Couture resigns from UFC

[Darth Turkish]

Mainly due to the UFC's inability to secure Fedor, Randy Couture has walked away from the UFC. He tendered his resignation this morning. The Heavyweight title will be up for grabs, now.

So many possibilities.

I am surprised and a liitle mad that he would walk away, but I understand his reasoning.

Good luck, Cap.

[dukedave]

WOW!

I understand why but this could make filling the vacancy interesting. Man, the heavies suck.

Please don't make Vera/Sylvia to fill the title.

[Darth Turkish]

I think what they will do is take the winner of Silvia/ Vera and Nog / Kongo for ther vacant title.

[LWPD]

Randy is still under a legally binding exclusive contract to UFC...if he tries to 'fight Fedor for a huge pay day with M-1' _WITHOUT FIRST FULFILLING HIS TWO REMAINING UFC FIGHTS_ an immediate injunction would be filed against the wealthy anonymous American backer who fronts M1...which would kill the program. Not to mention RC would be personally sued into oblivion for breach of contract.

Dana played things 'right' with his official statement below. Losing Fedor and Randy in the course of a week was a huge blow that has to have Zuffa LLC rattled behind the scenes. Lets see how long he's willing to remain publicly cordial.
___________________________________________________________________

Courtesy of ufc.com

STATEMENT FROM DANA WHITE, UFC PRESIDENT, REGARDING COUTURE

“I’m not surprised at all by Randy’s decision. I talked to Randy several weeks ago and he said that if he couldn’t fight Fedor, then he has nothing left to prove in the sport of mixed martial arts.

He has been doing a lot of acting, and I know he is in South Africa right now filming a movie. I think it’s a great move for Randy’s acting career to retire from fighting while he is on top.

As we all know, Randy retired before. The landscape in MMA changes every day. So when he is ready to come out of retirement again, he is still under contract with me, and I’m ready to promote him.”

_______________________________________________________

The story as it first broke...

Courtesy of thefightnetwork.com

COUTURE QUITS UFC

MMA Icon Walks Away From Promotion In Stunning Move

By Brian Knapp

At the height of its power and popularity, the Ultimate Fighting Championship today lost the man many recognize as the face of mixed martial arts. UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture announced his resignation from the Las Vegas-based promotion, leaving two contracted fights, his job as an on-air analyst and his heavyweight crown on the table.

In South Africa shooting scenes for his lead role in the upcoming feature film “The Scorpion King – Rise of the Akkadian,” Couture made the announcement official in a letter to UFC president Dana White. The UFC’s inability to land PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko played a prominent role in the decision to walk away, according to Couture.

“I appreciate this opportunity the sport of MMA and the UFC has given me,” the UFC Hall-of-Famer said. “However, I’m tired of swimming upstream at this stage with the management of the UFC. It only makes sense at this point in my career to fight Fedor Emelianenko, and since he’s now signed with another organization, I feel like it’s time to resign and focus on my other endeavors.”

His abrupt departure deals a significant blow to the world’s most visible MMA organization. Couture was not only a beloved competitor – White once called him “the greatest fighter in UFC history” – but also a revered spokesman for a company that had long struggled to gain mainstream acceptance.

“Randy’s contract was on a fight-by-fight basis, and that’s the way he said he was always going to take it – fight by fight,” said Matt Walker, Couture’s agent at The Gersh Agency. “His acting career is accelerating at an astronomical rate, and without the support he felt some of his peers were receiving in the fight business, this was the logical choice.”

A three-time All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University, Couture won four national championships in Greco-Roman wrestling and made four attempts at qualifying for the Olympics. He made his MMA debut at UFC 13 on May 13, 1997, where, at age 33, he won a heavyweight tournament, defeating Tony Halme and Steven Graham on the same night. Just seven months later, he toppled famed kickboxer Maurice Smith in Yokohama, Japan to win the UFC heavyweight crown for the first time.

Over the course of the next decade, Couture emerged as one of the most decorated mixed martial artists in history. The UFC’s only six-time champion, he captured the heavyweight belt three times, the light heavyweight title twice and an interim light heavyweight title, as well. Couture remains the only man to win UFC championships in two weight classes.

His run through the promotion included a memorable trilogy with light heavyweight rival Chuck Liddell, the only opponent to beat Couture twice. Following his third bout with Liddell in February 2006, Couture announced his first retirement.

As 2007 dawned, his desire to compete returned, and a four-fight contract with the UFC – which included the opportunity to fight Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight strap at UFC 68 in March – was presented to Couture. He accepted, and the wheels for an historic comeback were set in motion.

Couture floored Sylvia with an overhand right seconds into the bout and punished the 6-foot-8 giant over five rounds. Playing to chants of “Randy!” he regained the heavyweight title for an unprecedented third time in front of 19,049 fans at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Five months later, at the age of 44, he defeated rising contender Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74, stopping the young Brazilian by third-round TKO despite suffering a broken left arm. It would be his final appearance in the Octagon.

Couture (16-8) leaves behind an unrivaled legacy in the sport. Fifteen of his 24 career bouts were title fights, and he bested six former UFC champions – Liddell, Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz and Sylvia among them. Always willing to meet a challenge, Couture consistently tested himself against the world’s premier fighters. The 19 men he fought (he squared off with Pedro Rizzo twice and Liddell and Belfort three times each) hold 357 victories between them.

[DUCE]

Wow, this is the second time Randy has left UFC holding the Heavyweight title. That sucks.

[DUCE]

Couture stuns MMA world with retirement
By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports
October 11, 2007

Kevin Iole
Yahoo! Sports

With little interest at age 44 of fighting anyone other than the man regarded as the best mixed martial artist in the world, UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture announced his retirement Thursday.

Couture, a five-time champion and UFC Hall of Famer, had hoped to land a bout with Fedor Emelianenko, the top-rated fighter in the Yahoo! Sports MMA poll of the world's best fighters.

But when reports surfaced Wednesday that Emelianenko had spurned the UFC to sign with the Russian-based M-1 Mix Fight organization, Couture opted to retire. The story was broken by Brian Knapp of The Fight Network, which has a business relationship with Couture.

"I'm tired of swimming upstream at this stage with the management of the UFC," Couture told Knapp. "It only makes sense at this point in my career to fight Fedor Emelianenko, and since he’s now signed with another organization, I feel like it's time to resign and focus on my other endeavors."

ADVERTISEMENT
Couture's retirement stunned the MMA world, but not apparently UFC officials. Couture had breakfast several weeks ago with UFC president Dana White and owner Lorenzo Fertitta in which he indicated he would retire if he didn't get a match with Emelianenko.

"He told us he is at a crossroads and he said, 'Who else is there for me to fight?" White said of the meeting, which he said occurred around the time of UFC 76, which was Sept. 22 in Anaheim, Calif.

"He told us, 'If I fight anyone but Fedor, then I'm just fighting for the money.' Randy was never a guy who fought for money. He wanted the biggest and best challenges. He has movie deals, TV deals, a lot of (stuff) going on in his life. A lot goes into training for these guys and he just has too many other things going that he wants to deal with if he's not going to fight the best."

Couture's surprise announcement marks his second retirement. He retired after losing a rubber match for the UFC light heavyweight title to Chuck Liddell on Feb. 4, 2006, in Las Vegas.

But nine months later, after Tim Sylvia defended the heavyweight title by defeating Jeff Monson at UFC 65 in Sacramento, Calif., Couture called White and said he wanted to return to challenge Sylvia.

He dominated Sylvia at UFC 68 in Columbus, Ohio, in front of the largest MAA crowd in North American history, winning the heavyweight belt for a third time with perhaps the greatest performance of his career. He gave up more than six inches and 40 pounds to Sylvia, but knocked Sylvia down in the fight's first 10 seconds and pummeled him throughout the five-round bout.

Couture then defended it successfully against Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74 on Aug. 25 in Las Vegas.

He broke his arm in that bout, so the UFC had ticketed him next to fight at UFC 80 on Feb. 2 in Las Vegas. White said frequently that if he could land Emelianenko, he'd match him with Couture at UFC 80.

Couture reacted almost instantly to Emelianenko’s signing with M-1.

The swiftness of the move stunned even his close friends. Bas Rutten, Couture's business partner and also a one-time UFC heavyweight champion, did not know about the news Thursday until informed by a reporter.

"At 44, we knew he couldn't fight forever and you knew that sooner or later this day was going to come and he'd shut it down for good," Rutten said. "But to hear this right now, it is a complete surprise. I would have loved to have seen him fight Fedor."

White said he thought Couture would have easily defeated Emelianenko, saying he felt Emelianenko is vastly overrated.

"Couture would have eaten him alive," White said. "It would have been a big fight for us, because of the reputation that Fedor has, but it's not really deserved. Look what he's done: He beat Mark Coleman, who I think was probably 50 something years old and Matt Lindland, who weighs 185 pounds.

"It would have been a big fight, but believe me when I tell you that it would have been no contest. Randy would have destroyed him. Randy is the best heavyweight in the world." Rutten wouldn't go so far as White, but he said he felt Couture had the style to win the fight.

He said Couture would have been able to back Emelianenko up and take him down.

"Fedor's used to pressing the action, but against a guy like Randy, he would have been backing up and it's hard to fight going backwards," Rutten said. "Randy constantly presses the action. Fedor is a very, very good fighter, but he's had problems with Greco-Roman guys and I think it would have been a very good matchup for Randy."

Couture's retirement ends all association, for the time being, with the UFC. He has also decided to quit working on the UFC's television broadcasts, though White said he was only broadcasting to help him learn how to work on-camera.

"I never said no to anything Randy wanted to do," White said. "He wanted to do the TV because it was practice for his acting. I said yes. He wanted me to give his wife (Kim) a job and I said yes.

"Whatever he wanted, we did. Randy is a great, great guy and I have nothing but the most respect for him. He's one of the guys, along with Chuck Liddell and Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin and Joe Rogan who have helped build this thing into what it is. He's a beautiful person and we're always going to feel like Randy is part of our family."

[DUCE]

By the way Mark Coleman is younger then Randy Couture and Matt Lindland was not at 185 pounds when he fought Fedor.

[Knapik]

Man this sucks. Age would eventually hit, and I'm glad to not see him decimated, but he could have finished his last two fights. Who wouldn't want to see Couture/Nog? Even a Couture/CroCop non-title match would get some money, I'd have to believe. Still, I'm not going to hate on a guy that's been an absolute hero to me and so many others.

[DUCE]

The greatest thing about Couture was that he has been decimated and was able to come back.

[DUCE]

Dana White on the Retirement of Randy Couture
Interview conducted by Thomas Gerbasi
President Dana White sat down with UFC.com editor Thomas Gerbasi to discuss Randy Couture’s retirement.

Thomas Gerbasi – Were you surprised when the fax came into your office with Randy Couture’s resignation?
Dana White – No, I wasn’t surprised. I met with Randy several weeks ago and he said that the only thing he had left to prove in his career and the only challenge left out there for him was Fedor (Emelianenko) because everybody thinks that Fedor is the best. And Fedor has that mystique where people think he’s number one, which I don’t agree with. I think that Fedor is completely overrated – he’s fought Mark Coleman and Matt Lindland in the last year, with Mark Hunt being his only legitimate opponent - and I actually think that Randy Couture would have smashed Fedor.

TG – So this wasn’t a surprise, but were you at least surprised at the way he went about it, via fax?
DW – He is shooting a movie right now in South Africa, but yes, I am very surprised by the way he did it. I consider Randy Couture a friend and still do. He hooked up with some Hollywood agent that I bitch slapped about a month ago, and these Hollywood agents are parasites, so unfortunately this guy is probably in Randy’s ear right now. But, that’s the world Randy wants to be in; Randy wants to be in the movie world now, that’s what he’s working for and that’s his guy right now.

TG – What were the contents of the fax from Randy?
DW – It was just a letter saying that he resigned from his positions at the UFC. He was a color commentator and he was going to do some legislative work with us, helping Marc Ratner and going and talking to other States that we were trying to get sanctioned in.

TG – Some are saying that the timing is funny on this announcement given Fedor’s recent signing to another organization the day before…
DW – Yeah, but Randy is still under contract with the UFC. Apparently Randy’s upset about something, and the timing of this thing is a typical Hollywood agent move while Randy’s out of town. But he told me he wanted to retire anyway if he didn’t fight Fedor, and he can’t fight Fedor in another organization because he’s under contract to me. I’m very confident though that once Randy gets back in town, if we see each other we’ll work this thing out. Not saying that Randy wouldn’t stay retired, because that’s what he wants to do - he wants to act, he wants to be on TV shows, that’s his goal - but I’m sure Randy Couture and I are gonna be friends for a long time.

TG – What kind of efforts were made by the UFC to get Fedor in the organization?
DW – The thing that I’ve been trying to do for years is get the two best organizations in the world together. And the only two organizations that matter are PRIDE and the UFC. All these other ones are minor leagues, full of guys trying to fight their way up. What I wanted to do for years is get the best in every weight class together and let’s find out who is the number one fighter in the world. That has been my goal for the last five years and we wanted to make that happen. And I was extremely confident that Randy Couture would win against Fedor, and I still am. But we weren’t able to get that fight, we weren’t able to get Fedor, and I had to deal with these crazy reps he had – everything they said made no sense and the whole deal was crazy. It seemed like it was all about their managers and not about Fedor. So the deal didn’t happen and Couture let me and Lorenzo (Fertitta) know that without that, there was nothing really to accomplish anymore. In mixed martial arts he had accomplished everything, and I didn’t disagree with him. I said I completely agree, and I think Randy is looking right now at moving on and accomplishing his goals in acting.

TG – There have been reports that Couture’s fight contract with the UFC will expire in nine months; is there truth to those reports?
DW – Absolutely not.

TG – Were you hurt by some of the comments Couture has made regarding a perceived lack of respect from the organization?
DW – Of course we’re hurt by that. Randy Couture is a guy who I’ve said publicly a million times and I’ll say publicly right now who I feel is one of the guys who helped us get here. If you want to call me a liar, people think a lot of bad stuff about me
anyway, but to call Lorenzo Fertitta a liar, the reason the sport exists right now is because of him and his brother (Frank). They’ve done nothing but good things for this sport, and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him and his brother. You ask anybody in Las Vegas about the reputation of the Fertitta family; they aren’t liars, they are great people. So for him to say that about Lorenzo, it’s not like Randy Couture. It’s not like him.

TG – Had he brought some of his concerns to your attention before, or was today the first time you had heard them?
DW – We had a breakfast a few weeks ago and he told me that he was upset about things and he felt like other fighters were getting paid more than he was and that he didn’t have the best contract in the UFC. And I assured him that he had the second best contract in the UFC with Chuck Liddell having the best.

TG – He negotiated this contract, correct?
DW – He did. It was the contract that he negotiated and that he was very happy with once we were done negotiating it.

TG – Until he perceived that someone else was making more money.
DW – Right. He thought that other guys were making more money than him, and we assured him that he had the second best contract in the UFC.

TG – How does Randy’s departure hurt the UFC heavyweight division?
DW – I don’t think it affects the division at all because after what we’ve seen over the last couple of years, anybody can win or lose on any given night. It’s what makes this sport so exciting. And now it’s like this big shocking news that Randy Couture retired. He’s 44 years old, he’s not 24. Is everybody really that shocked that Randy retired? Randy Couture has had an amazing career, he’s an incredible athlete, he’s pulled off more upsets, and has been the underdog so many times, what’s really left out there for him? I think he would have put a stone cold beating on Fedor, and he would have walked away with the same thing that he’s walking away with now. He’s walking out on top, and walking out on top is a smart thing to do. And it’s perfect for his acting career.

TG – Randy, to a lot of people, is the face of the UFC. How does this affect the organization?
DW – People were saying to me four months ago that Chuck Liddell was the face of the UFC. Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell are two of many faces of the UFC. The UFC has the greatest fighters in the world, and Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell might be two of the best known fighters in the UFC, but everybody pulls their weight in this company and everybody works hard for it. Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes, Rich Franklin, Joe Rogan, these are guys who were with us early on who I credit for helping us get to where we are today. Is Randy Couture the face of the UFC? No, he’s one of many faces of the UFC, but he is one of the guys who helped us get here. I love him, I respect him, I still consider him my friend and just like any friendship, we don’t see eye to eye all the time, but if you’re true friends, you work it out, and I consider Randy Couture a true friend, and I honestly believe that when he comes home from filming, and when his scumbag Hollywood agent isn’t around, we’ll talk and we’ll square away our friendship. And as far as his retirement and him wanting to retire, I have nothing but respect for him and I don’t disagree with his decision.

[DUCE]

wow, Dana White is wow... read this ^^^ he bitch slaps hollywood agents?

[DUCE]

White's reaction could determine MMA's future

By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports
October 11, 2007





Dana White may be the man most responsible for the meteoric growth of the UFC. It has a national television contract, it does ever-larger pay-per-view sales, it routinely sells out major venues and it has one of the most passionate fan bases in sports.

Much of that is due to White's grit, guile and cunning.

But White, the UFC president, has a challenge before him, the likes of which he has never faced in his seven years at the helm of the world's most successful mixed martial arts promotional company.

Though White hardly seemed upset by UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture's announcement Thursday that he is retiring as a professional fighter and severing all ties with the company, how he handles the situation will determine whether the company will continue its rocket-like ascent toward mainstream acceptance or whether it will return to the netherworld of niche sports status.



Couture quit for the same reason that No. 1 NFL draft pick JaMarcus Russell didn't sign with the Raiders until after the regular season began, for the reason why Alex Rodriguez is probably going to opt out of his contract with the Yankees: Money.

The UFC has played hardball with its fighters for so long because it has been the only game in town. And, despite the emergence of a slew of promotions like the International Fight League, Elite XC, Strikeforce and, new this week, M-1 Mix Fight, it remains the only viable alternative for most fighters.

It has the most money, the most fans and the best fighters under contract. If you're a fighter and you're looking to increase your exposure and your bankroll, you sign with the UFC.

Couture's sudden retirement changes the dynamic remarkably.

Former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell, who according to White is the company's highest-paid fighter, has lost two straight and has conceded that thoughts of retirement have wafted through his head.

Couture, whom White said was his second-highest paid fighter, retired on Thursday.

Matt Hughes, who fights Matt Serra for the welterweight title on Dec. 29, has said on The Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike TV that he's only going to fight two or three more times before quitting.

Rich Franklin will lose a lot of his luster as a drawing card if he gets manhandled again by Anderson Silva when they meet for the middleweight title at UFC 77 on Oct. 20.

Tito Ortiz, who is down to one fight left on his UFC contract, is nowhere near the invincible force he seemed about five years ago.

And for as many great athletes who dot the UFC's roster of talent, none, with the possible exception of light heavyweight Forrest Griffin, have the capability of filling an arena like Couture and Liddell did.

White blamed what's becoming his personal whipping boy – MMA web sites and forums – for spreading phony rumors about fighter pay. Couture, who is in South Africa filming a movie and couldn't be reached for comment Thursday, released a statement in which he said he was retiring because the UFC didn't sign Fedor Emelianenko and no other fight mattered to him.

He also said he was upset with UFC management for what he believed was low pay. He made that point in a breakfast meeting last month with White and UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta.

"He felt he was not getting paid as much as Mirko Cro Cop, as much as this guy and as much as that guy," White said. "We told him he was our second-highest paid fighter, but he didn't believe us. Chuck's the only guy who makes more, but he kept hearing all these rumors and he wouldn't believe us."

White then launched into a tirade against what he called "the rumor mongerers on the Internet," whom he said are, "the lowest of the low."

He said fighters read those sites and believe them to be true, causing friction at the negotiating table.

"This business is like a beauty salon," he said. "These guys are all the toughest guys in the world, but they're like (expletives) in a beauty salon. They pass along rumors and gossip, which has no basis in reality and they believe all the (rumors) they hear. The Internet is very powerful and one of the best promotional tools we have, but it's a crazy place.

"They hear these rumors and they believe them and then they get insulted like (expletives) after we try to talk reality with them. They'll say, 'Well, this guy is getting this much,' but when I ask where they heard it, it's never a contract, it's always, 'I read it on the Internet.' It's crazy."

The Yankees won the World Series after Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson retired. The Lakers won NBA titles after Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson quit.

There is plenty of precedent in sports for teams and organizations succeeding after losing their biggest stars.

But those were established teams in established leagues with long records of success. MMA as we know it has only existed since 1993. And as recently as less than three years ago, few mainstream media paid it any mind.

Griffin and Stephan Bonnar helped change that with a slugfest in the finale of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV that was the equal of any held in boxing.

With a reach of 90 million homes, a fight which was like MMA's equivalent of the legendary Marvin Hagler-Thomas Hearns middleweight title brawl, forced a lot of people to begin tuning in.

There have been few bumps in the 30 months since that epic battle.

But if you believe – yep, Internet reports – then White has two major bumps he must hurdle. Several web sites have reported that Emelianenko has signed with a Russian promoter called M-1 Mix Fight.

White, who has been negotiating feverishly for the last six months in a bid to sign Emelianenko and match him with Couture, wasn't sure if the reports are true.

He demeaned Emelianenko, who is ranked No. 1 in the Y! Sports MMA poll, as a fighter, saying Couture would destroy him, and said Emelianenko's representatives were nearly impossible to work with.

"The negotiations with those guys were so nutty, that at this point, I don't give (an expletive) if he ever comes with us," White said. "If there were real rankings out there, he wouldn't be the No. 1 fighter in the world, believe me.

"Randy Couture is the top heavyweight. He's proven it. He's fought real guys. Who has this guy fought? Mark Coleman and Matt Lindland, who weighs 185 pounds. He's (an expletive) middleweight. My philosophy has always been to sign the best guys and make them fight, but you see that this guy didn't want to fight the best because he was impossible to deal with."

If Emelianenko had signed with the UFC and then subsequently defeated Couture, he would have been Couture's obvious successor as a drawing card.

On the other hand, had Couture, as White predicts, destroyed Emelianenko, it would have exponentially improved Couture's drawing power for as long as he wanted to stay around. Now, White is forced to find replacements for two high-level talents.

White isn't the coolest guy in the world, but he plays one on TV and he tried to pass off Couture's decision as one of those things that happen in the fight game.

"No matter how great they are, fighters come and go, but it's the sport that survives," White said. "Randy Couture retired once before and we didn't collapse, did we? I love Randy Couture and what he represented.

"He's a great guy and was a bad dude in that octagon. He's the kind of guy I want to associate my company with, but I also know that as a fighter, he wouldn't be around forever no matter what. We'll survive. This is just another day in my life. Believe me, as much as I would like to be promoting another Couture fight, it's not the news that is going to kill the UFC."

White is going to need all his cunning and guile to survive this one, though.

He said Thursday he's not certain he's going to go ahead with the long-rumored Liddell-Wanderlei Silva fight as the main event of UFC 79 on Dec. 29 and said he may just headline that card with Hughes challenging Matt Serra for the welterweight title.

[DUCE]

listening to him I bet he makes Vera/Big Tim either for the title or the winner face Gonzaga. Then he buries Nog due to Nog's history with Fedor.

[hofclemens]

I think meltzer hit it on the head. Tim/vera and Kongo/Nog with the winners going on to title fights.

[Darth Turkish]

hofclemens said:

I think meltzer hit it on the head. Tim/vera and Kongo/Nog with the winners going on to title fights.

Ha ha Meltzer got it from me! look at the third post!!!

ha hahaha

[LWPD]

Love him or hate him few know how to 'play the game' better than self promoter extraordinaire...Frank Shamrock. He offers some excellent advice for younger/newer fans of MMA at the end.

Courtesy of FrankShamrock.com

FRANK SHAMROCK ON RANDY COUTURE

Q&A with a Legend about a Legend

By Mary Van Note

MV: It's huge news all over the Internet and I'd love to hear you weigh-in on the subject. Was this a smart move for Couture?

FS: This was the smartest move that Randy Couture could have made at this point in his career. At his age, and with the level of athletes growing in the sport, he was smart to get out. Also with the UFC only focusing on their brand and not the talent, his growth was always limited in that show.


MV: What other opportunities does he have to fight in MMA while not with Zuffa's Pride or UFC?

FS: Randy Couture is a movie star and a household name. He is a martial artist of the highest caliber. He has diversified into everything from books, movies, shavers, clothing lines, and other endorsements. I don't think he will ever fight again nor does he need to.


MV: What do you know about his allegations that he was most likely not paid as well or as much as other top fighters like Silva and Lidell?

FS: I am sure that they are true. The UFC is only concerned about their brand, not the sport of MMA. It took them years to realize that Randy was an American hero. It took MMA about 5 minutes.


MV: How does this affect MMA in general? And specifically the brand of UFC?

FS: It hurts the UFC big-time; more than when I left the sport as they have no stars in their shows now. The last is Liddell and his life span is short. MMA will be fine as the new fans don't know about the sport or its history anyways.


MV: Any chance you would fight Couture?

FS: Would love to have him kick my butt. I have trained with him many times and he is the real deal.


MV: I see similarities with your career with Couture's. He left the UFC at the peak of his career for "hollywood." Any thoughts?

FS: He is smart and the jig is up with the UFC. The threats from Dana and his retarded business practices are catching up with the company. The truth always comes out and there it is. This sport is about the martial way not his way.


MV: What is the future of MMA?

FS: Frank Shamrock.


MV: What is the UFC doing wrong... to lose their top talent?

FS: "U Fight Cheap" is their moniker. MMA is about the incredible people who do it, not the company that shows it. Stars drive the sport, not Dana. He is an idiot who should go back to managing a gym where he came from and quit messing up our beautiful art form.

Finally for all the new fans, do some research on MMA and the sport. Don't believe what they sell you on TV and PPV. This sport is amazing with some real history that should be appreciated. The UFC makes their own history up for money. Don't be a follower be a fanatic!

[Cosmic Crippler]

It is so crazty to me that Dana (or whoever) wouldnt agree to pay Cotoure what he is worth. Out of all the fighters, why would you short change that guy? Its like killing off Captain America in Marvel Co....wait a minute....

[Avarice]

Good call CC...and wow...hopefully things change with him. The HWT isn't that good right now, I can't see what they'd do with the belt.

[habbalah]

The future is Frank Shamrock? Dear God, does this nutt sack ever stop thinking about himself?

Yeah.. the future is about a guy who still wants to a fight a gracie.

War Dana.

[DUCE]

UFC brand should not be above all MMA. Time and time again we will have fighters leaving UFC and time and time again everyone will follow their own Pied Piper. I am tired of WAR whatever whistle blowing. I'll be happy to have more then one choice for top level MMA. Frank Shamrock makes me laugh.