I grew up a few hundred miles from Stariy Oskol, where Fedor is from. Trust me when I say that his mentality is very different that you guys seem to believe. His status in Russia is very good. In Stariy Oskol he's basically like a life-long Mayor.

He can retire right now and live a very comfortable life. His family is taken care of. He has a gym, a good stable of fighters that he and other coaches mentor, and he has the support of the government. Because of Combat Sambo he is a Ranked Master of Sport (Zasluzheniy Master Sporta). That guarantees a life long income in itself.

Now that you know that, think about why he fights. His competitive spirit can be easily quenched by Combat Sambo and an occasional MMA fight in Japan (where he said he prefers to fight over the US). So his reasons to fight MMA in the US are mostly patriotic. He represents Russia and he feels he can do the best job of it on the American stage. It's the most exposure and the most money.

The problem with the UFC is that Fedor has been personally insulted. The kind of a man that he is, he will never dicktuck to Dana for money. NEVER. He doesn't care about the money and he would bever take it over his pride and patritism. A common Russian view is that Americans think that they can buy anyone or anything, and the kind of man that Fedor is, he will disprove that even at his own financial detriment. At this point, he wants the UFC to pay up and meet his terms mostly out of general principle, but he does not need the UFC in any way, shape or form.

We, the fans, desparately want him to come to the UFC. That's our thing. Keep in mind that he won't feel anything if he retires from MMA tomorrow. The deal with the UFC will be on Fedor's terms or none at all. Mark my words.