CHESSNOID

I just heard that Randy the Natural Couture has resigned and quit the UFC effective immediately. That is big news only because he is the current UFC heavyweight champion. He only recently won it by beating Tim Sylvia and defended it against Gabriel Gonzaga. He came out of retirement to win the belt. Fox news reported:

The Ultimate Fighting Championship appears to have lost its ultimate fighter.

Randy Couture, UFC’s reigning heavyweight champ, has resigned the promotion, according to a report from The Fight Network.Couture leaves UFC with two fights already contracted, the report said, abandoning his on-air analyst job, as well.

According to the report, Couture notified UFC president Dana White with a letter written from the South Africa set of the movie “The Scorpion King — Rise of the Akkadian,” which will feature Couture.

The Fight Network reported one of the major factors in Couture’s decision was the fact that UFC was unable to sign PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko

I think it is great Couture is retiring again especially at his age. The question is he really retiring or just quitting the UFC. According to Sherdog:

Talk abounds that Couture resented the huge dollar signs floated around talent like Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures), who has yet to prove himself a draw in the States. Other, less tangible reasons likely brew under the surface of that complaint. But however it happened, the current UFC regime finds itself forced to cauterize its most significant gaping wound since the promotion lobbied for athletic commission support at the turn of the century.

I think it is pretty obvious this is truly a money issue. UFC is making big bucks with some of these fighters, but Dana White just doesn’t want to pay them what they deserve. The fighters are not dumb and see how much PPV revenue dollars are being made. They just don’t want to be taken advantage of anymore. If Couture was really just retiring from the sport, I don’t think he would give up his UFC commentating job. Come on, that is the best seat in the house and UFC pays you to sit there. I hope he does well with his movie acting career, but it won’t surprise me if he starts fighting under a new fighting organization. He deserves to be paid what he is worth and I think those other organizations will pick him up and pay him accordingly.

I really wonder now how the UFC will install the interim heavyweight champion. There are still a lot of great fighters out there. The only difference is in the heavyweight division, Couture is probably the best promotional fighter the UFC has ever had that people would pay to watch PPV. Well, of course, that is just my opinion. Before Randy came back to fight Tim Sylvia, it was Sylvia trying to gain viewership. Sylvia’s previous fight with Arlovski, made most mma fans mad that they paid $50 bucks for 2 guys to circle each other and not fight.

As far as the true number one world heavyweight in the world, Sherdog says:

Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) has committed to the Russian-based promotion M-1, according to a report published by The Fight Network.

Speculation has abounded regarding Emelianenko (26-1-1), the man most pundits see as the top mixed martial artist in the world, since the implosion of his former home, PRIDE. The UFC and K-1 had been grabbing most of the headlines in the Emelianenko sweepstakes.

Citing an anonymous source, the Fight Network report claims that M-1, an organization formerly run by Emelianenko’s manager, Vadim Finkelstein, has been purchased by a company with ties to the American entertainment industry, and its first order of business was inking Emelianenko to a deal.

Sherdog.com has learned the new organization will run under the M-1 Global moniker and plans to promote shows in Russia, Japan and the United States with the first event possibly coming to fruition as soon as New Year’s Eve.

They haven’t announced who his opponent will be, but whoever is teaming up with M-1 in the US is making some great moves. Maybe Dancing with the Stars bilionaire Mark Cuban may have his hand in this somewhere. He seems to be a smooth operator, but a bad dancer. I wouldn’t be surprised if puts together the biggest fight since Fedor vs CroCop on his HD network. Maybe Showtime Pro Elite XC might be involved. They are newcomers with big bucks to spend.

Since UFC purchased Pride FC just to get rid of their competition, I think I have lost some interest in mma. Now with all this drama coming out today, I think the mma world is about to change in a good way that will benefit the fighters and fans.