Last night as I watched HDNet Fights I saw Couture talk about the inevitability of a fight with Fedor once his current contract with the UFC is up and was overjoyed. I always believed this would happen eventually, it was just a matter of ironing out the issues between Couture and the UFC. It looks like one of the gifts we're going to get next year is this highly anticipated fight.
Couture Awaits UFC Contract Expiration, Fight with Emelianenko
DALLAS, Texas — UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture, who resigned from the UFC in October over what he perceived to be a lack of respect from the organization, is counting down the days to his contract-expiration date, and he’s leaving open the possibility of fighting former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko.
Couture was in Dallas over the weekend for “HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon.” The event included a few Xtreme Couture fighters, including victorious Frank Trigg and Jay White. However, the 44-year-old UFC hall-of-famer couldn’t avoid the inevitable questions about his future.
While a guest on the HDNet broadcast of Saturday’s event, Couture said he’d still like to fight Emelianenko. While still with the UFC, Couture expressed his desire to battle the legendary Russian fighter, but when UFC President Dana White couldn’t make it happen, Couture cited it as a reason he wanted to leave the organization.
During the broadcast, Couture said the soonest he could fight Emelianenko would be October 2008, when both his fight contract (July) and employment contract (October) expire.
It became a hot topic again in a post-fight press conference.
“I’m not sure what’s going to happen with me at this point,” Couture said. “I have a contract with the UFC that I have to honor. I can’t breach that or I’ll end up in litigation, so I don’t intend to do that.
“That contract expires in July, and we’ll see what happens after that.“
Emelianenko recently signed a non-exclusive, long-term deal with M-1 Global, an organization that was recently purchased from Emelianenko’s manager and restructured by its American investors.
The organization is allowing Emelianenko to compete New Year’s Eve at a show in Japan against the 7-foot-2 Hong Man Choi (1-0).
Couture weighed in on the match-up.
“Obviously, it’s a big guy, and it’s still a fight,” he said. “Anything can happen in a fight… The guy can hit you across the ring as soon as the bell rings, so who knows.“
The reference was to Couture’s victory over giant Tim Sylvia in March. Couture tagged the then-champ in the bout’s first few seconds to send him to the canvas. It set up the eventual unanimous-decision victory.
Couture, though, is pulling for Emelianenko. After all, he wants to be the first to post a legitimate victory over the fighter.
“I hope it goes successfully for him because I want to be the first one to beat him,” he said.
Emelianenko’s only loss was in a 2000 RINGS event against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. The bout was stopped just 17 seconds in because of a cut caused by a glancing elbow from Kohsaka. Because of the event’s tournament format that required one fighter to continue on, the fight was ruled a loss for Emelianenko rather than a no-contest or disqualification.
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