Is Randy just waiting it out?

**Ke?poFist** · Posted On: 9/05/2008 2:04pm

I haven't been following my MMA news lately, but the Couture resigning caught my eye. To those with their finger on the pulse, do you feel that Randy is just committing himself to his last few fights to honor his contract, and will then run off to the competition/Fedor?

**Kentucky Fried Chokin** · Posted On: 9/05/2008 4:14pm

Supposedly Dana is willing to buck up the money the get Fedor to the UFC for a one time appearance to fight Randy. I can't site any sources for this though. Also, I think Randy needs the money after 'The Scorpian King 2' went straight to DVD.

**lionknight** · Posted On: 9/05/2008 4:23pm

I think it might be more of a case of if he didn’t settle and come back to the UFC he was going to get murdered in court and then have to do it anyhow or actually retire from fighting and never have the chance in the first place (to fight Fedor that is).

**Kentucky Fried Chokin** · Posted On: 9/05/2008 4:43pm

That's right, I forgot. He just lost his court case.

**MrBadGuy** · Posted On: 9/05/2008 4:43pm

Originally Posted by Razamataz

Also, I think Randy needs the money after 'The Scorpian King 2' went straight to DVD.

God damn it, beat me to it.

Seriously, what the hell was/is he thinking?

**mrblackmagic** · Posted On: 9/05/2008 5:38pm

He was trying to open up new avenues after he retires. Like he's not going to have every network with a segment dedicated to mma beating on his door to see if he'll come and commentate after he retires.

**Portillo** · Posted On: 9/05/2008 7:02pm

UFC Will Wait for Fedor

by Loretta Hunt (lhunt@sherdog.com)

UFC President Dana White confidently laid out his organization’s plan to acquire the services of Fedor Emelianenko for a future matchup with recently returned heavyweight champion Randy Couture.

The promotion will simply wait, he said during a conference call Tuesday.

“Randy Couture going to fight November 15,” White said, as if referring to a predetermined timeline. “He’s going to fight Brock Lesnar in the biggest fight in UFC history. The rest of the heavyweight division will be figured out in December. I would be f—king horrified if Affliction is still in business by January. They’re going to burn a lot of cash in the next couple of months, believe me. Good luck to them and I’ll be sitting here waiting to see what happens.”

Emelianenko, 31, is reported to have committed to an exclusive U.S. contract with Affliction Entertainment, an extraordinarily successful clothing company that branched into promoting events with “Banned” on July 19 in Anaheim, Calif., and will launch its second event on UFC turf on Oct. 11 in Las Vegas.

It is unknown what commitment the vaunted Russian fighter has made to Affliction, though White seemed unfettered by that detail regardless.

“These guys are dying on the vine,” said White of Affliction. “They’ll be gone in a couple of months anyway and then Fedor will have to come here. Listen, you’re not under contract if the company isn’t in business anymore. We’ll figure it out.”

It seems like White has good reason to be cocky. The bold UFC chief has led his promotion to phenomenal success in the U.S. since the January 2005 debut of “The Ultimate Fighter” on Spike TV. Though a handful of potential challengers have risen to usurp the promotion’s grip on the industry, not one has been able to stake its claim for long.

The International Fight League, which debuted in April 2006 and ran for 23 events, incurred a hefty $36 million debt before it closed its doors this summer. Pro Elite, a Los Angeles-based company that houses multiple promotions from EliteXC to King of the Cage to Icon Sport, is $55 million in the red with its shaky future hinging on a blowout ratings bonanza for its Oct. 4 event on CBS.

Though Affliction’s sole offering was commended for its stellar cast of five top-10 heavyweights, the promotion had to pay through the nose to get it –- $3.3 million according to disclosed commission reports but rumored to be as high as $5-6 million behind the scenes. Affliction’s second event will carry a much lighter purse, but it will also lack the services of Emelianenko and a few other top-ranked draws as well.

Now without the possibility of nabbing Couture -- who re-signed into a fresh three-fight deal with the UFC Tuesday –- Affliction, along with all the others, has little hope of landing a coveted bout between the two highly respected heavyweights. White clearly stated Tuesday he will make no concessions for a co-promotional effort, mainly because he knows he probably won’t ever have to.

And Couture, who signed on the dotted line in good faith that the UFC will pursue a fight with Emelianenko with all of their resources, will now push his agenda from the inside.

After all, Zuffa has what might be the biggest bargaining tool of all to lure Emelianenko into the Octagon once and for all –- “The Natural” himself.

“I know he’s expressed interest in this fight,” Couture told reporters Tuesday, “but I think if people are to take him seriously and give him credit as the number-one heavyweight in the world, then he needs to come fight me. That makes sense to me.”

**Nathan McScary** · Posted On: 9/05/2008 8:43pm

I'm not sure anyone will ever have a really clear idea as to what Randy was thinking through this whole thing.

I'm sort of doubting the whole waiting it out theory though, mainly due to the fact that rather than returning to finish his existing contract with two fights, he signed an all new three fight contract. Just going out on a limb, I'm willing to guess the new contract is likely slightly more financially appealing than his last as well.

**Wolf** · Posted On: 9/05/2008 9:50pm

Randy's not waiting anything out. He had one fight left on his contract, and he just signed a 3 fight extension.

**Gabetuno** · Posted On: 9/06/2008 1:30pm

Look, this is good. I hate Dana as much as anybody, and his Gatesian monopolization of this sport has been terrible for fighters, and began with the purchase of Pride. But what needs to happen now is Fedor needs to come to the UFC, fight Randy, beat him, maybe one or two other people, and then walk away. This is the only logical way that another start up will make it. If a name like F.E. can walk away from the UFC to another organization, it's likely some others will follow his lead, and that's what will light a fire under Dana's ass to put up some bigger numbers in his contract.

Just my 2 cents.