from New York and is home to many people who work in New York but who choose not to pay the high rent that comes with living in Manhattan. But Hoboken has seen its population grown in recent years and is not the bargain it once was.

Hoboken was a great choice to do this shoot because it’s a city with so much character. It’s the town where Frank Sinatra grew up in and has been used in the past for movie shoots. A lot of great boxers from the old days also came out of Hoboken, so it felt like a great place to hold a shoot featuring two of the world’s premiere mixed martial artists.

This is a picture of the Lackawanna Rail Road station, a station that many people from Northern, New Jersey use on a daily basis when making their commute to Manhattan. It’s just another scenic shot showing the charm and character of Hoboken.

Here’s a shot of Brett and Fedor on the actual set of their photo and video shoot. All of the footage shot will not only be used during the actual telecast of their fight, but will be used for commercials and promotional videos to bring as much interest to the fight as possible. While the warehouse was old and has probably seen its better days, it really provided some gritty visuals. SHOWTIME even went so far as to have a cage set up in the warehouse to give it even more of an “MMA feel.”

Here you see Fedor taking a little breather between takes. The SHOWTIME shoot was an all-day affair and both Brett and Fedor were troopers throughout. Fedor and M-1 and extremely pleased to be affiliated with both SHOWTIME and Strikeforce and appreciated the time and expense invested to make this shoot happen.

In addition to the photo shoot, Fedor did an open workout and autograph signing in Manhattan, New York. The event drew a huge crowd and garnered a lot of press for both Brett and Fedor. But it was a busy trip to America for Fedor because the very next day he had to get up early to do the photo shoot and the following day he had to fly to Kansas City for M-1’s televised “Breakthrough” event in which he grappled his good friend and fellow M-1 fighter Gegard Mousasi.

This is an even closer shot of Fedor and Brett doing their “staredown.” While it may look a little instense, both Fedor and Brett were professional towards each other throughout the entire duration. I wish I could make up some drama to help sell the fight, but I think Fedor vs. Brett sells itself anyway.

This is a fight that Fedor and Vadim have wanted for a while now. If you recall, when Josh Barnett was unable to get licensed for their Aug. 1 fight, Vadim was very public in his desire to have Brett step in as an opponent. From what we were told, it was a fight Brett and his trainer Mike Reilly wanted as well. It didn’t happen Aug. 1, but it’s going to still happen before the end of the year and it is definitely a fight the fans want to see.

As for Fedor, he will fight anyone. It really doesn’t matter to him. He’s never backed down from a challenge and Brett is going to be a huge challenge. I recently read a comment where Dana White said Brett was a tough kid but not a top ten heavyweight. I think that’s just hyperbole. How anyone can say Brett isn’t a top ten heavyweight is beyond me. The guy is 10-0 with none of his fights having gone the distance. After his 22 second TKO over Andrei Arlovski in June, there’s no legitimate argument Dana or anyone else can make against Brett being a top ten heavyweight.

Here is more of a panoramic view of the actual set. SHOWTIME invested a lot of time and money into this shoot. If I told you how much, I’d probably get myself into a lot of trouble. But let’s just say that SHOWTIME knows how to do things right.

In the end, I think SHOWTIME’s investment in Fedor (and also Brett) will prove to be very fruitful. I’ve contended for a while now that Fedor is a bigger star in the U.S. than some people contend. However, even I acknowledge that he has room to become even bigger here. There’s no reason why the best fighter in the world shouldn’t be the biggest star in the U.S.

Here you see Vadim, Fedor, and Scott all together in front of the North Jersey skyline.

I think M-1’s new alliance with SHOWTIME and Strikeforce will allow Fedor to reach a whole new plateau of stardom in America. While Affliction was a great partner, their core business was not the fight game. SHOWTIME has been in the fight business for years and Scott Coker has been promoting martial arts for a long time. With Strikeforce’s long track record of promoting fights and SHOWTIME’s promotional resources, Fedor now has a real shot to become the most famous fighter in all of MMA.

This one speaks for itself: the baddest man on the planet.

At one point, the producers of the shoot asked Fedor if he was willing to pick up the heavy bag and carry it around. Fedor was willing to do it but looked at them and said in English, “But this is not real training.”

That was Fedor’s way of saying that it wasn’t a training technique he uses to prepare for his fights. It wasn’t a case of Fedor trying to be difficult, just an example of how Fedor is a real and genuine person. Everything he does, he wants it to be authentic and true to his character. I’ve been around a lot of fighters and respect a ton of them. But Fedor is just one of the classiest, most down-to-Earth people I have ever met in this business.

You’d expect a star of his stature to have some sort of ego or to be a diva, and that’s never been Fedor. He appreciates the simple things in life. While some fighters are out living the MMA lifestyle between fights, Fedor would rather be home in Stary Oskol, Russia spending time with his friends and family.

We’ll close with this shot because this is the lighter side of Fedor.Yes, he actually does smile!  A lot of people think Fedor is some sort of cyborg, but he is a kind-hearted man with a great sense of humor. I’ve gotten to travel a lot with him and have seen him with his guard down. When he travels for fights, he usually brings a few friends along with him and they are always cracking jokes and making fun of one another. There’s just a whole side to Fedor that a lot of people in the U.S. don’t know about. For much of his career, he’s been a mystery to the American public. But in the coming months, the alliance between M-1, Strikeforce, and SHOWTIME will change EVERYTHING.