Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 in Portland? (Update)

speeds · Aug 28, 2008

Ok, take this for what it is worth, but I've seen online reports that have Randy Couture possibly returning to the UFC in November for the first of his remaining two fights with the company. His first would be against Brock Lesnar and the second would be an undisputed championship bout with Big Nog.

Randy is currently back in training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and everybody is wondering why that is the case, which has spurred these rumblings.

Randy has vacated the title (its been over 12 months) and has said he doesn't consider himself to be champion--he says Nog is the rightful UFC champ.

Both of these fights would be major draws; maybe less so with Couture/Nogueira, supposing Nog can get by Mir (and he should be 3 to 1 to do so). Couture/Lesnar could probably pull close to or more than 1-million PPV buys, which means a payday for Couture in excess of two or three million dollars.

The odds of this happening are probably sub-10% but hey, worth a mention, right?

valo35 · Aug 28, 2008

Re: Crazy rumour: Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 in Portland

I would love to see him return to the UFC and finish up his contract. Its looking like he is never going to fight outside of the UFC, until he finishs his final two fights. I could see him returning and fighting here being a real possibility because of that. I think he wants to hurry up and get his fight with Fedor underway as quickly as possible, and this is how he can do it I would think.

For the fights, Lesnar/Couture, an intersting fight to say the least. Wrestler vs wrestler, both guys have had a pretty good amateur wrestling background. Brock has the wrestling and strength to be a handful for Rany Couture no doubt. It would be no walk in the park for Couture I would think. I would be interested to see it, and of course I would want Couture to win that.

After that, of course Couture/Big Nog is one helluva fight. I think Couture would win this, but it would be a tough fight also I think. Both guys provide interesting matchups, and present guys that can really give him some tough fights. If he wins both, then they are great tuneups for the Fedor fight.

Celtic Fan · Aug 29, 2008

Re: Crazy rumour: Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 in Portland

I don't see Randy doing very well vs Lesnar. He's a bigger stronger version of himself with less stand up, but Brock wouldn't let it stay standing and I don't think Randy can keep it off the mat.

Nog vs Couture would be interesting because they're both strong on the ground with decent stand up and both are tough as hell.

Celtic Fan · Aug 29, 2008

Re: Crazy rumour: Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 in Portland

an update on this 'thin' rumor that is gaining steam.

Sources: Randy Couture willing to fight in the UFC once more
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Aug 28, 2008 at 5:20 pm ET
Reigning UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture could return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship by year's end as part of an out-of-court settlement with the organization.

Multiple sources close to the fighter, speaking exclusively to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), today said that Couture is willing to fight once more for the UFC, possibly before the end of the year, as a potential resolution to his ongoing legal battles with the fight promotion.

However, Couture himself could not be reached for comment, and it's unknown if the UFC is even considering the offer at this point.

According to one source, as part of Couture's concession to return the octagon, the 45-year-old UFC hall-of-famer would want to walk away "clear and free" from the organization after the bout.

Couture (16-8 MMA, 13-5 UFC), who hasn't fought since a third-round TKO victory over fellow UFC heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga in August 2007, resigned from the organization two months later over what he perceived to be a lack of respect from UFC officials, issues over his pay, and the UFC's inability to sign then-top free agent Fedor Emelianenko.

However, Zuffa LLC officials believe, per his fight contract, that Couture's next two bouts must be in the UFC. Couture had said that he wanted his resignation upheld so he could move on with his career, including a potential bout with Emelianenko outside the UFC.

Back in February, Couture signed a deal with Mark Cuban's Dallas-based HDNet Fights promotion. The organization then filed suit against the UFC in Dallas district court to get a declaratory judgment concerning the contractual status of Couture. However, earlier this month, a Texas appeals court ruled in favor of Zuffa and granted the organization's request for a stay against the motion.

In conditionally granting the stay, the court effectively deferred the case between Zuffa and Couture to arbitration to determine the fighter's contractual obligations to the UFC.

The ruling all but ensures that this case will be decided by a Nevada arbitrator and not by a Texas court, though it's likely that HDNet will appeal to the Texas Supreme Court. Arbitration between Zuffa and Couture reportedly has been under way in Las Vegas since early July.

Despite Couture's resignation, during a UFC 82 press conference in March, UFC President Dana White said that he had offered Couture a fight with now-interim UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on two different occasions. Although the fight never came to fruition, White has never ruled out the possibility of Couture returning to the organization.

In the other squabble between the UFC and Couture, the five-time champion's employment contract, which is separate from his fight contract, is the focus of a breach of contract lawsuit filed by Zuffa on Jan. 14 in Las Vegas. Zuffa contends that Couture violated the one-year non-compete clause in his contract by having his name and likeness used to promote fights outside of the UFC.

Couture's UFC employment contract expires on Oct. 11 of this year.
Click to expand...

speeds · Aug 30, 2008

So transfer this rumour from the "very unlikely" pile to the "starting to sound like a real possibility" pile.

Various news outlets are reporting that Randy is in very serious negotiations with the UFC to return to the company and fight at the Portland show in November. We might even know next week.

CagePotato is also reporting that M-1 are getting warm to the idea of allowing a UFC superfight between Randy and Fedor Emelianenko in the future and have softened their negotiation tactics.

Hell yes.

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Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 in Portland? (Update)

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Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 in Portland? (Update)

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