Veteran MMA heavyweight, Paul “The Head Hunter” Buentello has turned down a six figure offer from Strikeforce to fight WAMMA heavyweight champion, Fedor Emelianenko in order to resign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Strikeforce CEO, Scott Coker confirmed the news earlier this week:
“We offered Paul a six-figure contract to fight Fedor, but he turned it down. His decision is understandable considering Fedor's level of skill but, at the same time, Paul didn't really fit into our plans. He's been a solid journeyman fighter and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours.”
An angry Buentello responded to Coker’s comments this week with an email to Sherdog.com where he said:
“I’ve never been one to get involved in the politics of the sport. I have made as little as $1 to fight the UFC champion and been paid as much as six figures to fight an up-and-coming fighter. I'm not insulted at being regarded as a journeyman fighter either since I started my career as one. Training in my garage with no training partners, I started off with a handful of losses.”
“I always wondered what I could do given the chance to train full time, and through a lot of sacrifices and sponsors that took a shot on me, I'm happy with the result. I've lost two times in six years with those loses coming to champions. Am I a gatekeeper or a journeyman? Well, if I'm a gatekeeper, any organization I compete in is going to have a thin heavyweight division. I've never claimed to be the best in the sport. But to say I turned down Fedor because of his skill level is a slap in the face.”
Buentello has been told by the UFC that they will honour his Affliction contract, which has one fight remaining on it, and it is understood that negotiations are underway to extend the deal past that as well.
By Michael Pepper. (Follow me on Twitter)
Paul “The Head Hunter” Buentello, con doce años de experiencia en Mixed Martial Arts, ha sido liberado por Strikeforce y actualmente está en negociaciones para volver a la UFC.
Strikeforce Presidente Scott Coker confirmó la liberación con Sherdog.com a través de un representante de la empresa, explicando, "Nosotros ofrecimos Paul un contrato de seis cifra de lucha contra Fedor, pero él la rechazó. Su decisión es comprensible teniendo en cuenta el nivel de habilidad de Fedor, pero, al mismo tiempo, Pablo no encaja realmente en nuestros planes. Ha sido un luchador de sólido y le deseamos la mejor de las suertes en sus futuros emprendimientos ".
La estrella de Kickboxing estaba programado para luchar contra Gilbert Yvel en "Affliction: Trilogy", pero finalmente fue cancelado debido a la caida de Affliction.
Buentello ha sido informdo por UFC de que ellos respetaran y darán continuacion al contrato que firmó con Affliction, y estan en negociaciones para ampliar el contrato que ya firmó Paul con Strikeforce.
"El head hunter" tiene un récord global de 27-10, con victorias en sus últimos dos combates contra Gary Goodridge y Kirill Sidelnikov. Un veterano de múltiples organizaciones, Buentello luchó por el titulo contra Arlovski recibiendo una rápida derrota y luego compitió por última vez en el UFC en 2006, anotando un nocaut técnico al ganar a Gilbert Aldana en el UFC 57.
Fuentes: mmabay / fiveounceofpain
Traducccion - OceLuirKill
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