Randy Couture to Return to UFC, Fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 91
By Arturo Collozo Jr.
Sep 2, 2008
It's official. The lawsuits and counter-claims between UFC and 44 year old Randy Couture have been settled out of court, as Couture has agreed to return to UFC as of November 15th, when he'll defend the UFC Heavyweight Title he never lost against former WWE Undisputed World Champion Brock Lesnar at the UFC 91 pay per view.
Randy Couture to Return to UFC, Fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 91
The fight, scheduled for five rounds, will now take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, instead of Portland, Oregon, where UFC was originally planning on hosting the event. In making the announcement via a media conference call, UFC President Dana White avoided labeling Lesnar the number one contender, instead admitted this is a marque matchup that UFC intends on exploiting.
***
"We can basically put on fights that fans want to see," White exclaimed, adding "Mark my words, Couture vs. Lesnar will be the biggest fight in UFC history." Due to Couture walking out on the promotion in November, 2007, UFC held matches to determine an Interim Champion, who ended up being Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The Brazilian Jui Jitsu expert is scheduled to defend his interim title against Frank Mir in December. Mir, of course, defeated Lesnar on February 2nd in Lesnar's UFC debut. Plans are being made for a 2009 showdown between the winners of the Lesnar vs Couture and Nogueira vs Mir contests.
Meanwhile, Lesnar's former on-air agent in World Wrestling Entertainment, former Smackdown lead writer Paul Heyman weighed in on not only Lesnar vs Couture, but the real business motivations behind Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta's decision to settle with Couture.
***
In a story posted by the UK SUN earlier today, Heyman opined "Brock v Couture is on one hand a very smart move by UFC because clearly, it's the biggest money fight of 2008."
Heyman continued, "On the flipside, it's a very dangerous move because it could stop Brock's momentum, and he has a ton of it coming out of the Herring fight. But the real story is going on behind the scenes. If UFC signs Couture for not just one fight, but three, then Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta have dealt a major blow to Affliction, which goes from being the promotion that will one day deliver Couture v Fedor, to just being the place where Fedor beats up the latest heavyweight who chooses to oppose him. A major part of Affliction's lure is lost. UFC, of course, then has all the leverage to get the Couture vs Fedor fight."
***
As far as the fact that one man has to lose this fight, and therefore lose some marketing credibility with the UFC audience, Heyman argued "What happens if Couture gets beaten by Lesnar? Brock's whole gameplan against Heath Herring was simply not to screw up. Lesnar is not proficient at submissions, so he's not going to finish off Couture. His best strategy will be to dominate him, but every moment Lesnar is holding him down, Couture will be looking for any small mistake, a moment where he can capitalise on an opening from Lesnar. I think it's very dangerous matchmaking, because the downside for both fighters is enormous. But it's also very savvy as well, because with Affliction wounded, UFC can absorb the blow of Lesnar or Couture's marketability taking a hit with a loss to the other."
You can read the entire story here and Further updates on the Brock vs Couture showdown at UFC 91 can be found here.
FEEDS: News | Pop Culture | Ledger Pop | Ledger DC
