By Hakon on February 15, 2009

Randy Couture is, without a doubt, one of the best known mixed martial arts fighters in the entire world.  He did not achieve this distinction without merit, of course, as he is a multiple time champion in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and achieved world championships in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions after his 40th birthday.  Even earlier in his career, he achieved success in the heavyweight division, often while facing much larger opponents. As such, he is a symbol of what is possible for all human beings with hard work, determination, and dedication.  However, for such an icon in the sport of MMA and in sports in general, Couture has a very cloudy future as a professional fighter. 

The trouble started after Randy Couture first defended his heavyweight title successfully, against the very skilled (and very large) Gabriel Gonzaga.  Couture, who is very cognizant of the fact that he has a limited amount of time to keep fighting competitively with the world’s best, was disappointed that the UFC failed to sign the man who is the consensus pick for the top heavyweight in the world, Russia’s Fedor Emelianenko.  Fedor and the UFC had troubles from the start, with Dana White saying that Fedor’s camp was making ridiculous requests, while Fedor’s management maintained that the deal offered by White was the only ridiculous thing. 

Nevertheless, Couture was disappointed with the developments, and decided to abruptly retire from the UFC.  The only problem is, he did not truly want to retire.  What Couture wanted to do was leave the UFC so that he could take what he called the only fight left that made sense for him, which was a showdown with Fedor.  Since that matchup could not take place in the UFC, Couture decided that he would either fight elsewhere against Fedor, or not at all.  Of course, the UFC took exception to their champion wanting to fight elsewhere instead of retiring, and maintained that he is under contract for the forseeable future. 

What followed was an often ugly battle that continues to this day.  The UFC stopped allowing fighters to wear “Xtreme Couture” apparel before and after fights, and made the problem even more personal by forcing Wanderlei Silva, who trains at Couture’s gym, to film his “All Access” training footage at the UFC’s training center instead.  They even filed an injunction to keep Couture from appearing as a cornerman at an International Fight League event. 

Couture maintains that he will never fight in the UFC again, but a legal battle still rages on regarding exactly when Couture’s contract expires.  The outcome could decide whether Couture will ever fight again, as a lengthy court battle or a ruling that keeps Couture under the UFC’s employ for much longer will mean that Couture will simply be too old to be able to compete with the sport’s best.  Meanwhile, it does not appear that Couture and the UFC will be mending fences anytime soon, as Couture has said that he would not fight in the UFC, even if the organization signed Fedor Emelianenko. 

Regardless of the outcome, or who pundits and fans think is right or wrong, it is definitely regrettable that the career of one of the greatest fighters of all time could end in a court room instead of in a ring or cage.  It remains to be seen whether Couture will still have the will to fight Fedor after going 5 rounds with the UFC itself.

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