It’s official: Randy Couture fought Zuffa law and Zuffa law won … kinda.
The 11-month legal drama that involved the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and its disgruntled heavyweight champion, Randy Couture, has been resolved.
Thank the almighty … whoever that may be.
In an official conference call today, UFC President Dana White announced that the 45-year-old Hall of Fame inductee had agreed to an out-of-court new multi-fight contract. And, as speculated, will return against Brock Lesnar in the main event at UFC 91 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada (not Portland, Ore.), in a five round fight for the heavyweight championship of the world.
The winner of the bout will be recognized as the heavyweight champion and fight the winner of the bout between UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira and Frank Mir to unify the title sometime after their bout on December 27.
This is quite a departure — and a monumental breakthrough — from the ugly break up that first began when Couture faxed in his resignation from a South African movie set in late 2007, citing poor pay, lack of respect and a desire to fight Fedor Emelianenko — a high-profile free agent who the UFC was unable to sign.
He has sat on the sidelines ever since, hoping that his legal team could find him a way out of his ironclad contract. Either he eventually realized that it was impossible or would just take too long, which is more than likely the genesis behind his sudden shift in strategy.
Regardless, it’s great news that both parties were able to put their differences aside and broker a truce. Now Couture is on the clock to get into fighting shape — he hasn’t competed since a technical knockout win over Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74: “Respect” in August 2007.
Considering his age — and upcoming opponent — he’ll need to whack off any and all cage rust sooner rather than later. Lesnar is among the largest, strongest and most athletic fighters in the division. Couture, on the other hand, is not.
However, he has an uncanny ability to rise to the occasion on fight night, leveraging his experience, knowledge and skill to put together (and execute) winning gameplans. Put simply, Randy Couture has proven over time that he can never be counted out.
So even though it’s been nearly a year of turmoil and straight up ridiculousness … nothing has really changed.
279 Comments »
Everyone give john his props since he was the only one in the whole world to know this ahead of time. He is the best!
how the hell does lesnar get a title shot…? he got tuned by mir, and then just layed on top of herring for 15 minutes…what a joke! it should be nog vs couture. UFC’s getting too commercial now, startin to turn into WWE.
If Forrest got a title shot, then might as well give Lesnar one. THe credability of how they award title shots has been shot for a while now. Might as well enjoy a blockbuster fight. THe only way to make the fight a 5 rounder is to have it for a title or interim title….dana just wants it to be 5 rounds, so I dont really have a problem with what he is doing.
I know the real champ is Nog anyway!
Hey John..is your last name Fertitta by any chance? haha!
Yo John.. they shitted on Nog with this whole fiasco.. I’m all for this fight.. but Nog is the guy holding the belt IMO.. I remember Serra pulled out of his fight with Hughes.. later that day.. Dana had set up GSP vs Hughes 3 for the interim WW title.. and we had Rich Franklin out for like 9months cuz of hand injury.. no interim MW title.. now Couture was offically out of hte UFC for like almost a year.. but he still retains his title.. who writes this shit.
Nog and Mir got screwed! Couture/Lesnar should be fighting for interim. BS!
i have to say that it is very rare when i agree with john (no offense .lol) but i agree. at the end of the day it doesnt matter what nog and mir think..randy in brock will bring in an crap load of ppv buys and im excited to see it.
No doubt, this is a total slap in Nog’s face. Doesn’t matter, he’ll have the last laugh when he submits whoever wins this fight.
cmon and Phil: I do agree that Nog will just beat whoever wins this fight anyway, and I dont think Randy can make it out the 3rd round against this heavy hitter anyway…so I am not even looking at it like its a title fight. Just a marketing ploy by the UFC to sell more ppv’s.
We all know the champ is Nog and he wont loose the title unless they get Fedor in the cage against him (which I doubt will happen). I can see Nog having the title for a couple of years
What a joke. I’m glad Randy is back to fight Nog, Fedor and Lesnar and everything. All blockbuster fights for Zuffa, but IF Lesnar lays on top of Randy for 25 minutes and gets the title- it makes a complete mockery of the belt. Nog is definitely getting screwed but how does Mir feel beating someone who gets a title shot 1 fight later. Damn! It’s ALL about the benjamins and the UFC is going to make its biggest killing yet. All of the other MMA organizations are toast for the next few months. They don’t stand a chance. The ppv buys on these fights are going to be sick.
well lets not forget that mir only recieved his title shot for winninig two in a row and mainly because one of those two was brock no hw has a legit win streak in UFC right now anyway so they might as well do it by who can bring in the most money and in interesting fights
Mir is the last person who should complain. He was saved by Mazzagatti.
Nog got screwed, but Nog beats any of these fighters any way so the end of the day…know one is taking Nog’s title
Hey DSmith was Hughes’ title run a laughing stock? Because it I remember it correctly he LNP’s all the time. Brock laid on HH because he was turtled with his face down, if he would have looked up once it was lights out, so don’t blame the pace of that fight on Lesnar.
hey jay- i dont know what you remember about hughes’ title reign, but it was not lnp ever.. he only decisioned sherk, and everything else (aside from mach and penn) was finished inside the first two rounds. unless, of course, there was another hughes who had a title run.
I agree with everyone on a certain level: The structure and politics of the UFC are no doubt a mess, but one thing is a fact, we’ve got some good f’n fights comming up boys.
Amen!
I agree with John. Nog will beat both of these guys. Just like Thiago Silva and Loyota Machida will beat Evans, Lidell or Griffin - It’s just marketing gone mad.
first of all rilly..anyone can beat anyone on anyday..hense the serra st.pierre fight..thiago silva showed weekness’ and im waitin to see one from machida..liddell with one hit could end both of their careers..if heath herring was in this shape we he dropped nog and didnt finish him..he wud most certainly of finished him….frank mir was gettin anally raped for the first 3 minutes untill the inexperiened lesnar made a mistake..if lesnar mir was to happen again..bye bye mr mir…
P.S..anderson silva would beat all of them
I agree, any given fighters at any given time; anything can happen…
the reason they don’t have him jump right in against Nog to determine the true HW champ is because they are already involved with the TUF show and marketing the fight between Nog and Mir. unfortunately they can’t just cancel works in progress because Couture decides he’s ready to fight. they should’ve stripped Dandy of the title long ago and then they wouldn’t be in this fiasco
White said at the end of the day they want to put on the biggest fights, the fights that fans want to see and this is that fight. They feel that it will be the biggest UFC fight to date, will do over 1 million PPV buys (White said “believe it or not, we do do research”) maybe even upwards of 1.5.
This isn’t about whether a guy deserves it or not. You can debate whether he does or doesn’t. He dominated Heath Herring who is a big time MMA veteran. Plain and simple, the UFC cares about putting on the fights that fans want to see. Only a small portion really give a shit about whether a guy deserved it or not. If he doesn’t deserve it he’ll show it during the fight won’t he? But at least it’s an exciting fight. I know that’s all that I care about.
me too. ufc insiders have also analized that gsp/penn 2 could do over 1 million buys and thats the fight everyone wants to see. i would rather see randy vs nog,like alot of people but the tuf shit already screwed that up. hell i was saying last year that randy shoud fight nog even before nog beat sylvia for the “interim title”. then randy pulled all his shenanigans and screwed alot of things up, but no matter what i think of randy’s charachter as of late doesnt have anything to do with his ability to fight, and i wanna see this fight go down and cant wait to see it. herring just beat kongo (although that fight could have went either way),and now that brock beat him, some are saying he is “mediocre” and if not for mazagotti’s blunder, brock could easily be 3-0 with wins over a former ufc champ and a top 15 hw in the world. i dont know that brock deseves a “title ” shot, but i see alot of people picking him to win.
i actually really like the way things are turning out as well. from both sides of it you have 2 good submission guys and two good wrestlers. Brock and mir aren’t great anywhere else but their respected things, well nog and randy have a pretty good all around game. then on top of that you have the winner of those fights fighting the other winner. Thats sick!
when you put it that way it is interesting. in the end we will see the best wrestler vs. the best submission fighter for the undiputed title and the UFC makes a KILLING!
I just read that Dana said he is expecting between 1-1.5 million ppv buys….THats amazing
Mania, please let me know when tickets go on sale because I want to at this historic event in person
I don;t think this is much of a slap in the face to Nog as it may seem. In fact, they may have assured him the match-up he wanted in the end. They can lure Randy back and then unify the belts again and then Randy vs NOg can happen. A means to an end. Nog has been around long enough to understand this.
no one is giving frank mir a chance in any of this lol, but you guys forget he already beat lesnar, been there done that…
That fight was extremely close to being called and given to Lesnar. That being said, the reason no one gives him a chance is because he is fighting Nog, and no one thinks he can beat Nog.
Sorry to say it but Mirr shouldnt be in this at all. Mazzagatti gave him that fight. Not only should he of called the fight, but he got brock off of him instead of calling it like he should of. Nog will beat Mirr. I feel that Lesnar would beat him now also. The scary thing is that Randy would be the easiest target for mirr right now. I agree Nog gets screwed out of this and I like how Dana is calling it a tournament for the title.
This is why WAMMA is pushing for some kind of regulation. That and many other hidden agendas. The UFC isn’t always objective when it comes to who deserves or has earned a title shot. They let money and ratings help be the deciding factor.
Not saying I agree with one or the other, I’ve just accepted this is how its going to be for a while. Everyone wants to a piece of the pie. That pie being the UFC.
Fuck WAMMA. They are a joke. Their head guy knows nothing about MMA, he used to be in the FBI or something. And Bill Goldberg? The guy cant even call a match correctly.
WAMMA! Thats a joke! Was WAMMA objective with Fedor, a guy who hadnt fought a credible HW for a long time! And Tim who was coming off a loss to Nog! What made Fedor/Tim a deserving fight for the WAMMA title DaneJa!260?
Give me one site…just one legit site that has someone other than Fedor as #1 HW. You can complain about that all you want, he’s still #1 and if WAMMA only has #1 and a toss up for the contender…how can you blame them?
Even after he lost to Fedor and looked terrible at doing it as well, Sylvia is still ranked #4 by SherDog and #5 by Weekly. Sherdog had Tim ahead of Josh & Andrei and Weekly had him #6 & below them. At that point, its so close its a toss up & what comes down to who is ready to fight. So when a company has #1 and #4/#6 under contract to fight, what are your choices? Regulation.
My intentions aren’t even to defend or attack either WAMMA or UFC. I’m purely neutral. No matter what, everything is opinionated and no one is right or wrong. But I do think you are an idiot. Haha.
how exactly did mir tune him bro? the fight i watched he got lucky as f*ck when he not only got knocked down by a punch, and taken down at will mir just caught him with a lucky submission LUCKY! i dont think he deserves a shot at a belt but i see why they’re doing it and i also see the mir fight differently
call it whatever you want man, but Mir won. He knew what he had to do entering the fight and he got that done. 9 times out of 10, I believe Mir beats Lesnar RIGHT NOW. In a year, come back to me. But right now, Mir will beat Lesnar just like he already did.
yea he did..and guess wat..hell never make that mistake again..jus like neither will gsp underestimate someone..wanna a future result..
lesnar mir 2…..lesnar wins via first 15 second murder
LIVE WITH IT.
yeah really, apparently fedor caught tim with a LUCKY punch also, jackson caught lidell with a LUCKY punch, its called skill, countering, mobility, and lots of training, theres no luck about it, this isnt gambling
Luck can be involved. I think if Serra fought GSP 100 times from today, Serra would get murdered 100 times, just like the 2nd fight. It wasn’t really so much that Serra was lucky the first time, but it was definately a fluke.
Rubbish. A fluke!?!? A cross on the button is a fluke now????
It just would never happen again. It is not like the second fight was close. I think Serra was anally bleeding after the raping that was the second fight.
Yeah with PPV’s every month. They should do more Fight Nights and get some more matches out there for the fighters.
Props mania on having this “news” before the UFC site -
However, the “news” is BS. This just reiterates how the ufc only cares about cash and a fighters marketability, not ability.
But then again if BJ can side step an entire division, why can’t Brock. I just don’t see the point of having a belt… “I won’t the most popular fighter contest, I’m not the best, but people like me…”
Life really is just like high school
no doupt, how wins over Jens and Joe get you a shot at the welterwieght title I don’t know.
This kind of shit will bring in big buck now, but down the road will become quite costly.
dude, it’s all about making the best fights? At the end of the day isn’t that what we want as fans? C’mon! Quit whining.
its because bj is the prodigy and the prodigy is a unusually gifted or intelligent person that is prolly the real reason on how he side stepped anyone its all in the nick name …… prodigy rush spyder (forrest and his clients are working on his ) and the natural / nogs nickname
It’s called Business!It’s not always about being fair, especially when there’s money involved.
If it’s just business, then don’t pretend there is a “belt” or a title fight. If it’s just to make a ton of money then call it a prize fight.
Not true.
Tim had the belt for ages and look how that turned out. Whole division is wrecked. Maybe a popularity contest is the best way to go.
WTF How Dare Dana Cancel the Portland Oregon show?? That was my first show I would have been able to attend and it was going to headline Randy !! If I see Dana I’m going to slap him
Wow!!!! What a time to be an MMA fan! DAM! this is a dream matchup! Now I cant wait for this to happen! I think Brock will be too big and strong for Randy. But I do think Randy will beat Nog.
THIS IS NOT NO DREAM, BROCK IS NOTHING COMPARED TO RANDY, AND EVERY ONE THINKS THAT BROCK WILL WILL, RANDY WILL MAKE IT A MMA FIGHT BROCK WILL TRY TO TRY TO MAKE IT A WRESLING MATCH.
Are you screaming? or is your caps lock on? It may not be a dream matchup for you, but it is to me!
JV, Micheal either has headphones on or is deaf so he’s typing in CAPS.
LMAO!!!
MIchael…both of lesnars matches..he has shown that he could strike…ask mir…ive nevere seen someone get hit more times in a one minute span than he did..he won cuz the worst ref ever..stopped the match cuz mir turned his head and got hit…randy is a beast tho..and if u dont think brock is workin on his all around mma skills..
Totally agree JV, I just can’t see Randy’s fighting style working against Lesner. Lesner is just to big and strong for Randy to hold him on the cage and beat on him. But if Randy does win, he will beat Nog. Randy will not get caught in a submission, no way. Randy will beat Nog down.
Agree Rubberman! Submissions is all Nog has! And Randy should have enough experience to not get caught!
Hail JOhn! The real Nostradamus!!
Awsome job John, you told us a week ago this was going down. I am excited. I am a huge Brock fan and said from day 1 he would be champ in less than 2 years, I wasn’t expecting this. Actually I do not think he is ready for this. I don’t think he can go 5 rounds. He needs to take Randy down and keep throwing punches till the ref stops it. But if Randy lives long enough Brock will get very tired. I like them both and happy to see Randy back, would like to see Brock win, but think Nogueira is the better of the 4.
tHank you boys, all I ask for is a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T!
anyt8me boys, just remember next time you break my balls for Hijacking a thread!
How Bad ass would it have been for them all to fight on one card .Randy vs Lesnar- Mir vs Nog. To set up the heavy weight title fight Even more ppv by’s Dana Should have thought of that.
Lesnar is a physical freak, not just in terms of his size, strength and speed (which are all but impossible to replicate in a practice gym), but also his cardio and stamina. I don’t think Randy lasts 5 rounds with Brock, but Brock won’t have any problem fighting that long.
AWSOME!!!
Lesnar is going to throw him around like a Rag Doll!!
Lesnar wins and Mir Lesnar II happens for the belt in 09. Stranger things have happened
I really did not think that this would be a 5 round fight but I sure as hell wont complain. The real champion is Nogueira so I will just be happy that I get to see 5 rounds instead of 3.
This match up is just awesome. It apeals more then the Fedor fight because I dont think Randy stands a chance with the Russian but because Brock is so new to the sport and Raandy is Captain “Eperience” it makes for a very interesting match up. This is a bigtime match up and I cant wait to see it. Randy will have not fought in over a year and at some point Cage Rust has to become an issue. Randy has had trouble throughout his career with bigger wrestlers and Brock is the biggest of the Biggest and is 1 fast Mofo!
I like Brock in this one. I hope I get some nice odds because I have to assume that brock is the underdog.
Sad to say, I dont think we will ever get to see Nog vs. Randy and its a shame. Randy might loose to brock and Nog will beat Mir for sure so we could end up seeing Nog vs. Brock.
INTERESTING but before the greedy old pig retires, I would like to see him fight Nogueira because I really dont think Randy couuld ever defeat Big Nog!
The only way that Randy beats Big Nog is by decision. He would have to utilize the clinch and keep Nog up against the fence.
As far as the odds go for Couture/Lesnar, I am seriously starting to think that they are going to open up at pretty much even. I would not be surprised to see them both open at -110. I don’t see either fighter getting anywhere near the +150 range. If they do, that’s where my money would be.
If Lesnar fights like he did previously (getting sub’d and then not finishing Herring), I see Randy pulling something out his rear and submitting Brock given 25 minutes to do so.
Logical endings to this fight are:
Couture by decision
Lesnar by TKO
Lesnar by Decision
Couture by Submission
I would actually rank them in that order, but possibly swapping 1 and 2. All things being equal, as of this moment, I really think that I would put my money on Brock. He is too powerful and quick for a 45 year old. But then again, you can’t put anything past Randy the master gameplanner.
SideNote: BetUs is now offering Props for the Evans/Liddell fight. This is the first time they have offered props on an mma fight. YOu pick the winner and the round and the payout is SWEET! Chuck 2nd round KO???
I see odds opening up with Brock as the favorite. I guess we’ll have to see, but with the huge size difference, Randy’s age, and the year lay off I can’t see him coming in as the favorite.. Personally I hope Randy comes in at -200 or more so I can place a bet on him, cause if he somehow pulls this W out of his ass I’ll be utterly amazed. I don’t ever count out Randy, I’ll be rooting for him come fight night, but I know the second I see the staredown and the size difference I’ll be thinking “Ok Couture, how the F*** are you gonna pull off this miracle?”
I’m done thinking… Here’s my order:
Lesnar by TKO
Couture by decision
Lesnar by Decision
Couture by Submission
CHUCK in the 2nd!
VM: I think its going to be very hard for Randy to make it to a decision. He buckled to Chuck liddell’s shots, and Brocks Ground n pound is going to just be too Brutal for a 45 year old man to hanlde. When I thought it was a 3rd fight, i gave Couture a good shot at winning a decision, but I dont think he can last 25 minutes with the massive Lesnar. IMO Herring is a much tougher Heavyweight, he has taken HUge shots from Fedor and Cro Cop (before Buckling), but beside the chuck fight, Randy has not truly tasted power, not the power that Brock will Bring.
I give Randy a better shot at submitting Lesnar then winning a decision. When Brock wants to take you down to the mat, you gho down. THere isnt a takedown defense in the world that could keep the fight standing against that M<onster. Randy will be on his back taking a beatin. Question is, can he catch Brock in a sub from his back and finish the fight.
I say No, Brock wins via TKO (Brutal Ground n Pound) that 45 year old men just cant take.
Spot on analysis and newsflash, John. I almost have to wonder if throwing Randy in with Lesnar isn’t Dana’s way of punishing Randy for his year of insolence and lawsuits.
john, Randy having trouble with big guys is OLD news. He was just a wrestler when he fought Josh and Ricco. Tim and GG are BIG guys and he didn’t have a problem with them now than he has rounded out his game.
Randy is the REAL champ, NOT Nog (you have to beat the champ to be the champ). What did Nog do besides beat Sylvia (who can’t win a fight now unless his opponent has a broken hand) while taking a beating the WHOLE fight except the last minute. I don’t think Nog can beat Randy. Randy has better stand-up (he was out striking Tim and Nog was getting pounded). Nog struggled to get Sylvia down, I don’t think he will take Randy down. Randy fought submission ace Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza to a draw in a grappling match and he hasn’t been submitted since he VERY early days.
I’m just as impressed with Brock as you are, but he is still pretty green. HH was a gauranteed win for Brock and the UFC knew it (if HH got dominated by O’Brian, Brock would crush him). Brock might be a bad match-up for Randy because he won’t have the big advantage of supperior wrestling, like he usually does. I’m still going to go with Randy on this one though, because I’m sure he had some say in the matter during negotiations as to who he would fight. Being that he wants to fight Fedor, one would think he feels he has a GOOD game plan to beat the INEXPERIENCED Lesnar and that is why he took the fight. No one gave Randy a chance against Tim, yet he knew he would beat him, because he trained with him and owned him. GG isn’t quite as big as Brock, but he is every bit as dangerous, if not more so. I wouldn’t bet the house on Randy in this fight, yet I think he will shock people again. Oh and Props for the early news on this fight.
Gord, you make some good points but I disagree with a few. Randy struggles with big Strong WRESTLERS, Tim Sylvia and GOnzaga dont know a drop of wrestling.
Nog is the real champ, Randy wants no parts of him, and NMog has better stand up then Randy. Only think Randy has over Nog is a clinch game.
I am not saying I dont give Randy a chance vs. Brock, I am just saying that I think Brock will beat him. GOtta pick 1 or the other and I am going with Brock.
Its all pointless anyway because at the end of the day, Nog will be champion
WOW!! what an awesome championship match brock n randy will be. 3 fights for brock. that sounds more like the wec challengers to urijah fabers’ belt
thats the only thing he knows how to do
We want Fedor…well this will do until then…
yea fedor will own all these guys if they can ever arrange that…
Zomg this is awesome!
Man, sad day for all the UFC haters, hopin he’d end up somewhere else.
I really hope UFC gets Fedor now, they have the bait!
Randy must be feeling pretty DUMB about his decision to fax his resignation from the set up Scorpion King 2 (LOL). He did so because he was complaining about money and he wanted to fight Fedor. Fast forward one year later and he lost money on legal bills and by not fighting for a year. Also, that Fedor fight, if it does happen, its happening in the UFC.
Randy, why did you go senile?
so true.
ViolentMike, Randy’s situation could also be looked at as smart! The UFC is giving Randy a new, more money fight! So the year off with legal fees doesnt matter if he gets 3 more fights with bigger money! Plus Randy is a big draw in PPV #’s so that will also add to his pocket. And fights with Lesnar, Nog and maybe Fedor, Randy retires a very wealthy man!
Kim’s jaw being wired shut for a while helped him come to his senses. I suppose Jacob will be tucking his tail between his legs soon enough as well.
Oh man, that got a smile out of me. Haha!
me too, funny stuff
yeah, i guess kim cant be counted on to be the one put food on the table, so randy had to buck -up. as far as tito goes, jenna has more money than him and probably wears the pants (when she keeps them on) in the family.
DSmith, that was some funny sh*t!!!
she may wear the pants, but i bet they’re crotchless
VM. lost time can never be made up, but I’m guessing Couture can make a couple of extra million more in these next 2 fights than with his old contract. I’m guessing White would really like to see Lesnar win and keep the title in the UFC for awhile. Knowing Couture he personally wants to fight the best, so it’s Lesnar and Nog and #3 fight is anyone the UFC will think has the best shot at beating Couture to keep the title in the UFC (assuming Couture can win 3 in a row). If Couture wins 3, he’s off to fight Fedor.
I was very disappointed in Couture, he handled it all very badly. I also believe Couture could’ve legally walked from his contract in October, but Zuffa’ went hard after Couture and would’ve tied matters up in court for years. Couture’s not getting any younger and the UFC was losing their heavyweights to Affliction, hence the new deal.
A great few fights win or lose… has a way of erasing a bad past. I just read Couture’s book and that guy is a lying, cheatin’ dog in his marriages.. lol. I will never see Couture in the same light again, but there are certain qualities in the guy I still greatly admire… so I’m going to just enjoy the fights and root for Couture against Lesnar, and the only heavyweight I would root for over Couture would probably be Nog.
Why would he be feeling dumb? He’s getting more money (probably a LOT MORE) and it looks like Dana will make the Fedor fight happen. If Dana does bend his rules and signs Fedor for a one fight deal, then Randy will be getting what he really wanted, a little respect from the UFC.
Randy is going to put him on his back, Brock is going to get owned…
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!
yeah, not going to happen!
RANDY, RANDY, RANDY!!!
ahhh hellz yeah!!!
Finally!!!As long as he doesn’t get poked in the eye before the fight it might be interesting to watch
Looks like money is the root of all evil.
I’m sure Nog is thrilled.