SOURCE

So far nothing has been officially announced but the legal battle between Couture and UFC is not going so well for Randy. He wanted out of his contract all together, UFC said he still had 2 fights, but it looked like they are on Semi-Good terms and were looking at a 1 Fight remaining contract then he will be a free agent. Now it appears to be a possible 3 fight contract, however we are all still unsure as to if Fedor is mixed into this somehow. Since it's still up in the air as to a Fedor fight, a rumored UFC 91 return has been floating around through good sources for about a week now. However, now it's been escalated to a Couture Vs. Lesnar fight, which would most likely be one of the highest PPV events in MMA history, even more so then a Fedor fight.
If this fight does take place, which there is a strong possibility that it will, it will most likely NOT be a title fight, as Noguera has earned the right to that title shot. This would be a huge move for UFC, and could then free Couture to move on to Fedor, although Fedor himself has expressed interest in fighting Lesnar. This could get really interesting.

As a huge UFC fan.. i'm mixed about this fight. Sure it's great to see Couture back in the octagon, but a loss to Lesnar would be upsetting and may hurt the hype for a Couture vs. Fedor fight, however a win would be monumental and it would put Lesnar in his place so to speak. Either way i'm still excited about seeing Couture again.


Any thoughts?

I think Couture should just leave UFC altogether just pay his way out.

Lesnar > Couture

Fedor > Lesnar

Fedor > Couture.

Dubious I think Couture could take Lesnar in 2, Lesnar is more show then skill.

I don't think Couture could even take him to the ground. Lesnar on the other hand would dominate Couture, even with him being a Greco-Roman wrestler. Lesnar can never finish Couture on the ground. He's got a weak ground game. Also I don't think that Couture could get a better position while on the ground.

If the match stays on the feet, then Couture has an exceptional chance. But I don't see it staying on standup.

If he is to return, then I think both Randy and the UFC should get the Randy/Fedor fight out of the way before anything else because just as Bubbabyte said, a Couture loss could certainly hurt that hype. As someone mentioned on another forum though, UFC 91 is due to take place in Portland, Oregon. I really doubt the UFC would go for a Randy/Fedor main event anywhere else other than Las Vegas IMO.

The fights that everyone wants to see...

Randy Couture vs. Fedor Emelianenko
Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brock Lesnar

The question is, with Couture being the current UFC HW Champion, where do the UFC fit the unification bout with Big Nog into the picture?

I thought Big Nog became interim champion?

New news!!

SOURCE

Looks as though the rumors may be true..



ALSO

Yep I posted that in this section in a separate post so not to muddle the up

Yes, he did, and usually in the case where there is an Interim Champion, the first fight when the true Champion returns (usually from injury) is the unification bout to find the undisputed champion. Unless the Champion decides to drop the title or is stripped. An example of this, I think, was when Frank Mir had the motorcycle accident. Arlovski became the Interim Champ, and was renamed the Heavyweight Champ because Mir was unable to defend the title.

So, in theory when/if Randy returns, the first fight should be the unification bout against Big Nog. I suppose the situation might be different if Randy comes back because he really wants the Fedor fight and the UFC will want to cash in whilst the hype is hot.

They will not have Randy fight Big Nog first due to Nog and Mir doing the ulitimate fighter this season, and seeing as they want huge PPV to round the year out its obvious they will have Randy vs. Lesnar... I think it should be for the title, no other HW as of now (other then nog and mir) deserve a shot at it. it also gives them another HUGE card for next year, Lesnar vs. Mir II/Nog PPV buys would be through the roof if this happened. and it doesn't matter if randy wins or loses, from what i understand part of the contract makes the UFC have to do a co-promotion with M-1/Affliction for the Fedor fight. not to mention its the only way the UFC will make any money off that fight.

Its official nov 15 vegas, LESNAR COUTURE for the HW TITLE OF THE WORLD

Big mistake but heh I'll still watch it.

not a mistake at all for the UFC, they need some huge PPV numbers before the end of the year and brock is huge and everyone and their grandma are going to get this to see if he will become the best in the UFC. then they get to watch him possibly get smashed by big nog or a rematch with mir

NOT ONLY THAT, but we could also end up seeing Fedor vs Lesnar which would be amazing

is anyone else EXTREMELY upset by this news... i mean i'm all for Couture being back, I'm a huge fan. I'm even excited for the Fight between him and Lesnar.. BUT WHY THE **** IS THIS A TITLE FIGHT. Lesnar has a 1-1 UFC record.. with 3 MMA fights in TOTAL under his belt.. what gives HIM the right to a title shot. Words can't describe how ****ed off this makes me.. Dana White (although i like him) has no business talking trash against someone like Kimbo Slice when he is gonna pull this garbage. I can't believe this.

I'll never give up on Couture or underestimate what he can do.. but i'm just praying to every god known to man that he makes a fool out of Lesnar and sends him packing back to the WWE.

I fully agree, I am really disappointed this fight is even happening let alone for the title, Lesnar needs more fights under his belt until he can claim anywhere near the level Randy is at but with that being said the ppv's alone in this fight are going to be crazy and I really hope he kicks the living hell out of Lesnar and sends him packing not to WWE but to TNA where all the losers are.

The same problems that exist in Boxing will eventually make its way to the UFC. Guess its just a matter of time eh?

personally i think this is a great fight, is it a little early for lesnar? yes. but they need couture back ASAP and they arn't going to have him fight in a non-title fight, and they aren't gonna take nog away from training for mir either. no one else in the UFC HW DIV deserves a "title" shot, i personally think of it as both randy and nog are "intrim" holders until there is only one its like they are both half a champ. so why not through lesnar in the mix, i mean, they could just have him fight kongo and no one in the world would care and it would be another crappy UFC card full of lackluster fights. now have him and couture go at it and it doesn't matter if the rest of the card doesn't perform the mainevent is a fight to remember, not to mention it could be like seeing into the future when randy fights fedor...

You people and all your **** about the WWE. Did you forget the rest of his history?

Thats better amateur credentials than most in the UFC. While it may be early for him to have a title shot, people shouldn't debase themselves by all that back to the WWE crap.

don't give me that **** dude.. where in my quote did i say he was just a WWE wrestler? The only time i bring up the WWE is because of his BS antics after the last match with Herring. I'm fully aware of Lesnar's credentials.. HOWEVER, i don't give a sweet **** how much of a pro wrestler or whatever he may HAVE been, he could be ****ing bruce lee for all i care.. but getting a title shot with a 1-1 UFC record is just ****ing ridiculous. I understand it's about making money, and it's a hugely profitable bout. But nobody can honestly say that ANYONE with a 1-1 UFC record deserves a title shot. If you really believe he deserves it then you are nothing more than a Lesnar fanboy. A strong wrestling background doesn't make you a great MMA fighter, i'm not sure where you are getting your info but saying he has better credentials then most in the UFC is just stupid, so he's good at wrestling, big deal.. WRESTLING IS NOT MMA.

+1

Damn, I guess asking you to actually read what I say is out of the question? I acknowledged the same thing about his fight.



So get off your high horse and all this fanboy crap. My whole point was about this comment:



The man has just as much right to be in MMA as any other damn fighter. And in all reality, he brings a better skillset than a crapload of these new fighters that have only ever trained MMA and not 1 actual discipline hard. Nothing makes a better fight than 2 people with different backgrounds fighting. In a few years they are all going to have trained in generic MMA schools, and alot of the beauty of this sport may be gone. But damn, knocking the man for making some money in professional wrestling is just stupid. Where is all of the outrage about future hall of famer Shamrock doing it?

I did actually read your statement, and i'm fully aware that you agree it MAY be too early for a title shot, however everything else you've said is just ridiculous and makes you either sound like a fanboy of Lesnar or someone who knows nothing about MMA. Again, i'm fully aware of Lesnar's credentials, but he DOES NOT have as much right to be in mma as any other fighter. He's a wrester, that's it. He's had 2 fights in the UFC in which he displayed NOTHING other then he can use his weight to push people around. Sure he beat up Heath Herring, but if you actually watched the fight and knew anything about MMA you would realize that Lesnar sucked, he left him self open on every opportunity, he did nothing but lay on Herrings back to keep him down. Sure that might have worked for Herring, but obviously didn't work on Mir. And i don't believe it will work on any other submission specialist and that's why Lesnar is nothing more then a wrestler and not an MMA fighter. And then you talk about alot of beauty of this sport may be gone??? Yes, it probably will, and if so it's because of people like Lesnar and Kimbo Slice, who have no training or discipline in MMA and make this sport LOOK like something Vince McMahon came up with.
I never knocked Lesnar for making money in wrestling, because that's what he's good at.. he's a W R E S T L E R... don't you get what i'm saying yet, jesus. Comparing him in ANY way to shamrock just makes you look even more uneducated. MMA > Wrestling

Regardless of what a lot of people think, this fight is most likely going to happen. And we'll know by the results alone whether or not he truly belongs in the UFC.

I think that Lesnar may destroy Couture.

I really hope not it will ruin any chance of ever seeing Fedor taking on Randy.

I think that Fedor v Randy will never happen now. I just don't see Randy winning this to maintain his hype with Fedor.

Was Randy forced into this fight with Brock?

Randy asked for Brock .. if Randy can beat Brock and then beat the winner of Mir/Nog the UFC will let him fight Fedor ... so yeah the Fedor fight won't happen.

UFC 91 Update:
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (28-7 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has begun preparations for a UFC 91 fight with Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1 MMA, 2-3 UFC).

Sources within Jackson's new camp at the Wolfslair Academy tell that Jackson has agreed to the Nov. 15 bout and has already begun a six-week fight camp with the U.K.-based team.

Rampage going to be an interesting fight!

I'm not sure whats in store for a Randy vs Fedor fight with the Golden Boy bail out of Affliction. Dana ensured there would never be a co-promotion.

In order to get Randy Couture back into the UFC they both had to agree to some compromises. First Randy gets a huge pay raise, that is why he wants to fight Brock Lesnar as he now gets a nice % of the ppv revenue and they think this will be easily the highest grossing ppv event ever. Previously the record is Chuck vs Tito II which had 475,000 views at $39.99 each .. considering the UFC has increased the price $10 and the increased popularity of the UFC and the marketing of Brock Lesnar to WWE fans this will make him lots of money.

The second part was UFC had to start making efforts towards some sort of insurance for fighters and they have started to do so and Randy is satisfied with that. The third was there would be a fight with Fedor, and Dana has talked to M-1 Global and is willing to do a co-promotion but Randy has to beat Brock and the winner of Nog/Mir first and if and only then does he get Fedor in the UFC. Fedor's management has confirmed this and they said basically Randy had no other choice but to except the deal as he would be in court too long to fight Fedor any other way and this was the only chance. They also went on to say they think the UFC is setting up Randy to lose so they can take the title away from him and make sure he doesn't get to fight Fedor.

Sure does sound like they are setting him to lose for sure. That was my gut instinct when I hear of how the 'champ' has to fight this person and then that person in order to get his wish. Brock will be tough. I don't expect Mir to get past Nog and Nog will be tough for Randy as well. The part about Dana doing a co-promo to get Fedor in the UFC is hard to believe right now. I don't see why it couldn't happen except that any other promotion that gets to co-promote with the UFC will probably gain instant credibility. Something Dana would hate to allow happen.

IMO Lesnar should beat Couture. Couture can't even come close to the strength of Lesnar. And if we learned anything from the Herring fight, Lesnar has a lot to learn, but he has the ability to keep a person down. His wrestling background gives him the ability to control an opponent. He manhandled Herring the whole time. And, even though Couture is still in great shape, he's getting old. That plays into recovery time, endurance and his ability to take a punch.

When you watch the Herring fight, Lesnar looked like he was wrestling and missed a lot of submission positions. If he learns to strike even semi-effectively and take advantage of openings to submit his opponents, no one will touch him.

And all that showmanship at the end of fight was due to some backstage turmoil prior to the fight. Herring was mad that it was suggested to let Lesnar go out second since it was his hometown. It lead to some bad blood between the two. The behavior of Lesnar is unacceptable, but he'll learn. He apologized for it on Sunday to both Dana White and Herring.

UFC 91 Card Finalized