Estranged UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture is still determined to fight former PRIDE heavy title-holder Fedor Emelianenko. Just don't expect to see the fight take place in the UFC, Couture says.
The 44-year-old UFC hall-of-famer made the comments in a recent video interview with the m1mixfight.com website.
Even after he resigned from the organization back in October (citing a lack of respect from UFC executives, issues over his pay, and the UFC's inability to sign then-free agent Emelianenko), Couture said he would return to the organization if UFC president Dana White could arrange a fight with the famed Russian.
However, 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 Dallas-based HDNet Fights appears to be the frontrunner to get the heavyweight fight. In fact, HDNet Fights owner Mark Cuban recently joined the legal fight to get a declaratory judgment on Couture's contract status.
"By fall... we'll hopefully have the fight going," Couture said.And while he would prefer to fight close to home, it's not mandatory."
I prefer to fight here in the U.S.," Couture said. "It's where I'm confortable. For all the marketing reasons, this is the strongest market for the sport probably outside of Tokyo... but wherever it happens, it happens."
With Couture now unwilling to fight in the UFC, a rumor that Emelianenko was close to signing a one-fight deal with the UFC -- to fight Couture -- appears unlikely.
So whatever happens, this fight is going to suck, plain and simple. The more we read about it and the more stupid news that comes about from it, the more this fight will suck. I'm almost getting fed up with Randy Couture and his demands to have this fight.
The sad truth is, his skills are deteriorating by the day. I'm not even sure that he could defeat the current heavyweight champ Anotonio Nogueria. I would also go on record to say that if he fought Tim Sylvia again, Sylvia would win. I'm not certain if Couture is a top 5 heavyweight in the UFC. Andrei Arlovski and Frank Mir would also pose a serious threat to Couture in the cage and Couture knows that. That's why he's going out of his way to avoid fighting anyone else except Fedor. It's a win, win for Couture. If he gets stomped, we'll all say he was fighting the best fighter in the world. If he gets lucky and squeezes out a win, he still saves his legacy.
Does anyone remember that Chuck Liddell knocked this guy out 2 times a couple years ago???
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Couture Unwilling to Fight Fedor in UFC
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3 comments:
No offense to Couture cause Im actually a fan and respect what he has done for the sport of MMA but he should pray to God every single night that this fight DOES NOT take place.....and we all know why!
Absolutely. It's tough to not be a fan of Randy Couture. Not only for what he's done for MMA but his amazing charge out of retirement but it seems like all the stars ever aligned for those couple fights. I never thought I would actually type that I thought Randy Couture was overrated but at this point, I certainly think he is. He's made himself overrated with his demands. It's actually discrediting what he's done recently and beginning to overshadow that he is in fact the UFC heavyweight champion. But I agree with you completely that if this fight takes place, he's gonna get a heavy dose of reality about competing against the best fighter in the world. Unfortunately Fedor hasn't fought anyone with any credibility in some time too. Who knows if he's going to be on top of his game if and when they fight. Fighters will preach that there's no better training then actual fights. Sparring and training are one thing but there's always some rust when you haven't actually competed in a while. By the time these 2 fight, no one might care about either fighter.
I don't care how the stars align or if they wind up in a perfectly straight line. No way in Gods name does Couture have any chance of beating Fedor. Fedor will dismantle Couture in a matter of minutes...literally. He's in better shape, has better standup, absolutely sick submission skills and most importantly, he's still in his prime. No heavyweight can touch Fedor......Period!!!
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