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Cofield: UFC & Randy Couture working together again
By Zach Arnold | September 1, 2008
Report here. Couture vs. Lesnar at UFC 91 in November in Portland is now likely. Couture has a gym about 10 minutes from Portland in Vancouver, Washington.
If Steve Cofield is right and we assume that Couture signed a multi-fight deal with UFC, then there are a lot of losers coming out of this situation.
- Couture’s image, no doubt, takes a hit. He had a chance to fight ‘the man’ (UFC) and open up new legal possibilities for fighters, and in the end he took the money and cut his losses. It doesn’t make Couture ‘Mr. Evil’; it just makes him out to be the same as any other fighter in MMA. Dana White has good reason to be confident in stating that there will never be a union or fighter’s association in MMA.
- Second, Mark Cuban was reportedly helping out Couture with legal costs. What does he get out of it now?
- Third, Affliction could be facing the prospects of not being able to book Couture vs. Fedor in their ring. You would have to assume that booking Couture vs. Fedor was going to be a major part of their business plan. After all, the two men shook hands at Affliction’s debut event in Anaheim.
- Unless Fedor agrees to fight the winner of Arlovski vs. Barnett (10/11 Las Vegas), WAMMA has to be prepared to strip the Russian of his title belt if he goes to UFC. Dana White will not allow any mentions of WAMMA whatsoever or even have that belt shown on PPV or TV.
- Out of all of the fighters in the MMA business, Randy Couture was in the best position to challenge parts of UFC’s somewhat controversial fighter contracts in regards to the clauses inserted into them. Now that Couture reportedly is back in the UFC fold, UFC will be able to breathe a big sigh of relief that none of the contractual provisions they make fighters sign (e.g. the retirement clause, the champion’s clause) will face a legal challenge any time soon.
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Which shows at the end of the day, MMA suffers the same problems as Pro Wrestling.
The main stars don’t have the balls (even nearing retirement) to challenge the establishment. Whether this be legally, or even in the form of a union. Couture is like another Hulk Hogan… just out for himself. Yet if either of them put their foot down, they could have protected an entire industry.
Well, honestly, this is a bit hasty. He only buckled because of how things turned out legally.
People got into his ear and told him it would be easy to get out, he surely did not expect to be in court for a year with no progress. He has limited time left, and I’m happy for him that he’s going to make the money he deserves. Who knows, hopefully the UFC can work things out with Fedor to do that fight.
Randy vs. Fedor was the one opening for another company to challenge the UFC on pay per view. To do the true heavyweight championship match that everyone wanted to see outside of the UFC would have really changed the industry. As it is, the UFC is now poised for potentially their best PPV run ever with Brock-Couture, Liddell-Forrest, and GSP-Penn.
I agree with just about everything that Zach wrote in this article.
I hate, and love, Dana White
According to UFC.com, a major announcement today at 3pm ET. Coming from Dana White. I would assume it is to announce Couture/Lesnar.
I dont blame Couture for not taking the MMA world on his shoulders.
Considering that he only “retired” for himself (and not for all other fighters), I’m not surprised that he ultimately did what was best for him.
All points are true which really is a shame for MMA fighters in general
he tried to get everyone on his side with the fighters rights arguments and instead let everyone down. that is weak. all this fight the machine bullshit and he comes back to
EXTEND the contract, wtf
i know the man just wants to fight but in lookign back at it, he just looks like an idiot for ditching in the first place
Does anyone have any idea whether he is returning as the official champion or not?
Does this mean that Lesnar is getting a title shot?
Zach,
Good insight (as usual), but I don’t think Randy’s image is tarnished - quite the opposite. People realize that he drafted, shaped and SIGNED his contract, and he has an obligation to fill it - people respect that. Gaming the legal system to get out of a contract after the fact is often seen as slimy. In this case, Couture is either fulfilling his old contract or entered a new one - either way, both routes are the professional thing to do.
Mark my words - Randy got the Fedor fight in writing for his new contract - there is NO way he would come out of retirement and returned to the UFC without that in writing!
I still don’t understand why MMA fans are always clamoring for better pay for low tier fighters. Wouldn’t it better to use your altruistic streak and help fight world hunger?
The system is far fairer than most other industries. Good performance = better money. Even in the movie industry, good acting chops doesn’t necessarily earn you big bucks. In MMA, if you kick ass, you earn money. It’s as simple as that.
Enjoy the fight and leave the politics to people who cares.
I would be shocked if the Fedor fight ever happens. I think Randy came back to fight Brock and whoever else. Fedor is signed with Affliction and there is no way Atencio strips him of the belt so the UFC can have him.
Rollo,
Fedor isn’t signed with Affliction. He is signed with M-1. M-1 loaned him out. They did the same thing for the Yarenokka! event.
Good for Couture for taking the money, but this proves that there won;t be a fighter’s union for a LONG time. 45 Huddle hit it on the head with the MMA and pro wrestling comparison here.
If Randy really goes back to the UFC, he wasted a year of his life.
Couture/Lesnar is official (and for the belt). November 15th at the MGM Grand.
That means 3 months in a row in Vegas. I think Zuffa can pull it off with the main events they are sports.
People are already complaining about Nogueira getting screwed. I don’t see it like that. As long as the winner of those two fights fight each other, this works out best for everybody involved.
Nog was always recognized as the interim champion, so this isn’t a surprise. I wonder about Werdum though.
It’s a sad day for MMA fighters. The corporation defeated the employee, plain and simple.
The day when fighters achieve justice has been indefinitely delayed, but the day will come.
“It’s a sad day for MMA fighters. The corporation defeated the employee, plain and simple.
The day when fighters achieve justice has been indefinitely delayed, but the day will come.”
But like pro wrestlers, MMA fighters are too God damn greedy and self-serving. They care about themselves and themselves only. Believe it or not there are many top boxers who are in favor of a centralized boxing commission and a fighters’ union. But those in pro wrestling and MMA are too God damn greedy. They think only in the short term, not the long term. It’s a shame, really.
If not a union, then there NEEDS to be a strong number two company that can stay afloat for longer than two years. I pray to GOD (I’m a non-believer, this is how strong I want this to happen) that EXC and/or Affliction catch up to the UFC. Or even Strikeforce, whatever. In the world of pro wrestling I hope TNA and Ring Of Honor play catch up too.