Report: Couture Will Not Face Fedor In The UFC
In a recent interview with M1MixFight, UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture states that a highly-anticipated heavyweight bout against Fedor Emelianenko remains a possibility, but having it take place in the UFC is now absolutely impossible:
“…The UFC recently took Couture to court to bar his involvement with outside fight promotions. The litigation has apparently ruined any shot of a Couture-Emelianenko fight taking place in the UFC.
Couture made that perfectly clear when he was asked if he cares where the fight with Emelianenko takes place.
“I care at this point that it’s not in the UFC,” Couture said with a dejected laugh. “But outside of that, I don’t care where it happens so long as it happens.”
The article goes on to report that Mark Cuban’s HDNet Fights appears to have a lead on putting the dream fight together this fall, though as usual, nothing is close to official. Couture additionally stated that he would like the fight to be on American soil:
“I prefer to fight here in the U.S.,” Couture said. “It’s where I’m comfortable. For all the marketing reasons, this is the strongest market for the sport probably outside of Tokyo… but wherever it happens, it happens.”
Though I have frequently agreed with Couture’s career decisions once this mess with leaving the UFC started, I and I’m sure many others, are becoming irritated with his fickleness regarding the Fedor controversy. Just a few weeks ago there was talk of Fedor signing with the UFC for one fight against Couture, but I guess that would just be too easy wouldn’t it. The point is, Fedor and especially Randy (who will be 45 this June) aren’t getting any younger. Randy isn’t fighting anyone in this limbo period and Fedor isn’t fighting anyone half-decent anyway. The longer this fight keeps bouncing around the rumor mill the less appealing and marketable it becomes. If this fight happened tomorrow, Randy would likely have good odds going for him. But if forced to wait another year or two when Randy is 46 or 47, those odds go way down along with the marketability. Obviously, Couture cannot be compared to the poorly performing Ken Shamrock, who is also 44 years old, but a fighter should only compete for so long before the risk outweighs the desire to fight. Sorry Randy, but if you want people to actually watch this fight, you might want to get it together before your 50th birthday.
Tags: Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture
Loading ...
I really like Randy, he is a great fighter, and I think he should get together with Dana, and talk things over. Obviously, Randy wants big money for this fight, otherwise he wouldn’t be in court (we all know this is all because of money don’t we?). Fedor should also try to get a deal with the UFC. There are claim that say that the UFC won’t allow him to compete in the Sambo tourneys in his homeland, but he also has to understand that if he gets hurt/loses fighting outside of the UFC while under contract it is a huge loss for the company. If this fight is to really make it in the American market it needs the UFC support, love it or hate it, no other organization can promote an event like the UFC can (at this point). Most fans out there (casual fans) don’t know who Fedor is, and when you tell them about Strikeforce, M1-Int, etc. they go, M1-who? or Strike-who? I know a lot of folks love to hate the UFC, and Dana, but if it wasn’t for the UFC, MMA wouldn’t be sanctioned today, I wouldn’t be able to walk to the pond and get tickets, or go to the weekly smaller shows and enjoy some fights. In short, I agree with Eric, this fight must happen while Randy is still in his prime
and Fedor is well… still considered king of kings.
Zuffa is going to have Randy in court for 2 years at least. Randy messed up big time. He shouldn’t have bit the hand that feeds him. I’m sorry to say but the only time will see randy in a ring is at a Forest Griffen fight (if Dana don’t put a big blue dot on him)…PS Randy lied and sold his soul for hollywood and $$$…now he got his come uppings
good riddance randy. u went from retiring a hero in the UFC to making yourself look like a complete jackass. nicely done!
Randy is a badass. I have always liked him but he is destroying his reputation. You signed a contract…..whether or not us fans agree with the UFC…its Randy being a baby..not the UFC. If you sign a contract you stick with the terms no matter what. If contracts were made to be broken and the signee gets off scotch free….I wouldnt be paying for my truck and my house right now!
Wether or not Randy is right or Zuffa are right I am fairly certain of a couple of things. . .
1. You guys dont know all the facts. (are any of you lawyers for Randy / Zuffa?)
2. Your opinions are just as valuable as anyone elses. . . but they are still just partialy informed (likely biased) opinions.
I have never been a Randy flag flying American Bandana wearing Couture fan. I have been a huge fan of his achievements and gob-smacked at his consistant and quite frankly astounding performances. There are a few fighters out there who would wipe the floor with randy if they met in the cage Chuck Liddell likely one of them.
We all want to see him fight again. . .
All im saying is dont be quite so quick to jump in and slate him. i suspect he is a man we could all look up to.
this is an old interview from what I understand…before Fedor got out of his M-1 contract, before last weeks talk began, who know’s what’s up now, but this m1 site has been reliable for very little, I want to see an official date for this interview, been argued a good bit here recently
i seriously cant believe all the idiots siding with the UFC. Dana White is destroying the sport by owning his fighters and making them slaves. If you think this is something new you need to watch one of the many interviews with frank shamrock or tito where dana is mentioned. Dana is the one who could not make this fight happen in the UFC, because he wanted to make fedor his lap dog, and now he is trash talking him like a child. I think in time Randy will be seen as a “pioneer” for what he is doing right now, he is paving the way for fighters to have more freedom, its good for the sport.
in regard to the fight, Randy’s only advantage would have been the cage, if he ends up fighting fedor in a ring, God save him
I believe since that interview (which I believe was over a month ago) Couture has stated that he would face Fedor in the UFC if Zuffa threw out the old contract, and signed a new one. Now……
When all of this BS started, I gave my little “conspiracy theory”. Now it all may come true. Fedor and Randy at Madison Square Gardens. This really could be the biggest “self promotinal scam” ever. I really don’t think that it’s a “scam”, but if it is, it’s genius-
ANDY,
You are right and I am with you. Two sides to every story and unfortunately this involves the “law.” Never can be pretty.
I have been a fan of the web site for about a year now and i really think it needs to get better websites like MMAMania.com and MMAJUNKIE.com are beating u guys to the punch, no offence it is like u r just copy and reiterating whatver those sites say, i dunno just statin my opinion, this topic and fedor not signing M-1 was on those sites long ago
My opinion is just as good as the next ANDY, you are right. I am also an idiot. So you are right as well DREW. I dont claim to know all the facts but like I said before, from what understood….Randy wants out of his SIGNED contract. I want out of my SIGNED contract for my house. The UFC says no. My bank says no. As much as I hate it…I have to deal with it. I signed the dotted lines. I am a big Randy fan, dont get me wrong…I think the dude is huge for this sport….but there is a business side to this as well. He is not bigger than the sport and I think he thinks he is. I respect his career. He just needs to fight, and move on to Fedor.
Napoa- Some sites have info before others…thats a fact, but some people like to stick with a certain website for thier info. Just because they are not the first to post doesnt mean they were not the first to know.
true fixXeR i get 90% ov my info from this site its rules so people best stop bad mouthing it if u dont like it dont come on here,
as for the story i dont normally disagree wiv dana but if he is a big fan like he says he is an not just in it fo the $$ he should swallow his pride and make the fight happen i dont even think the fight would be as good as every1 thinks but im just getting sick of herein it now
this is the best site by far maybe not for the quickest info but for the people who, in the most part ,post on it and are actually interested in the sport and the ufc and not just stirring up trouble and talking ****e.
if Dana where as horrible as Tito and Frank Shamrock (two very classy people HAH!) say, then why does UFC have all the fighters. It should be easy for an M1 or DREAM or whoever else comes along to promise fighters bigger contracts when ratings start to come in.
It sucks working for a boss. They are out to make money off of your hard work. **** all you want, but if you werent getting something out of the boss/employee relationship, you would put in your two weeks and go somewhere else. I could care less if UFC is non-existent in a year because of Dana, and everyone watches another promotion…something tells me that wont be the case.
fedor will crush couture first round
Thats the whole problem you can’t put in your 2 weeks notice, hence Randy is in court. Fixxer no offence intended but you can stop paying for your house anytime you want to. You just can’t live there to, you can also stop paying for your car, you just can’t continue to drive it. Kinda the same way with Randy he doesn’t want to continue to be paid, he just wants out. I have signed contracts for 12 years and there was always a disgruntled clause and both myself and the other side have broken contracts it happens. Dana doesn’t fight these guys enough, either he is not able or does it on purpose. These guys sign 4 fight deals and it takes 2 years, sometimes even longer. How can the guys be great without fighting? Looks like if you make dana mad thats what happens. By the way it’s not just Tito and Frank but those plus Randy, Tim, Nick, just to name a few oh and Fedor especially after what dana called him just because he wouldn’t sign with him. Kinda childish if you ask me of dana. If you only had the chance to make 7 to 14 grand off of fights this year not counting sponsors how would you feel. Also how would you feel if you went to work with a company they paid you 15 bucks an hour, then 6 months latter raised starting pay to 18 bucks an hour but you were still at 15, while guys just starting made more than you. Would you still feel the same way, you agreed to make 15 so you should suck it up while the guy that just started makes 18. Personally I would either get a raise or quit. bottom line rights, right and wrong is wrong dana is wrong for that.
you are right….Randy chooses not to be paid..but he still has a time obligation on the contract and a obligation not to fight with other companies. I would personally love to see him fight anywhere anytime…but everyone bashes the UFC and Dana and he is just holding up his end of the bargain.
Randy will be in court for 2 to 3 more years and in the end he will be out alot of money and repect. The sport and the UFC will be fine and will have build up an other star by then (Mir, Brock or some one else). Randy took a big risk and rolled snike eyes. To bad but he ask for it. If you sign a contract Jan is shouldn’t be ****ty by Sept. I think all we can hope for now is that Dana blue dot him when he corners Forest.
“you are right….Randy chooses not to be paid..but he still has a time obligation on the contract and a obligation not to fight with other companies.”
Non-compete clauses are very hard to sustain in court. In fact, they lead to a lot of contracts being ruled invalid.
On reason they are voided? They are long enough to adversely affect the signers ability to earn a living. Sports and technology are two areas this happens a lot. A year or more with no ability to fight could arguably end a career. And that makes a contract invalid.
randy is turning 45 in june. he is also so well respected and acomplished as a mixed martial arts fighter that the fight should have happened by now. if it does ever happen, which, speaking for mma fans all over the world, it SHOULD happen , it could possibly be the greatest mma spectacle ever. randy has already gone into retirement once. all he wants is fedor and there is too much comotion to fulfil that from happening. i say randy and fedor should talk face to face about this if its ever gonna happen. GIVE RANDY THE MATCH!!EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD WANTS TO SEE IT!!
This is the MATCH!!EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD WANTS TO SEE thats why it will not matter where it takes place! it will be a safe bet no matter which company puts this fight out it;s going to be a sell out! which for a smaller org like Hdnet fights or just starting out big time japan promoter Dream! this would be a great way to get to the more uninformed UFC fans that place the name mma with just ufc because its on cable! and the ufc knows this thats why they dont want this fight to happen unless its them who gane from it! Zuffa and Dana White done care about the the sport of mma they care about YOUR MONEY!!! which is there money and thats all! and if you think im wrong then why did this fight not happen when PRIDE was around they could of easily did another cross promotion just like all the others like the chuck liddell in prides gp 2003 tournament.
i think that randy has to take his share of blame that this fight isnt gonna happen in ufc.he signed the contract and has now went back on it so is that danas fault or the ufcs? why should the ufc just let him walk away to make a ton of money with another org for this fight.they are right to hold the fight up for as long possible.yes randy has been great for the ufc but that doesnt give him the right to tear up contracts.
belly, the ufc was never going to make this fight happen, because dana could not push fedor around. the ufc was just trying to force randy to fight sylva. the only reason they are talking about making this fight happen know is 1 they see randy is serious and 2 someone else is trying to make it happen. this is just evidence dana’s days of pushing fighters around are coming to an end hopefully it won’t destroy the ufc.
“if you think im wrong then why did this fight not happen when PRIDE was around they could of easily did another cross promotion just like all the others like the chuck liddell in prides gp 2003 tournament.” M3 what are you talking about? Pride was dead by the time Randy won the belt? You are telling me you wanted to see this fight when Randy was coming off 2 KO loses at 205? Really what are you talking about? If Randy and Fedor are willing to play ball this fight will happen. But the fact is that no one outside of hardcore MMA fans now who Fedor is. He could walk into 80% of home at dinner time wearing a**** that say “I’m Fedor the best fighter in the world” and the still won’t know who he is. A Randy V Chuck rematch at HW would be THE FIGHT world would want to see. That Hollywood and middle america would want to see!
lol you got that all wrong bud its only a hard core fan if you watch anything outside the ufc is that what your saying!!! last time i checked the average ufc fan know what pride is and if you know of pride you think all these ppl on these form dont know anything about fador until now… and i bet you think that this fight is only been trying to happen in the last 12 month too.. no no your right the randy vs. chuck at a hw would be the match everyone wants to see because that would mean absolutely nothing!!!!!
Eddyr92806 hey man pride ended in April after the couture fight with tim for the belt that so you should do you homework before shooting off your mouth at someone. because it does not make you look to smart.
I think most people that have common knowledge about fighting in general know who Fedor is. Not just hardore fans.
As much as everything points to Randy being an idiot, I have to say that ANDY is correct in that no one but the UFC, Randy Couture, and those directly involved have a truly informed opinion. I agree that it looks reallllly bad for Couture cuz he agreed to something, then backed out (or so we think) with evidence to support him lying about certain issues (signing bonus). One thing you can take as fact though is that Michael Bisping is a huge faggot.
Just asked ten people in my office who Fedor is they had no idea…asked who Chuck is and they all knew. Fedor wasn’t on a hit pop culter hbo show like Chuck was. Chuck v Randy may not be a bigger fight cause it means anything but when it comes to drawing more fans it is. Even if he losed 2 fights, Chuck is still the biggest name in mma in the US.
PS Segablack Zuffa bought PPRIDE FC in March 27th of 2007 the same month that Randy got the belt. So there your homework. Not shooting off my mouth.
Here is the link:
http://www.pridefc.com/pride2005/index.php?mainpage=news&news_id=1034
And yes Bisgping is a huge faggot
Well man i guess it all depends on where you live, i live in Canada and everyone i ask here Definitely knows the name Fador Emelianenko! alls im saying if you watch and like mma you dont have to be a major fan to know who the top fighters are.
But that is the thing the ufc already has the fan who watches mma or the fan that likes mma it needs to get the fan that likes Entourage and has never seen mma. That is how the sport grows into the main stream. I not saying that i want to see chuck v randy IV but it would pull in a lot of fans. But i think a Chuck V Fedor would SELL more then a Randy V Fedor. I didn’t say mean more i said SELL more.
look, you’re all overlooking one important thing and that is that Michael Bisping blows guys.
Randy Couture has been trying to fight Fedor for around 5-8 yrs now. I remember him calling him out after he beat Tito Ortiz. He was calling him out before Barnett and Rodriguez beat him as well. I like the thoughts of all of the match ups (Randy would beat Chuck at heavyweight, hands down) but the only POSSIBLE match that they should be working on, night and day, is Randy vs Fedor. Can you feel the buzz. Even newcomers want this fight now, and they don’t even know why.