UFC President Dana White, UFC Majority Owner Lorenzo Fertitta and UFC Chief Financial Officer (CFO) John Mulkey today hosted a press conference to address recent “damaging” remarks from UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture.
The rare broadcast was streamed online via video on UFC.com.
Here are the two key takeaways:
- Randy Couture is still the UFC Heavyweight Champion. In fact, he will be offered a bout agreement this week to defend his title against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira sometime in early 2008. The UFC wants him to defend his title — there is no “breaking point” at which the UFC would walkaway.
- Couture did receive a signing bonus (something he denies) in the amount of $500,000. He received two $250,000 payments — the UFC handed out photocopies of the checks with his signature as evidence. In addition, “The Natural” will make about $2.9 million from his UFC contract alone for two fights in 2006. Clearly, this excludes endorsements and includes PPV cuts, fight bonuses, annual salary, etc.
Here are the other highlights:
- Dana feels that this is a “weird situation” because the UFC doesn’t talk about money — it changes fighters’ lives. The UFC takes care of its fighters and treats them well. Couture’s statements he made about finances are untrue. Want to clear up facts.
- Kim Couture (Randy’s wife) was wrong when she said the UFC never promoted him. White rattled off a laundry list of marketing efforts and television programs in which the UFC promoted him.
- Lorenzo Feritta negotiated the contract with Couture. So when he hears Randy say that he was “never happy” with contract, it is surprising to him because Couture seemed happy in January.
- Couture grossly misrepresented the financial facts in his press conference. The UFC can’t sit back and be silent, which is the reason for the response.
- The CFO rattles of several figures that all amount to just under three million for the year (2006) for two fights. That figure includes (among other things) a $500,000 signing bonus that Couture says he didn’t get.
- White says that UFC is not a monopoly — competition is the best its been in years.
- Lorenzo was a bit dismayed by the tone of Randy’s press conference because the two (he thought) had a good conversation beforehand. He later goes on to say that Couture damaged UFC as a company with his inaccurate remarks. He still considers Couture a friend.
- White reminded everyone that Couture is still under contract and the UFC will do whatever is necessary to protect its rights
- White said that Fedor is a farce and is not top five. He always felt that way. The only reason he tried so hard to get him was because Randy wanted the fight.
- If the UFC can work with Tito Ortiz it can certainly work with Randy Couture. Facts are facts. Don’t want this play it out in court. Couture signed a $500,000 contract to fight in the UFC.
- White claims again that Couture’s “puke” Hollywood agent is behind everything because the whole situation makes “no sense.”
- Dana White quote of press conference: “I don’t know what I did wrong. This is the most disturbing thing … ever.”
That’s it. To check out the Randy Couture press conference from last week click here. Compare and contrast. Draw your own conclusions.
October 30th, 2007
114 Comments »
What kind of SHIT ASS quality is this????
He sounds like the teacher from Charlie Brown!
CLICK ON THE YAHOO LINK - IT WORKS WAAAAY BETTER!!!
Yahoo’s stream is without audio!! Does anybody else have this problem?
Where is the link once I get to the Yahoo site?
Go to the video section under the “video” tab on the mma home page…tell me if you have any problems with the audio..
Oh dang this actually is working….. First time a live streaming has worked for me
Lorenzo and Dana claim Randy got a half million dollar signing bonus. Man I hope Randy doesnt mess up his image, or hasnt been pulling a vale over everybodys eyes about the respectful, accomplished champ he is.
Dana Whit: “Fedor’s NOT Top 5 HW!”
Wow-_Dana called Fedor a “farce”
Yeah that BS about Fedor’s history of he fights, he basically named the last three fights to make Fedor look bad, and personally I think beating Mark Hunt is nothing to be taken lightly.
But the financial situation, so far it looks like Randy kinda bs’d that does it not?
Dana calling Fedor not a top five heavyweight is silly, but ultimately totally irrelevant, as he’s just irritated Fedor signed elsewhere and rankings don’t mean anything anyway. But it sounds like Randy is getting killed on the financials.
Got a 700k connection and still can’t hear audio!!!
Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! loud and clear.
Dana: ” I don’t like talking about $$$$ ”
I guess it depends on which side he is refering to.
All of these press conferences and slander by the ufc makes one thing pretty obvious. They expect Randy to try and fight Fedor, and are trying to downplay hype for the matchup. Why else would they be holding these counter press conferences and trying to say Fedor isn’t top 5? Of course there is always sour grapes, but I think there is something more to it than that.
First and foremost its all about business. If Randy leaves with the majority of the fans’ support to fight Fedor, who most consider #1, that could be bad for the ufc. how M1 fares is yet to be seen, but they’ll get some nice numbers with a Randy vs Fedor match
these reporters forgot to bring their balls, they under ufc contract too
THIS IS DANA’s, and the UFC’s SIDE
THEY ARE famous for Double Talk, and Jive TAlk.
RAndy should sue them, if he’s right.
Quite frankly who really believe’s DANa w. and the whole UFC?
DANA talks like he respects randy and hes one heck of a person and athalete then says every time he, (randy) calls Dana is his (randys *itch!?!?!
UFC could have stated this already but they were plotting against randy till after they heard what he had to say….
dana behaves when daddys there…
[quote post=”3736″]All of these press conferences and slander by the ufc makes one thing pretty obvious. They expect Randy to try and fight Fedor, and are trying to downplay hype for the matchup. Why else would they be holding these counter press conferences and trying to say Fedor isn’t top 5? Of course there is always sour grapes, but I think there is something more to it than that. [/quote]
Aww I dunno about that, they really are touching on that very minimally. It’s ALL about the money. Randy says this much, they say taht much, and it looks like Dana and Lorenzo are right, which is to bad.
I really am starting to wonder why Randy is doing this. I hope they can work it out, I really wanna see Randy fight some more.
[quote comment=”201223″]Oh dang this actually is working….. First time a live streaming has worked for me
Lorenzo and Dana claim Randy got a half million dollar signing bonus. Man I hope Randy doesnt mess up his image, or hasnt been pulling a vale over everybodys eyes about the respectful, accomplished champ he is.[/quote]
I don’t believe RAndy ever said that he got a signing bonus or not in his press conference …but he said he got an after fight extra lockerroom bonus after he beat tim s. and after GG he did not get one, and that he is auditing the ppv for the GG fight.
It’s always good to question authority
lol..awesome conference..lol at the guy that asked about Gomi.
[quote comment=”201243″][quote post=”3736″]All of these press conferences and slander by the ufc makes one thing pretty obvious. They expect Randy to try and fight Fedor, and are trying to downplay hype for the matchup. Why else would they be holding these counter press conferences and trying to say Fedor isn’t top 5? Of course there is always sour grapes, but I think there is something more to it than that. [/quote]
Aww I dunno about that, they really are touching on that very minimally. It’s ALL about the money. Randy says this much, they say taht much, and it looks like Dana and Lorenzo are right, which is to bad.
I really am starting to wonder why Randy is doing this. I hope they can work it out, I really wanna see Randy fight some more.[/quote]
WHY would you say dana and lorenzzo are correct???
come on!!!
[quote comment=”201244″][quote comment=”201223″]Oh dang this actually is working….. First time a live streaming has worked for me
Lorenzo and Dana claim Randy got a half million dollar signing bonus. Man I hope Randy doesnt mess up his image, or hasnt been pulling a vale over everybodys eyes about the respectful, accomplished champ he is.[/quote]
I don’t believe RAndy ever said that he got a signing bonus or not in his press conference …but he said he got an after fight extra lockerroom bonus after he beat tim s. and after GG he did not get one, and that he is auditing the ppv for the GG fight.
It’s always good to question authority[/quote]
Randy DID in fact claim that he DID NOT recieve a signing bonus, Dana and Lorenzo claim he DID, and apparently have the proof.
I’m certainly getting tired of this back n’ forth, and this next UFC card is worth 19.95.
I hope Dana address:
1. 2 fights 18month expiration? - THAT’s most important.
2. Randy’s Ancillary rights, worth?
3. Bonus
4. Said he didn’t talk to Randy and didn’t know what all Randy’s issues were…. Randy said he talked to Dana and Fertitta 2 1/2 weeks before he left to film with all the issues on the table.
[quote comment=”201243″]Aww I dunno about that, they really are touching on that very minimally. It’s ALL about the money. Randy says this much, they say taht much, and it looks like Dana and Lorenzo are right, which is to bad.
I really am starting to wonder why Randy is doing this. I hope they can work it out, I really wanna see Randy fight some more.[/quote]
I’ve also seen nothing to side with Randy to be honest. He’s basically saying he resigned due to rumors that other fighters were paid more than him. I’d say not signing Fedor is a more legit reason than that, but still not enough to breach contract and fight somewhere else.
I guess the ufc’s press conferences could just be damage control and clarification. I imagine they don’t want their most popular fighter to resign, then start bashing them. Seemed like they were wanting to stay quiet in hopes they wouldn’t have to confront him publicly, but that didn’t work out
[quote comment=”201248″][quote comment=”201243″][quote post=”3736″]All of these press conferences and slander by the ufc makes one thing pretty obvious. They expect Randy to try and fight Fedor, and are trying to downplay hype for the matchup. Why else would they be holding these counter press conferences and trying to say Fedor isn’t top 5? Of course there is always sour grapes, but I think there is something more to it than that. [/quote]
Aww I dunno about that, they really are touching on that very minimally. It’s ALL about the money. Randy says this much, they say taht much, and it looks like Dana and Lorenzo are right, which is to bad.
I really am starting to wonder why Randy is doing this. I hope they can work it out, I really wanna see Randy fight some more.[/quote]
WHY would you say dana and lorenzzo are correct???
come on!!![/quote]
Don’t they have the endorsed check from Randy as proof?
There are two reasons for Randy’s apparently sudden disenchantment with the UFC: 1) He’s doing an end run to get the Fedor fight with the prospect of a much greater purse; 2) He’s going Hollywood (literally) and is instigating a breakup to be free for whatever roles he believes (or has been told by his agent) await.
Either way, he’s ethically wrong and stands to tarnish an image that took a lot of time (and punches) to establish.
I missed the part about Gomi, what was said?
This whole thing is silly really. I don’t always care for the way Dana conducts himself, but that’s just his personality, and he knows it. I think he knows he shoots off his mouth sometimes, which irratates people.
If you just look at what this whole dispute is about, the amount of money Randy got paid versus other fighters, and the figures Randy stated, and the figures the UFC stated, there is a big difference there. Who’s correct and accurate, who knows. The fact that the ufc handed out cashed checks give their position some legitimacy. Randy handed out some numbers, it seems they just weren’t the complete numbers.
I know many people don’t care for Dana and how he acts and what he says, but he did say the UFC has more fights under the contract Randy signed, and they will work on offering Randy another fight on that contract. Randy and Dana should have a few beers and just work it out.
I still feel given the money that a UFC event, like UFC77, makes (upwards of $25-30 mil) and only having published payments to fighters of about $650k is a bit off. But if other fighters are smart enough to put in their contracts they get a piece of the PPV income, then that $650k for the fighters could easily double if say Sylvia and Franklin has a piece of the PPV.
Randy and the UFC, work it out and move on. There is PLENTY of money to be made by everyone involved!
[quote comment=”201255″]I missed the part about Gomi, what was said?[/quote]
Nothing. Someone asked if there were plans for Gomi to come to the UFC and Dana declined to speak of it, stating that this press conference was about Randy.
Look, whether you like Dana or hate him or just love Couture a couple of things seem clear to me now. Couture said he didn’t get a signing bonus. The UFC showed cashed checks where he got $500k in signing bonus. Randy was off re: his ppv money by about $436k from the Sylvia fight, and his wife’s claims (now taken down on their website) that the UFC never promoted Randy is just crap.
Fighters should make more money period and someone should take the UFC to task for that discrepancy. Regardless, Randy Couture thought that the contract he signed in January was enough money for Randy Couture and signed the thing. I don’t blame the UFC thus far in their dealings with Couture.
by the way, another thing that stuck out: Fertitta stated it correctly, in my opinion, when he said basically “I’ve never heard someone say they are able to perform their duties under a contract but just want to resign instead”.
If I am the UFC I am lining up fights for Randy asap. Once he backs off then they gain a tactical edge if we’re talking about contract breach.
Maybe Matt aint that dumb after all, he’s sticking up for what’s right, smart move on Matt
http://www.mmafightline.com/news/2007/1029/matt_hughes_306866.shtml
Im sure there were plenty of reporters and callers paid to ask softball questions and distracting questions.
“you did you think this was an accident?, premeditated pawtna”- 40 year old virgin…
[quote comment=”201265″]Im sure there were plenty of reporters and callers paid to ask softball questions and distracting questions.
“you did you think this was an accident?, premeditated pawtna”- 40 year old virgin…[/quote]
Care to suggest other questions that weren’t asked but should have been?
Judgement day for Sherk, Baroni, and Kazuhiro Nakamura tomorrow.
RANDY… GOT… RAPED…
Just wait until the financial statement copies make their way on here and you guys will see that Randy is in the wrong on this issue.
[quote comment=”201253″][quote comment=”201248″][quote comment=”201243″][quote post=”3736″]All of these press conferences and slander by the ufc makes one thing pretty obvious. They expect Randy to try and fight Fedor, and are trying to downplay hype for the matchup. Why else would they be holding these counter press conferences and trying to say Fedor isn’t top 5? Of course there is always sour grapes, but I think there is something more to it than that. [/quote]
Aww I dunno about that, they really are touching on that very minimally. It’s ALL about the money. Randy says this much, they say taht much, and it looks like Dana and Lorenzo are right, which is to bad.
I really am starting to wonder why Randy is doing this. I hope they can work it out, I really wanna see Randy fight some more.[/quote]
WHY would you say dana and lorenzzo are correct???
come on!!![/quote]
Don’t they have the endorsed check from Randy as proof?[/quote]
They have copies of the cashed checks if you’d listen!
I’d also like to state that Zuffa handled this extremely well. Lorenzo really came off as a true professional. He was confident, well-spoken and seemed in total control the entire time. It definately showcased why he’s one of the most successful businessmen in the country.
I kind of like the disparity I saw between Lorenzo and Dana. Lorenzo is professional businessman that sometimes works behind the scenes to ensure the company’s success, and Dana is outspoken face of the company that lets his thoughts be known.
People will hate on Dana for the lack of professionalism when he calls Fedor a farce, or for claiming Randy’s Hollywood agent is scumbag. However, he comes off very well and says the right things most of the time when you actually listen to the entire sound byte, instead of short individual phrases that aren’t perfectly PC. His off-the-cuff remarks also makes him seem open and honest, which helps out a lot when he’s talking about other issues.
Randy is going to sue, and the relationship between the two will be over and done with. Lorenzo had to do some studying to answer most of those questions.
Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana totally outmanuevered Randy. The evidence of a signing bonus says it all. Randy unfortunately has bitten off more than he can chew. IMO his wife has become a negative influence. I really liked Lorenzo’s statement that, “We’ll do whatever it takes to protect our rights.” Randy looks really bad here.
Notice the ufc’s website now?!?!
yesterday they had a news post saying they having a press confrence over randy now they threw it from their website…PRETTY SNEAKY SIS!
RANDY did not sign those checks if so how can u prove it and or when it was for where are they i see none such evidence the ufc are in dammage control mode unles they are hyping up this to ge t more ppv’s from randy
If Randy tries to fight Fedor in 2008 the UFC would be able to prevent the showing of this fight on PPV I bet, they must have some kind of legal action they could take to prevent it. Plus the cost of such a show would be at least $40.00 for a PPV. At least the UFC always has other good fights on a card to warrant paying that much for the PPV even if the main event isn’t that strong (see UFC 77). Who would M-1 get to fill a card? Josh Barnett is the only active free agent I can think of that I would like to see fight. I have a bad feeling this card will be filled with older fighters that would not be able to keep up with the new breed of MMA fights (Ken Shamrock rings a bell), I really think this is a lose lose situation for Randy. If he’s trying to get more roles in Hollywood I don’t think him breaking a contract shows well for him.
[quote comment=”201253″][quote comment=”201248″][quote comment=”201243″][quote post=”3736″]All of these press conferences and slander by the ufc makes one thing pretty obvious. They expect Randy to try and fight Fedor, and are trying to downplay hype for the matchup. Why else would they be holding these counter press conferences and trying to say Fedor isn’t top 5? Of course there is always sour grapes, but I think there is something more to it than that. [/quote]
Aww I dunno about that, they really are touching on that very minimally. It’s ALL about the money. Randy says this much, they say taht much, and it looks like Dana and Lorenzo are right, which is to bad.
I really am starting to wonder why Randy is doing this. I hope they can work it out, I really wanna see Randy fight some more.[/quote]
WHY would you say dana and lorenzzo are correct???
come on!!![/quote]
Don’t they have the endorsed check from Randy as proof?[/quote]
Yeah yohnstoppable they do, this is really a bummer, I mean did Randy just flat out lie to help out his cause? A cause that is now kinda fuzzy? Well so far i’m kinda dissappointed in Randy, but I really wanna see him fight still haha.
[quote comment=”201274″]I kind of like the disparity I saw between Lorenzo and Dana. Lorenzo is professional businessman that sometimes works behind the scenes to ensure the company’s success, and Dana is outspoken face of the company that lets his thoughts be known.[/quote]
Isn’t that known as “good cop, bad cop?”
So Randy says his head was all screwed up with his earlier losses to Liddel, etc. Is he going to fare any better now (assuming he honors what’s left on his contract) that this mess is going on? Randy always struck me as a pretty smart guy. Either he’s proving to be bi-polar, he’s taken one blow too many cause he’s listening to some VERY bad advice, or the UFC is flat out lying. Dana and Zuffa seem to have a pretty strong case. Something ain’t right in Randy-ville.
“White said that Fedor is a farce and is not top five. He always felt that way. The only reason he tried so hard to get him was because Randy wanted the fight.” -ROFL
There has to be a reason why tito, frank shamrock, fedor, and now randy dont like how dana does business.
Kim, his ‘Hollywood agent’, or greed…Captain Ameri$a is damaging his rep by lying through his teeth.
So who’s Dana’s to HW top 5? When the CFO steps in, you can’t deny the facts.
Wow what a mess! The truth will all come out. You can’t tell me that the UFC does not have proof enough to set Randy and the public straight. I have lost a bit of respect for Randy and even though Dana speaks off the cuff, he knows his business. Randy’s wife hasn’t been around long enough to know Randy’s fighting history, her comments were as if she walked into the middle of a conversation and tried to be an expert. Hope Randy has not stepped in shit too deep that he wil be stained forever. How sad after such a career we are all of a sudden not happy. Bull S— Too much on the go for Randy to think straight. I don’t think that comment wwas too far off when it said that they might be downplaying the Randy/Fedor fight. Thinkin’ it may happen. Who knows. Just my opinion only.
I BELIEVE RANDY,SORRY DANA I STOP BELIEVING YOU A MILLION F BOMBS AGO
I dont know what to believe now. Everytime I click on this website there is something different. Whatever happened only they know.I just want the UFC to keep growing the way it is , so those who like this sport ,like myself can enjoy it.All this trashtalking is like food for these people who want this sport to disappear.They need to sit down and come to terms.Dana has done lot for the sport, so it is unfair when you see fans saying that he is killing it ,though I disagree with him when He says Fedor is not in the top five fighters in the world.What happened to him was that he did not want to fight the best fighters cause he knows what happened to Mirko and his managers realize about that and said. Let’s try to squeze more money out these organizations here in Europe and we will see what happens.No one cannot say who the best fighter is.Mirko came to the USA being one of my favorite fighters and you know the rest.I had to laugh yesterday night when I read I dont know where that Jeff Monson was going to fight Fedor. Is it funny?Talking about a potential fight with Randy and now the guy is going to fight Jeff, who is great but supposely is not at his level. This is what Fedor’s managers want to see, easy fights like this one.
Folks, It’s clear! Rndy doesn’t want to be a fighter anymore. He wants to take his new found fame and go to Hollywood.
[quote comment=”201315″]Folks, It’s clear! Rndy doesn’t want to be a fighter anymore. He wants to take his new found fame and go to Hollywood.[/quote]
You said it my friend…. Done.
What a mess, its too bad, because the truth of the matter is the ufc has really made randy into the fighter he is today, and given him the exposure he has today. I really hope they can work something out and mend there bridges and this mess gets cleaned up.
the only issue I wish someone would have asked them about was the decision to not give Randy a post-fight bonus following the Gonzaga fight. I must say, though, that really is the only issue left unanswered and it’s not a strong one in my opinion. Randy comes out looking a little petty, in my opinion.
Just wait til they offer him the Big Nog fight and he refuses.
I dont know if Dana White is full of shit when he says he is friends with Randy, Chuck, and was friends with Tito. I mean as a business man, they shouldnt really be his “friends”, but he can have a good relationship with them. If he really believes they are his friends, then he has a lot to learn about business, and will have alot of disappointments in the future. I dont think that those guys ever felt that way on their end, they are in it for the money and to be sucessful.
[quote comment=”201274″]I’d also like to state that Zuffa handled this extremely well. Lorenzo really came off as a true professional. He was confident, well-spoken and seemed in total control the entire time. It definately showcased why he’s one of the most successful businessmen in the country.
I kind of like the disparity I saw between Lorenzo and Dana. Lorenzo is professional businessman that sometimes works behind the scenes to ensure the company’s success, and Dana is outspoken face of the company that lets his thoughts be known.
People will hate on Dana for the lack of professionalism when he calls Fedor a farce, or for claiming Randy’s Hollywood agent is scumbag. However, he comes off very well and says the right things most of the time when you actually listen to the entire sound byte, instead of short individual phrases that aren’t perfectly PC. His off-the-cuff remarks also makes him seem open and honest, which helps out a lot when he’s talking about other issues.[/quote]
Completely agree with you!
Maybe the UFC is paying Randy right and someone is stealing from him. Happens alot with major athletes.
Yoko needs a new pair of shoes=Randy needs a new contract
All this today - What? to preempt Randy’s TV appearance? Well, I really dont want to watch any of this. For me the Hamill/Bisping thing got my blood boiling; this is just pathetic. At this point cottage cheese and cheetos sound like a good idea!
[quote comment=”201262″]Maybe Matt aint that dumb after all, he’s sticking up for what’s right, smart move on Matt
http://www.mmafightline.com/news/2007/1029/matt_hughes_306866.shtml/quote
Yeah, he’s a smart guy alright. He used the phrase “I don’t know” five times in the five paragraphs and inferred that sentiment throughout the article. So basically, your idea of someone who is smart is someone that doesn’t know things. I DO know that I disagree with you.
[quote comment=”201226″]Wow-_Dana called Fedor a “farce”[/quote]
I hate to say it, but sometimes Dana needs to be more political and watch what he says. I like his candid responses, sometimes, but other times he seems to be trying too hard to get a soundbyte.
someone is lying here, hard to say who, but i can say i don’t see randy being the liar, but if they have the checks to prove the money,
and to call fedor a farce and not a top 5 heavyweight,
he sure is pissed he didn’t sign him, he could have if he played ball instead of hard balling them
Step back a second and think this through. Randy got married a year ago exactly, and then he comes out of retirement to fight a HW. It seems his recent marriage is influencing some of this. Randy Couture seems like an awesome guy and a incredible athelete, and I hope that is not the case. If Randy were smart, he would have signed a 1 year contract, which by now, he would have renegotiated a better 1, because nobody knew how good Randy was going to do as a HW. Hats of to Dana and Lorenzo for defending the integrity of the UFC. I hope Randy’s wife is not pulling 1 over on him. Time will tell. I hope Randy and the UFC settle their differences and Randy fights another few years.
So much drama….The way this sounds Randy does want to get out of fighting,which is fine.Thats his choice but it sounds like he is trying to blame it on the UFC management.I am a Fedor fan but I agree on the fact that he is not the no.1 fighter RIGHT NOW.He needs to start fighting some tough competition.You cant deny his past,hes undefeated(except for the one cut fight)but this sport has exploded,and there are a lot of top fighters out there.Lets see what happens in next couple months.
I could easily look it up in a dictionary but what the fuck is a farce?
[quote comment=”201333″]Yoko needs a new pair of shoes=Randy needs a new contract[/quote]
So true - the biggest battle is life is always the vagina.
Lorenzo Fertitta really made a powerfull statement at the end of the conference when he mentioned that he would consider that they’ve made it when he could afford to pay a fighter a million dollars a fight, and that little did he know that it would end up being the start of his problems. This is an off-handed way of inferring that Randy is ungrateful. Randy got some really bad advice. His wife appears to be a “piece of work”.
Randy is still a liar. Randy’s wife is ignorant and needs to shut her mouth and know her role as a quiet supporter in the background. And Dana made a stupid comment on Fedor’s rank. I’m not convinced he’s #1 but he is at least top 2. Guess we’ll never know where either one really stands as they both made the biggest mistakes of their careers
Look mommy no bad words!
[quote comment=”201336″][quote comment=”201262″]Maybe Matt aint that dumb after all, he’s sticking up for what’s right, smart move on Matt[/quote]
Yeah, he’s a smart guy alright. He used the phrase “I don’t know” five times in the five paragraphs and inferred that sentiment throughout the article. So basically, your idea of someone who is smart is someone that doesn’t know things. I DO know that I disagree with you.[/quote]
Amen. Matt said nothing other than trying to leave everyone blameless cuz the UFC personnel grew so fast.
I watched both press conferences in their entirety and so far it doesn’t look good for Randy. The UFC press conference was professional and actually had some fact based evidence while Randy’s was more of a repetitive rant about petty bs. It sounded like regurgitated pillow talk.
For UFC 68 Couture vs Slyvia on March 2006. Couture was paid $250,000 before and $250,000 after as a signing bonus = $500.000. Couture’s pay-per-view% = $936,000. Total= $1.436 Million
For Couture vs Gonzaga UFC 74 on August 2007, Couture’s was paid $250,000. He earned a $35,000 bonus for fight of the night, and PPV% = $787,000. Total = $1.072 million.
-White and Fertitta are very clear on the numbers.
-Randy stated he got bonus for the Slyvia fight but was questioning why he didn’t get one with Gonzaga?
-Randy was highly upset Fedor was offered so much money, that was the main issue.
-Randy is not very clear in how he’s presenting his numbers, in his press conference it seems directed at yahoo sports.
When Randy shows the contract it clearly says (2 $250.000 checks) but then he quickly says “$250 and about $500 for PPV, you do the math”…. it’s right in front of our faces and it doesn’t seem like he’s presenting it correctly. Randy is coming off like a guy that’s paranoid and suspicious without keeping track of his own deposits on what the UFC paid him.
I understood that he was upset at yahoo sports for mis-representing his pay and was mad at UFC for offering Fedor millions more. Apparently the UFC never offered Fedor that kind of money according to Dana? So is Randy really getting his information from the internet?
No more information on the 18month 4 fight agreement, ‘damn’. If contract information is confidential then Couture may be up against opposition. Also the UFC hints at defamatory remarks, there could be lawsuit potential here.
In light of this new information I have to side with Dana despite not really understanding what the 18 month agreement for 4 fights really means. Or understanding what the UFC offered Fedor, which is the main issue despite Randy’s other mini-issues.
Couture has said he is the last guy to complain”’ and I think he needs to fix this with the UFC and never, ever let his wife discuss his financial matters again in public and get his facts correct to a ‘T’ when presenting them to the public, leaving off a few hundered thousand here or there even on accident is not acceptable public relations.
This is all that’s left of Couture’s claims:
-No bonus for Slyvia fight- why?
-Why was Fedor offered so much more? (apparently he wasn’t) or Randy was going to get at least as much as Fedor and the UFC (Dana) was going to fix that, we’ll never know for sure, but Dana has always said they never said no to Couture and I believe that part, Randy said it himself, if he went to Dana he’d probably say yes.
Just wait until Randy speaks out again… I’ll change my mind..LOL. he’d better not, unless he has his facts straight. Otherwise he’d better state it in a manner to settle this dispute and repair any harm to the UFC he may have committed without perpetuating any further ill will.
[quote comment=”201332″]Maybe the UFC is paying Randy right and someone is stealing from him. Happens alot with major athletes.[/quote]
Maybe… Wow it is coming together as i type…His wife is his buisness manager…Wow…It seems that his new fling may be stealing money from him…
The next thing you know, “Randy gets divorce and agrees to finish his contract”
I Can Predict The Future
I will say bye now
Bye
Does anyone have a link of the press conference? I missed it. Thanks.
[quote comment=”201292″][quote comment=”201274″]I kind of like the disparity I saw between Lorenzo and Dana. Lorenzo is professional businessman that sometimes works behind the scenes to ensure the company’s success, and Dana is outspoken face of the company that lets his thoughts be known.[/quote]
Isn’t that known as “good cop, bad cop?”
So Randy says his head was all screwed up with his earlier losses to Liddel, etc. Is he going to fare any better now (assuming he honors what’s left on his contract) that this mess is going on? Randy always struck me as a pretty smart guy. Either he’s proving to be bi-polar, he’s taken one blow too many cause he’s listening to some VERY bad advice, or the UFC is flat out lying. Dana and Zuffa seem to have a pretty strong case. Something ain’t right in Randy-ville.[/quote]
You know you’re touching on something here I also noticed, Randy seems to have a paranoid/suspicious personality coming out. Randy has always been a very articulate, intelligent guy that wouldn’ make such strong statements without them being true. On the other hand there could be more to the man that we don’t know about, maybe we should ask his ex-wife to post on here?
Never mind. I found it.
I’m so damn tired of people making Dana White out to be some horrible person. Sure he has a different personality than others, but don’t attack him. He’s given SO MUCH opprtunity to many fighters. Where would fighters like:
Forrest Griffin
Kenny Florian
Joe Stevenson
Diego Sanchez
Josh Koshcheck be without Dana White? Matt Serra wouldn’t even be champion if he hadn’t won TUF 4. He’s given so many fighters an opportunity to fight for the biggest MMA organization in the world. Where would all the fighters I mentioned be. Probably still fighting at small shows for weak MMA organizations. Look at the fight last week on TUF 6, he gave Dan Barrera a bonus even though he lost. Dana White ain’t a bad guy.
After reading the responses I think this “blame the wife” phenomenon should be addressed. This sentiment only occurs when a woman voices her opinion about her husband’s affairs. Had she demurely declined to comment, or only publically made deferential statements like “I stand by my husband’s decision” no one would be saying anything about her period.
Ultimately Randy, like all other adults, makes his own choices and has to live with them.