DANA DISCUSSING RANDY'S LEAVING***
Dana White on the Retirement of Randy Couture Interview conducted by Thomas Gerbasi
President Dana White sat down with UFC.com editor Thomas Gerbasi to discuss Randy Couture's retirement.
Thomas Gerbasi – Were you surprised when the fax came into your office with Randy Couture's resignation? Dana White – No, I wasn't surprised. I met with Randy several weeks ago and he said that the only thing he had left to prove in his career and the only challenge left out there for him was Fedor (Emelianenko) because everybody thinks that Fedor is the best. And Fedor has that mystique where people think he's number one, which I don't agree with. I think that Fedor is completely overrated – he's fought Mark Coleman and Matt Lindland in the last year, with Mark Hunt being his only legitimate opponent - and I actually think that Randy Couture would have smashed Fedor.
TG – So this wasn't a surprise, but were you at least surprised at the way he went about it, via fax? DW – He is shooting a movie right now in South Africa, but yes, I am very surprised by the way he did it. I consider Randy Couture a friend and still do. He hooked up with some Hollywood agent that I bitch slapped about a month ago, and these Hollywood agents are parasites, so unfortunately this guy is probably in Randy's ear right now. But, that's the world Randy wants to be in; Randy wants to be in the movie world now, that's what he's working for and that's his guy right now.
TG – What were the contents of the fax from Randy? DW – It was just a letter saying that he resigned from his positions at the UFC. He was a color commentator and he was going to do some legislative work with us, helping Marc Ratner and going and talking to other States that we were trying to get sanctioned in.
TG – Some are saying that the timing is funny on this announcement given Fedor's recent signing to another organization the day before... DW – Yeah, but Randy is still under contract with the UFC. Apparently Randy's upset about something, and the timing of this thing is a typical Hollywood agent move while Randy's out of town. But he told me he wanted to retire anyway if he didn't fight Fedor, and he can't fight Fedor in another organization because he's under contract to me. I'm very confident though that once Randy gets back in town, if we see each other we'll work this thing out. Not saying that Randy wouldn't stay retired, because that's what he wants to do - he wants to act, he wants to be on TV shows, that's his goal - but I'm sure Randy Couture and I are gonna be friends for a long time.
TG – What kind of efforts were made by the UFC to get Fedor in the organization? DW – The thing that I've been trying to do for years is get the two best organizations in the world together. And the only two organizations that matter are PRIDE and the UFC. All these other ones are minor leagues, full of guys trying to fight their way up. What I wanted to do for years is get the best in every weight class together and let's find out who is the number one fighter in the world. That has been my goal for the last five years and we wanted to make that happen. And I was extremely confident that Randy Couture would win against Fedor, and I still am. But we weren't able to get that fight, we weren't able to get Fedor, and I had to deal with these crazy reps he had – everything they said made no sense and the whole deal was crazy. It seemed like it was all about their managers and not about Fedor. So the deal didn't happen and Couture let me and Lorenzo (Fertitta) know that without that, there was nothing really to accomplish anymore. In mixed martial arts he had accomplished everything, and I didn't disagree with him. I said I completely agree, and I think Randy is looking right now at moving on and accomplishing his goals in acting.
TG – There have been reports that Couture's fight contract with the UFC will expire in nine months; is there truth to those reports? DW – Absolutely not.
TG – Were you hurt by some of the comments Couture has made regarding a perceived lack of respect from the organization? DW – Of course we're hurt by that. Randy Couture is a guy who I've said publicly a million times and I'll say publicly right now who I feel is one of the guys who helped us get here. If you want to call me a liar, people think a lot of bad stuff about me anyway, but to call Lorenzo Fertitta a liar, the reason the sport exists right now is because of him and his brother (Frank). They've done nothing but good things for this sport, and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him and his brother. You ask anybody in Las Vegas about the reputation of the Fertitta family; they aren't liars, they are great people. So for him to say that about Lorenzo, it's not like Randy Couture. It's not like him.
TG – Had he brought some of his concerns to your attention before, or was today the first time you had heard them? DW – We had a breakfast a few weeks ago and he told me that he was upset about things and he felt like other fighters were getting paid more than he was and that he didn't have the best contract in the UFC. And I assured him that he had the second best contract in the UFC with Chuck Liddell having the best.
TG – He negotiated this contract, correct? DW – He did. It was the contract that he negotiated and that he was very happy with once we were done negotiating it.
TG – Until he perceived that someone else was making more money. DW – Right. He thought that other guys were making more money than him, and we assured him that he had the second best contract in the UFC.
TG – How does Randy's departure hurt the UFC heavyweight division? DW – I don't think it affects the division at all because after what we've seen over the last couple of years, anybody can win or lose on any given night. It's what makes this sport so exciting. And now it's like this big shocking news that Randy Couture retired. He's 44 years old, he's not 24. Is everybody really that shocked that Randy retired? Randy Couture has had an amazing career, he's an incredible athlete, he's pulled off more upsets, and has been the underdog so many times, what's really left out there for him? I think he would have put a stone cold beating on Fedor, and he would have walked away with the same thing that he's walking away with now. He's walking out on top, and walking out on top is a smart thing to do. And it's perfect for his acting career.
HUGE RANDY COULTURE NEWS!!!!!**
It's because of Fedor... wow
http://www.thefightnetwork.com/news_detail.php?nid=5085
UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture announced his resignation from the Las Vegas-based promotion, leaving two contracted fights, his job as an on-air analyst and his heavyweight crown on the table.
In South Africa shooting scenes for his lead role in the upcoming feature film “The Scorpion King – Rise of the Akkadian,” Couture made the announcement official in a letter to UFC president Dana White. The UFC’s inability to land PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko played a prominent role in the decision to walk away, according to Couture.
“I appreciate this opportunity the sport of MMA and the UFC has given me,” the UFC Hall-of-Famer said. “However, I’m tired of swimming upstream at this stage with the management of the UFC. It only makes sense at this point in my career to fight Fedor Emelianenko, and since he’s now signed with another organization, I feel like it’s time to resign and focus on my other endeavors.”
more at link...
ANDERSON SILVA**
MIGHT BE NICE TO SEE A LITTLE OF WHO RICH IS FACING AGAIN. VERY TOUGH FIGHT FOR RICH. I ALSO WANT TO SAY, ANDERSON IN A VERY RESPECTFUL AND FAN FRIENDLY FIGHTER.
Anderson is wearing black and yellow shorts. Shorter shorts.
Watch this one First!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnpUkneMSWE
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/story/2007/10/11/132147/64
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pBuo2lBDUk
What happens if Rich loses?
Good read... about what happens if Silva wins. I've bolded the suggestions.
http://www.sprawl-n-brawl.com/2007/10/middleweight-muddle.html
Early last year, the UFC had three very strong divisions - the 205lb class, the 170lb division and the burgeoning155lb division as well - one division ruled by a dominant champion at middleweight and possibly the worst heavyweight division in the 15 + year history of the organization.
Flash forward to today, and two of the stronger divisions are still the driving force in the Octagon - the 155lbers and the 170lbers are consistently putting on great fights and are the backbone of many PPVs. The heavyweight division has been totally revamped and possibly features the most star power of any division right now. The light heavyweights are in a state of flux, but it is still a deep division with talented fighters.
And that leaves the middleweights. Rich Franklin ruled the division from the moment he dropped down to 185....until he was decimated by Anderson Silva. Silva was brought in to spruce up the division and provide a legit challenge to Franklin. He did that - and more. The UFC is now nearly back at square one, with a division featuring a dominant champ and no real contenders on the horizon.
If Franklin pulls out the win in the rematch, then some short term plans can be put in place. Silva can start the climb back to a rematch much the same as Franklin has been doing in 2007. Franklin won't have many challengers in the meantime, but at least we have a situation to build on and a rubber match to look forward too.
But what if Silva - as expected by many - goes to 2-0 against Franklin? Where does the division go then?
The top contenders in the division right now are veterans Jason MacDonald and Yushin Okami, both of whom are coming off losses to Franklin. They will fight on the undercard of Hostile Territory and the winner would most likely be the #1 contender. Of course, if Franklin wins, we get a rematch of either a mismatch against the game but outclassed Canadian, or of snoozer against the skilled but uninspired Okami. Not exactly PPV headliners there. Of course, if Silva wins, his #1 contender will be a fighter who lost to the man that Silva just beat.
Behind MacDonald and Okami, there is a bottle neck of fighters who simply aren't ready for a title shot for various reasons. Patrick Cote is coming of his first big win over Kendall Grove, but has a UFC record of 3-4 and will need to put a few more fights together before he gets a chance to see if his early promise can be met. Grove, for his part, was seen as a rising start before losing to Cote, and it will be interesting to see how he comes back from such a high profile loss. Other Ultimate Fighter alumni dot the middleweight landscape as well.
Nate Quarry just made a inspirational comeback from neck surgery and scored an exciting win over Pete Sell in a recent slug fest. If he is able to put a few wins together and knock off the ring rust, Quarry could be a viable contender, but one would have to question if the outcome of another title shot would be different from his first one. As for Sell is probably out of the UFC after losing his fourth straight fight inside the cage. He always has exciting fights though, so maybe he will be back, but to think of him as a legit contender at this point is laughable.
TUF participants Chris Leben and Ed Herman have had mixed results since appearing on the show, but both seem to be on the upswing right now. Leben is coming off a big, exciting win over Terry Martin that was probably his best showing in the UFC. Going up against Martin - who many were touting as the next real contender in the division - and scoring a KO win was huge for Leben. Of course, rumors persist that it was also his last UFC fight, which would be a shame as a maturing Leben could develop into a tough challenger sooner rather than later.
Herman's loss to MacDonald doesn't look so bad in hindsight as it did at the time to many, and he has scored two good wins since then. In November, he will be going up against a possible X factor in the division in the form of the returning David Terrell. If Herman wins his third straight fight, he might be ready to move up and take on some tougher competitors. If Terrell - who holds a first round KO win over Matt Lindland - returns from injury and regains the form he showed a few years ago, then he could be another title contender. That's a big if though, for someone who has as much downtime as he has.
Several other active middleweights will be in action over the coming months, as Alan Belcher will take on Kalib Starnes. Belcher needs a win to stay in the UFC, while Starnes is slowly rebuilding his record after losing to Okami. Rumors persist that Martin Kampmann could be returning from his knee injury soon, and Drew McFedries should be back from his staff infection as well. Both have shown some good skills in their UFC careers, but neither is a complete fighter at this point.
Outside of the middleweight division, there may be several fighters who could add an interesting dimension to it. Smaller light heavyweights such as Dan Henderson (the current PRIDE champion at this weight class) and Michael Bisping are often discussed as moving down a weight class and one would have to assume ZUFFA would love to have a big name star like them do so. Mike Swick could still be a factor, though it seems like if he isn't going to be fighting Chris Leben that he will drop to 170lbs. Ryo Chonan should be making his UFC debut in November, and he holds a tap out win over Silva, so he will be one to watch.
The short term of the division hinges on the outcome of next Saturday's fight, while the long term depends on a lot more than that.
Benefit event
On Sept. 8 , 2007 , three Officers for the Odessa, Tx Polcie department were shot and killed in the line of duty. These Officers, while having state benefits and insurance, left behind families who they were the only bread-winner for. These families, although having a jump-start from the insurance, will be without this monetary support for a long while. We are putting on a benefit grappling event in Midland, Tx on October 27, 2007 at Midland Christian School. The event will be gi and no-gi and we will have several competition areas. We have also had people like MMA.tv support us by supplying instructional dvd's from island martial arts, as well as dymatize nutrition giving away sample packs at the event.
If you are interested in competing, showing up and hanging out, or just making a dontation, please go to www.myspace.com/fightforheroes for more info
also included is a video from Paul Buentello who is also supporting this event.
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