Randy "The Natural" Couture lost his sixth career UFC title when he faced WWE heavyweight superstar Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 back in November of 2008. Days later, there were rumors of a main event headlining ‘Couture vs. Chuck Liddell 4’ at UFC 99 in Germany. Couture talked directly to UFC President Dana White about the possible clash, but he was told that "It’s just rumors."
Instead, Couture may face the former UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio "Minotauro" Rodrigo Nogueira. When Couture came back to the UFC after a one-year absence, most UFC fans thought the champ would immediately take on Nogueira because he possessed the other UFC heavyweight belt. However, the UFC had different plans and now the fans will hopefully get to see both of these talented vets on opposite ends of the octagon in a non-title match.
Also, Brock Lesnar is currently preparing himself for a rematch bout against Frank Mir. In their first meeting back in February of 2008 at UFC 81, Mir submitted Lesnar via a kneebar within the first round. Since then, both fighters have attained separate interim heavyweight titles. Lesnar knocked out Couture for one of the belts while Mir defeated Nogueira for the second interim belt. Now, Lesnar finds himself facing Mir for a second time and this time it will be for the UFC heavyweight unification title.
Although Lesnar trains for the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy with Greg Nelson, Couture tells us that he was approached by Lesnar in regards to training at the Xtreme Couture camp.
Here are some recent quotes from "That Natural" himself:
On Brock Lesnar:
“I told him (Brock Lesnar) that would be fine (to train with Xtreme Couture for his fight against Frank Mir).
On the rumored bout ‘Couture vs. Chuck Liddell 4’ in Germany (UFC 99):
"Nobody’s talked to me about any fight in Germany…I’ve asked Dana (White) because of all these rumors that have been going around. He said, ‘It’s just rumors.’”
On fighting Antonio "Minotauro" Rodrigo Nogueira:
"I’d fight Nogueira…I had other reasons to turn down that fight last year, but that was a
whole different situation. He’s a tremendous fighter. I’ve watched him
for years. I saw Danny [Henderson] fight him in the KOK [Rings “King of
Kings” tournament in 1999]. I was heading to fight him myself in the
KOK that next year.”
On ‘Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar 2’:
“I think that kind of depends on Lesnar and how much he’s learned and
is able to keep the fight where he wants to keep it and uses his
advantage, which is his size, strength, and length…that’s the question. That’s why everyone wants to see the fight again.
Can Mir take him down and catch him in another submission? It’s hard to
say. I can’t make a choice right now.”
