Emelianenko is often referred to as “the Last Emperor” but most fans simply know him as “Fedor”. Fedor rose to prominence in the past decade by defeating every opponent that has ever set foot in the ring with him. During and after his Pride FC career, Fedor defeated 5 of the 12 men that have held the UFC's heavyweight title. Josh Barnett could have been the sixth former UFC champion defeated by Fedor, but that fight was canceled after Barnett tested positive for a banned substance. His lone loss in 32 professional fights was to Tsuyoshi Kohsaka when he was cut and unable to continue in the first round of a fight back in December of 2000. He later went on to avenge that loss by defeating Kohsaka at Pride Bushido 6 in 2005.

Fedor had a non-exclusive, non-transferable contract with the owners of Pride FC so that when the organization was purchased by Zuffa, the contract Fedor signed was nullified leaving him as a free agent. Early in their pursuit, the UFC seemed close to signing Fedor to a deal in September of 2007. One point of contention that arose was Fedor's insistence that he be allowed to compete in Sambo competitions. Sambo is a Russian martial art that stands for “self-defense without weapons” and is similar to today's mixed martial arts. The UFC's firm stance on an exclusive deal with Fedor was seen as a primary reason that the deal ultimately unraveled.

Shortly after the UFC deal failed, it was announced that Fedor had signed an exclusive deal with M-1 Global. At the time, M-1 had just been purchased by an American entertainment company but the company was formerly owned and managed by Fedor's manager, Vadim Finkelstein. Finkelstein still owns Red Devil Sports Club, the facility that Fedor and other Russian fighters train at, and continues to serve in the role of CEO of M-1 Global.

In addition to the missed opportunity of signing Fedor, the UFC suffered another major setback when at-the-time UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture unexpectedly resigned from the UFC, citing the UFC's inability to sign Fedor to a fight with Couture as one of the primary reasons. Couture also felt he was treated unfairly by the organization with regards to compensation and how he was being promoted. Other fighters, most notably Tito Ortiz and Roger Huerta, have been critical of the UFC's compensation practices in the past. After a long, drawn out court battle, Couture eventually rejoined the UFC after finding it too difficult to get out of his UFC contract.