UFC Champ Randy Coutoure...Quits UFC

[Shaggy]

UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture has shocked the world of Mixed Martial Arts. Couture announced today that he has resigned from UFC, leaving two contracted fights, his job as an on-air analyst, and his heavyweight championship on the table.

While in South Africa shooting his lead role in the upcoming film “The Scorpion King – Rise of the Akkadian,” Couture sent an official letter to UFC president Dana White. He made it clear that UFC’s failure to land PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko played a big role in his decision to walk away.

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Holy Shit

[Funky Fly]

What is it about going to South Africa that makes people walk away from their jobs?

[Loose Cannon]

what a dick

[McLegend]

What is it about going to South Africa that makes people walk away from their jobs?
Damnit I was going to make the same joke.

[McLegend]

But yeah this is a dark day.

[Boondock Saint]

Whoa.

[mrslackalack]

Dang

[Dave Youell]

what a dick
Based on what? What else has he got left to prove?

[Reavant]

hahha i totally called it in the ufc thread

[Savio]

dick head

[Mr Regal]

quite a shock really.

[RP]

Not really. I mean it was the only fight out there that he would reasonably take. Randy isnt proving anything fighting Nog. He's not proving anything fighting Kongo. He's to an age now where its not about the title defense. Its about going out on top. The only fight there is for him to prove something is with Fedor. Thats it. If he beat Fedor, he's the greatest MMA fighter of all time. Thats something to prove. Fighting Nog vs Kongo winner proves nothing at all.

One beast to slay in Randys eyes and UFC couldnt get him. And thats a crying shame. How UFC blew that deal amazes me. You have the biggest MMA fight ( EVENT ) in the history of your sport. The one that would probably vault UFC into a top 5 sport. The biggest money maker. The biggest ratings ever. And UFC cant even lock Fedor up with one fight, let alone a long term contract. FUCK YAH Randy should retire. Its the only fight for him. He doesnt need to fight anyone else.

[YOUR Hero]

Amen, RP.

Too bad he won't be an analyst. His quitting instead of retiring is a protest as much as anything else. Randy should be ok to move on and past MMA. He could become a good spokesperson for the MMA scene while doing other projects.

Dana White.

Here's the problem... Not so much as Dana IS the problem, because saying that isn't fair. The problem is his inability to get a real strong base of managers and advisers working around him. He's really made MMA (UFC) a more mainstream sport, but if he wants to take it to the next level he needs to understand he can't do it alone. Time will tell if he changes that mindset or proves me wrong.

[Reavant]

Dana needs to step back and become more professional. As much as he thinks it is, his demographic is not 18-35. At my wrestling facility, there is classes with kids that are in junior high and elementary school and many of them dont miss anything that has to do with ufc. When the kids want to horse around with the jujitsu or strikijng they dont say "lets do mma" they say "ufc me." Dana has made the sport main stream. Everyone at least knows what it is. However he is probably one of the most unprofessional presidents of any company anywhere.

As a face of a company like UFC, you cannot be seen on TV swearing and talking like a punk kid from boston. At first it was funny and entertaining, but that cant continue. I believe that the failure to sign a deal with HBO and a contract with Fedor falls primarily on dana White's shoulders. You cant discuss dealings with other parties publically especially when nothing has been worked out to begin with, and then go on to bash who ever backs out of a possable deal or doesnt do what dana wants. (i.e. His comments on wanderlei silva after he opted to fight in november rather than september with chuck and his current comments on Fedor after he signed with M-1).

An executive of a company needs to do be democratic enough to do what is best for the entire company. The problem seems to be that Dana has started to develop the personality of many of his fighters in terms of how he does business. It looks as if he thinks noone can compete with him, and if you dont want to be here then we dont need you and you will be nothing. Or even not letting guys fight in the UFC because of personal conflicts fighters that have nothing to do with their fighting ability or performance. Along with keeping guys off camera that seem to have "boring" fights are all huge mistakes being made by Dana White and Zuffa.

I really think that Dana could really end up biting himself in the ass, because if other companies such as M-1 find a way to offer fighters more money or treat them better, then we could start to see a lot more fighters start to jump ship FAST!

[VonErichLives]

i don't know if it's rumor of fact, but i heard someone saying part of the issue wasn't that they didn't sign fedor, but coture found out dana white offerd Fedor 5x what randy was making.

anyone else hear anything about that?

[Crimson]

If that is true then why the fuck didn't Fedor sign

[Reavant]

russians have different values than americans

[Mr Regal]

I agree with Reavant about Dana. I admire what he has done with the UFC to date, but he is not exactly the model professional. He needs to change the way he is doing business if he wants the UFC to continue to grow and be the best.

[Rob]

russians have different values than americans

Like what exactly? I'm fucking dying to hear this bullshit argument.

[Mr Regal]

Cultural differences do have an effect on values.

Not agreeing with the Rev as such here, but i'm sure a valid point could be made if one so wished.

[Reavant]

Like what exactly? I'm fucking dying to hear this bullshit argument.
Well I suppose its more to him peronnally but yea different cultures have different values, and russia is greatly different from the US in their values. It would be like saying almost any other country has different values, which would for the most part be true.

Back to him, he didnt take it because he wanted to compete in other organizations and he wanted to bring his red devil team with him, and that was more important than the money.

[Kris P Lettus]

Well, this fucking sucks..

[Stickman]

Well, this fucking sucks..

I agree. Couture is a guy that I'd pay to watch. Right now there's not many guys I care about. Sure there's a lot of talent don't get me wrong, but I don't see that star power that I'd drop anything to go watch them fight (other than probably Rampage). There is Liddell but where does he go from here especially if he loses his next fight?

[Reavant]

It seems that theyre still pushing for wand vs liddel and I think thats dumb because what happens if liddel goes 0-3 or if wand loses his first fight... essentially going 0-3. Not a good situation.

[Rob]

Well I suppose its more to him peronnally but yea different cultures have different values, and russia is greatly different from the US in their values. It would be like saying almost any other country has different values, which would for the most part be true.

Back to him, he didnt take it because he wanted to compete in other organizations and he wanted to bring his red devil team with him, and that was more important than the money.

That has absolutely fuck all to do with personal values. If he was so concerned about bringing in his buddies and not being exclusive to UFC then he would have taken less money and he wasn't gonna. He wanted to be the highest paid guy despite the fact he can't draw shit on PPV in the States (and that's a fact) and he demanded to be a free agent when nobody else in the UFC is. Values? If that is about values then it's severely fucked up.

[Reavant]

Well not everyone is a saint.... oh and if you ever read the interviews of people close to fedor like his agent bvack in the summer, it said that they wanted the whole red devil team to be incorporated in the UFC. Something Pride had no problem with and UFC did. They also said that they were looking at all kinds of offers from other organizations and that UFC was the most tempting because of the price, but there were other things that were more important to them like THE TEAM and Fedor being able to compete in the SAMBO tournaments. Oh and before you make some uneducated argument, I'd like you to read through this interview: http://www.sherdog.com/news/interviews.asp?n_id=8422

And who cares if he wanted to not be exclusive to UFC. If anything, thats more admirable. If any other Hwt rises to the top in another organization, hed be able to fight them and be able to call himself the undisputed champ or the other guy would call him that if he beat fedor. It would be like back when PRIDE was still around and the crown used to chant for Fedor to fight arlovski or sylvia when either of them were champs.

[Rob]

I don't give a fuck if he is a saint or not. You mentioned the culture differences to back up your argument and it made no sense. There are obviously many differences between U.S and Russian cultures but none of them came into the equation here.

Not being exclusive to UFC is admirable? How is that then? All it means is he is still free to talk to about 50 other new MMA start up groups and put them all into competition for his name so he can make more money. And there is nothing wrong with this. He has to look out for himself. But admirable it ain't.

[Reavant]

Yea he can do that... or if any HWT rises to the top somewhere else, he has the ability to fight that person and proove hes the best. Which is what everyone wanted back in the day when Prade and UFC were going at it.

[Rob]

True but with the severe lack of TV for those groups, the big time is the UFC and the biggest matches should happen on the biggest shows.

[Sting Fan]

And thats the way it will be rightly or wrongly, its no different from WWE(F) always taking the cream of the crop from smaller groups.

Its exactly the same in Football (any code) basketball etc, the littler teams, feds companies whatever cough there true talents up to the higher level which in this case is UFC.

Right or wrong its the way of the game.

[Reavant]

It just seems that this is creepily paralleling professional wrestling like the way wcw first came around where talent started to get sucked out of the bigger wwf into the new wcw and now how tna picks up the wrestlers who are either cut or unhappy with the wwe. Plus the fact you have mark cuban throwing money around like it grows from trees kindof like what happened with wcw and all the stars they had from wwf.

Actually I hope that M-1 can kindof do that because the competition in good for everything... the sport, the business, the fans, etc. It will either cause UFC to do things ten times better or we will be watching another fighting promotion.

[Rob]

I hope another big group comes along too but it's more likely gonna be EliteXC.