Current UFC heavyweight champion Randy "The Natural" Couture has inked a deal with the UFC and sources from mmajunkie.com tell us that he has signed a new 3-fight contract (even though he only had 2 fights left in his previous contract).
Here’s a snip from UFC President Dana White:
"We had some problems with Randy…We’ve resolved them all. He has always been the heavyweight champion of
the UFC. It took us some time to get everything straight, but I think
we’re all good now and ready to move forward…No matter whether Randy wins or loses (the bout with Lesnar), he will still be in the UFC…I think everybody knows my personality and how I get…When I don’t like somebody, I make it very clear that I don’t like
them. … Through this whole thing, I never hated Randy or said
anything really bad about Randy…The worst thing I think I said about Randy through this whole thing? I
think I called him confused. That’s it. That’s pretty mild for me. I
like Randy. I always have. This whole thing never made sense to me."
So it is finally official, Couture will be facing the very powerful Brock Lesnar at UFC 91. White also goes on to say that Couture remains as the UFC’s heavyweight champion, but a unified title match must be made. The second UFC heavyweight titleholder is Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and he’ll be taking on Frank Mir in December. The winners in each of these bouts will go on for the UFC’s unified heavyweight title, which will then be scheduled in early 2009.
It’s exciting to see Couture back in action once again, but will he ever get to fight Fedor Emelianenko? Dana White says that he is trying really hard to make the match happen:
"[Couture] has made it very clear how bad he wants to fight Fedor…We’re going to do everything in our power to make a Fedor fight happen…We’re not going to mess with anybody’s contract…[Emelianenko] is under contract right now to another promotion. If he
becomes available or something can be worked out with that other
promotion — obviously everybody knows how crazy we are about
protecting our contracts; we would never do that to somebody else…If the Fedor fight can be made, if he becomes available or whatever, then absolutely we would love to make the Fedor fight."
The Natural has admitted that Lesnar is indeed a very explosive opponent. However, Mir has shown the world how one can beat a man as massive as Lesnar. Couture must study and practice the right techniques if he wants to get past the former WWE monstruous wrestler. Couture stated, "obviously [Lesnar] is a great big guy…on the ground or standing he poses some interesting problems. I’ve got to go to work and find the answer to those questions." On the other hand, Lesnar demonstrated how his strength and athletic ability can be combined in a way to destroy an opponent like he did to Heath Herring back at UFC 87. It will definitely be a must-see fight for all MMA fans around the world. Welcome back Captain America!
