What do you get when you cross a WAMMA heavyweight champion with a UFC runaway?
Nothing.
And that’s how I prefer to remember this latest public tease between exiled UFC heavyweight champion Randy “The Natural” Couture and Affliction anchor Fedor Emelianenko.
It seems the MMA world is abuzz over Monday’s impromptu meeting between the pair as if their sudden penchant for male bonding actually improves their chances of ever fighting.
Couture and Emelianenko met for breakfast on August 11 prior to a scheduled photo shoot that featured both fighters. Afterwards, the two exchanged pleasantries over dinner and called it a day.
That’s it.
No secret promotion, no loopholes, no fighting in Russia ala Rocky IV. Just a couple of snapshots and a creme brulee.
And let’s be realistic, Couture and Emelianenko are not fighting anytime soon.
I don’t want to rehash everything we’ve already beaten to death over the last six months, so let’s quickly summarize: Randy Couture is embroiled in a legal battle with the UFC after walking out on his four-fight contract after only two fights while Fedor Emelianenko is content with letting a couple of Smirnoff-happy “advisers” tell him where to go and what to do.
As far as bad career moves go, the count is even at 1-1.
Randy bailed on his contract without honoring his commitment to the UFC, effectively denying fans a chance to see him defend his title against Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira or anyone else of any merit.
Fedor signed with M-1 Global and armbarred Rawhead Rex at Yarenokka before watching the promotion fold up and submit to a hostile takeover like it was the Pemrose Corporation.
Yet despite all the obstacles, I am of the belief that a fight between Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko could, and should still happen. But to do so, Randy must return to the UFC and Zuffa must open its wallet and lease Fedor from MFC M-1.
Both scenarios seem pretty unlikely.
And it’s a shame too, because Randy becomes less relevant with each passing event. The UFC has already replaced him with a very worthy champion in Nogueira and fans who haven’t warmed up to Nog yet will certainly get their chance when he appears on The Ultimate Fighter 8 opposite Frank Mir later this year.
Aside from “Minotauro”, the UFC has also begun cashing in on some of their other recent acquisitions. Some guy that you may have heard of named Brock Lesnar comes to mind.
Suddenly the UFC heavyweight division isn’t quite the empty barrel it was the day Couture threw in the towel.
As for Emelianenko, he has plenty to do over at Affliction to keep him busy. He faces the winner of the Andrei Arlovski vs Josh Barnett match that takes place at Affliction: ‘Day of Reckoning’ on October 11 and has even agreed to fight the loser at some point down the road.
That Fedor, what a guy.
The difference is he’s still fighting, whereas Couture is not.
Randy once came back from a 13-month absence to dethrone then-champion Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia at UFC 68. It was his longest period of inactivity since 2000. On August 25, it will be exactly one year since he last competed, a TKO victory over Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74.
Between his legal issues and Fedor’s commitment to Affliction (and the ‘Fighting Fedor’ reality series), it might be another year after that before he could potentially face Emelianenko. Will he still have what it takes at that point to hang with a guy like Fedor?
More importantly, will anyone still care?
I hope those are some pretty good photos taken of Randy and Fedor on Monday. It may be the only chance we get to see them together for quite some time.
46 Comments »
Who cares? not I
Neither do I. Those pics are great. You guys think fighting Fedor will take the Ultimate fighters spot as #1 MMA reality show???
I don’t see anyone in the U.S. watching Fighting Fedor, including myself. A bunch of cans get to fight each other, and then the winner gets to get killed by Fedor. Sounds real exciting.
Maybe I missed this, but has a channel picked this up yet?
I love the photo shopped pic! It made my morning LOL!!!
Just stage the fight in my backyard and get this thing over with…
Jesse: U can bust on Fedor’s management all you want, but they arent that DRUNK! They did manage to get Fedor a GROUNDBREAKING mma deal out of Affliction. Getting most of your money up front is unheard of in mma, throw in his european footage rights, and Fedor made out like a Bandit. As fans, we aren’t always happy with their decisions, but I do believe they have Fedor’s best interest at heart, and that the important thing!
gSP is now saying that he isnt sure if he wants to fight again this year. He says he is exhausterd and might decide to sit the rest of the year out!
THis puts a Huge damper on all our december, BJ vs. GSP hopes!
Affliction is considering:
Ben Rothwell vs. Might Mo!
The only way I see this fight happening is if ESPN has it on a computer like they had Rocky vs Dixon in “Rocky Balboa”. Otherwise it is never gonna happen.
GSP not wanting to fight by the end ofthe year?? Come on bro.. Shit even Fitch with the beating he took wants to fight at he end of this year. If he is medically cleared to fight.. give him BJ.. no questions asked.. It’s the 2nd week of August.. take 2 or 3 weeks off.. then train! He took Hughes with a 1 month notice.. he can’t take BJ with 3 months to prepare?? Hummm..that would suck. I want to Nog vs Mir ( The way Lesnar says it ) BJ vs GSP.. Wandy vs Rampage.. damn.. through Florian on that card too..
Or Page vs Shogun 2
GSP is mentally weak, and this is just another reason why. He needs much more than 4 months to try and get ready to fight the always mentally ready BJ Penn.
GSP can’t be saying that he is too beat up to fight again in 4 months. That is just pure BS, like Phil said, Fitch wants to fight again before the end of the year. Fitch is a REAL fighter. And GSP just wants to be a champion. He FINALLY defended the WW title after being the most dominating WW over the past 3 years or so, so now he doesn’t want to fight BJ and lose the belt after just one defence. HE wants to at least walk around Canada holding his belt for at least 6 months before giving it up. (Most would think GSP would have 6 defences by now, but he doesn’t).
GSP hopped into the octagon after Hughes beat Penn, or should I say, finished Penn quite convincingly, and says “I wuzz NOT impwessed wit yah pahfawmance.”. Well, Hughes then fougth GSP. Now this past weekend, BJ comes into the ring after GSP just went to a decision and says that he’s “ready to do this”. GSP, you coward!
Remember the “Pet Rocks” from the 1970’s? I wonder if GSP has a “Pet Brick” named BJ yet?
Yep.. Mr. V1.. GSP didn’t look too sure of himself.. in facing BJ in December.. ” I will give a title shot who ever deserves one..” Come on dude.. Home boy just called you out everywhere.. and now in ya face.. and all you can say is that?? I smell.. I smell.. I smell.. Pussy!! BJ is a Fighter’s figher!! BJ Penn : Sean Sherk ya DeaD!!! I loved it.. On Joe Stevenson.. ” It’s a bad time to fight BJ Penn “.. Classic.. GSP: ” I’m not a coward “… LOL!!!!!
Would seem like a lot more if they actually aired in Europe.
Do you think that maybe…just maybe these fighters have some kind of life outside the UFC? Or do you think that they live strictly for your entertainment?
You’re not taking into consideration the fighters life behind the scenes, nor the fact that GSP is facing top shelf competition bout after bout. Everyone knows that fighting six times a year is very strenuous on the fighters. Completely ignoring the fact that GSP has already defeated Penn, you call the welterweight champion of the UFC a coward.
I smelly Pussy! Is that you Georges? I smell Pussy! lmao!
John you need to get off Fedors nuts man. I agree, he’s the best HW ever, but your so concerned about his “groundbreaking deal” than seeing him fight. Arlovski is the only guy I want him to fight other that Randy or nog. Barnett would get killed! Who gives a shit how much money he got up front, to what, go to japan on NYE and fight Bob Sapp? I don’t blame the UFC for exclusive contracts. They pay Brock a lot of money, if he gets hurt trying out for football again (made up scenario), the UFC loses on their investment too. It’s why nfl, nba and mlb contracts have the no skiing or sky diving etc clauses. Hypothetically if he went to a sambo tournament and pulled a muscle, he’s paid, but his promoter loses!
barnett will beat aa, and give fedor a better fight than aa can.i think barnett will lose but he is not getting killed.
Phil, john, VMike,
Jebus guys. Not that I want to get onto your respective bad sides here but doncha’ think it’s time to chill the F out a little on this. Your positions on GSPs recent comments are completely based on your love for your favorite fighters (Fitch and BJ) and are perhaps more than a little harsh on one of the sports top PFP fighters? All the sudden you guys are back on the Pete Sell line of GSP being a “mental midget”. What a crock. Did you guys see the fights on Saturday? GSP completely dominated a guy that you guys thought would give him a really tough test. I mean john, you’re all defending Fedor for fighting “the worlds fattest man” or whatever freak they put in front of him in Japan in NYE, meaning we won’t get to see him fight someone meningfull for another what, 7 -9 months? But he gets a pass because he’s awesome, right? Well I have news for you guys, GSP is also awesome and has earned more respect than you guys are giving him.
I also live the armchair psychoanalysis of his post fight comments and demeanor. “He’s scared, I could see it in his eyes.”. Ridiculous. GSP has fought BJ before and won and is a way better fighter than he was the last time they fought, by all accounts. IMHO, I think GSP is going to handle BJ based on his size, speed and athleticism alone. And I also think that if BJ doesn’t have to make 155, his cardio just won’t be as good as it was when he beat Pulver, Lauzon, Stevenson and Sherk at 155.
By-the-by, and this goes for all of you, I usually respect your fight opinions and look forward to your comments over here at MMA Mania, I just think on this one you guys are way out of line.
Canucklehead: I am just messing around and quoting song lyrics with GSP’s name added to it. I just want to see the fight happen in december. THats all I care about. I am as big of a fan of GSP as I am of BJ Penn. I just want to see the fight happen ASAP. Hopefully if enough of the GSP is a coward crap makes some noise on the internet, GSP will step up and give the people what they want, A mega fight against GSP in DECEMBER!
All I have to say, is if you want to be a world class champion, the gold standard is Anderson Silva, and he fights As much as possible!
You care. You wont admit it, but you care. No denying the shear enormity behind such a fight. But, regardless, you WILL be watching it. Anyone who calls themselves a fan of the sport WILL be watching if in the position to do so.
the headline and accompanying photo are friggin hilarious.
i bet fedor ordered penis..
This fight never interested me. Fedor would kill him – he has better gameplanning, better stand up, better transitions, better ground, better fight generalship. The Nog fight is way more interesting. I actually only wanna see if Nog can sub him. He showed some good defense against jacare mainly stalling but still he got the draw. Nog would light him up in the stand up but i am very curious about the ground game there.
Lets just move on already, this fight will never happen. If it does they will both be out of the lime light already. I really like Randy and Fedor both, but their time is on the back nine, especially Randy. The way this looks it might not happen till 2010-11, way to far away.
i agree with flow with the go… i mean really, how great of a figth is it anyways?? first of all, im a randy couture fan, BUT, i think at his age and based on his checkered record even when he was in his prime, randy doesnt really stand a chance in this one. im sure randy truly believes he has the perfect game plan for fedors fight style, but even if he does, its unlikely that he would be able to implement his planned attack on fedor with much eefectiveness before getting rocked with the wrecking balls fedor calls fists. factor in the time it will take for this fight to even near a reality, and we end up with a fight that wouldve been great “IF” both men were in their prime. in other words, if this fight happened tommorrow,it may already be too late to truly showcase who is the better heavyweight, especially when taking into account randys current age. randys not getting any younger, and fedors not getting any better( or worse)….enough said
Resonaly, I don’t Care anymore, I think the fight would be a snooze fest anyway.
A 1 minute man handling is a snoozefest???
What happened to the Couture 6-10 Million Story, did someone make you take it down mania..c’mon give us the scoop!
I’ll give Couture this credit, NEVER has a fight that would end in such a one-sided beating had this much hype.
burn baby burn. A whole year of wasting money on legal fees bad press and a washed up 46 yr old fighter hahaha.
Randy vs Fedor New Years.
I agree wholeheartedly with the thrust of Jesse’s post. I do think though that there is a slight chance (25%) that Couture finally “comes out of his fog” and returns to fight Brock Lesnar. Couture vs. Lesnar would be a big draw. Also, a lot of us seem to forget that Lorenzo Fertitta is now on board full time with the intent to grow the UFC globally. Fedor is not on the next Affliction card. None of us truly know what Fedor’s contract status with Affliction is – remember M-1 Global? Is it possible that Lorenzo Fertitta will now be willing to meet some of Fedor’s quirky demands in order to use Fedor as a “beachhead” into Eurasia. After all, if he wants to set the UFC up in Russia and other parts of Asia, why not sign some of the top members of the Red Devils? I don’t think that this scenario is too far fetched.
Couture vs Lesnar would be an interesting match! You’d have to give Randy the edge in game planning and experience, obviously. But I don’t see him being able to out muscle Brock, as a lot of Randy’s fights are nuetralizing the opponent by pinning them against the cage before some G ‘n P. Neither of those tactics would work with Brock, so I honestly think Lesnar might take him.
lesnar is a really bad match up for him as randy dominates opponents with his wrestling, although he might have holes he hasn’t shown yet, other than his poor sub defense
lesnar also has the most potential in the division as he’s a superior athlete (genetic freak) that maximizes the potential of the weight class through cutting whereas most guys in that division are moving up to heavy or in the middle of the huge weight range. if lesnar develops really good sub defense he will give most guys in that division the fight of their life. it’s almost unfair really. if many more guys like that come into mma eventually they will need to create a 225 or 230 pound division because there’s a massive difference between guys who are naturally 230-250 and a guy who diets to 280 and cuts to 265. sylvia owned a lot of dudes and he moves like a typical sloth big man
Would most certainly need a great deal more big guys, but I would love to see a super-heavyweight division down the road.
UFC is only about maximizing revenue. Dana will build up Lesnar by the end of next year by feeding him Kongo and the winner of Nog/Mir, or possibly if Nog wins, Werdum, then a title shot. Couture/Fedor are too expensive for him
A well written article, as always by you Jesse.
“Aside from “Minotauro”, the UFC has also begun cashing in on some of their other recent acquisitions. Some guy that you may have heard of named Brock Lesnar comes to mind.”
Lesnar is a good acquisition but the other guys are merely prospects who haven’t fought any of the guys seen on the main cards.
Jesse Holland I think we are old enough to formulate our own opinions. We really don’t care for your two cents just report the news and be more like mmaweekly. Thanks!
Super great idea. Let’s do it!
Pemrose corporation. A “Secret of my Success” reference, very nice and well done for a boy from Kansas to screw his auntie vera and take his uncle’s business.
Well done, as usual, Jesse. Mania, do you think Randy cut his own throat by doing things the way he did? His last fight was last August, right. If he was that unhappy, be it his contract or the UFC not getting Fedor, why did he not just honor the terms of his contract and then become a free agent? He could have fought his last two fights and would have been done early 2008. There is a good possiblity this fight could have already happened. Maybe Randy thought he was bigger than the sport and could bully his way into getting the UFC to do his bidding. Personally, I think Fedor is as close to unbeatable as you could get, but if anybody has a chance of beating him it would be Randy. The fans are really the ones getting the shaft here.
randy’s relevance isn’t the question. He’s a legendary fighter and as long he’s able, mma fans will always want to see him compete. But Actually, all the fair weather fan talk in these comments has me concerned. people calling gsp a pussy, people saying they don’t care to see randy fight.. it’s really bizarre.
it’s Randy’s age that might be a problem. Even when he dominated Tim i remember thinking it seemed like his enormous heart was pushing him through his age.. and a year and a half to two years of ring rust is A LOT to over come, ’specially in your forties.
I don’t think that brock lesner is going to make anyone forget about randy couture. they’re completely different attractions and brock still has a LONG way to go before he’s anywhere near as cool as randy, in the ring and out.
you know guys, i’ve heard so much about randy’s UFC troubles and fedor’s american arrival and tim silvia is a bum (he really is) so i just thought i would bring up some other news in heavyweight MMA…
remember gan “the giant” mcgee? tim took his title and tested positive and gan fell off….well he is coming back.
now i know you are all like WTF who cares but listen, gan was a legit heavyweight champ and tim cheated to take his title plus tim was in his prime then, a juiced up tim in his prime is a beast(those times are over for him), gan was legit and he is finally coming back .
he is training right now for the comeback but hasen’t signed any contracts yet…
i think it would be interesting to see a true heavyweight giant fight again. i always liked the big guys and I just wanted to talk about something other than fedor or randy