Randy's contract to be decided on this week

[Evan]

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The legal battle preventing a dream heavyweight fight between Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko is set to enter another round.

Couture told FOXSports.com that a Texas state court is set to rule this week on his contractual standing with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The UFC claims that Couture still owes the promotion two fights as its heavyweight champion. Couture, who announced his intention to leave the promotion last fall, contends that his UFC obligations should end when a non-compete clause expires on October 11.

A UFC spokesman declined comment on Couture's legal situation.

Couture said his status probably won't be finalized even after the ruling because appeals are expected from the losing party. But Couture said he ultimately expects to face Emelianenko, the renowned Russian fighter who scored a 36-second submission victory over Tim Sylvia in the main event of Saturday night's Affliction pay-per-view show in Anaheim.

"When, where and with what promotion — we don't know," said Couture, who exchanged challenges with Emelianenko after the Affliction show. "It could happen in UFC. We just don't know. I want it to happen. Fedor wants it to happen. In some way, shape or form, we're going to make it happen."

For more comments from Couture about Emelianenko, his UFC contract and recently released autobiography Becoming the Natural

http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/8363930/Legal-battle-keeping-Couture-from-fighting-Fedor

[dallaskd]

refer to the affliction thread for my thoughts.

[TheTruth]

Randy would have been better to just stay with UFC and get those 2 fights under his belt. This long ass layoff is gonna hurt him bad when he ultimately goes up against Fedor.

[Evan]

Well...Fedor isn't under contract with anyone so its now possible in the UFC. But I don't find that fight really interesting anymore.

[LEONARD]

cuz Randy will get SMOKED...

The look on his face when he was in the ring on Saturday said he didn't REALLY want that fight...

[Evan]

cuz Randy will get SMOKED...

The look on his face when he was in the ring on Saturday said he didn't REALLY want that fight...

It would be pretty bad.

[dbreiden83080]

cuz Randy will get SMOKED...

The look on his face when he was in the ring on Saturday said he didn't REALLY want that fight...

His chances are not too good. He beat Sylvia easy but it went the full 25 min and he couldn't finish him. Fedor had not fought top notch opponents in a few years and Sylvia could not last a min with him.

[dallaskd]

any updates?

[Evan]

any updates?

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2686469&postcount=1521

[dallaskd]

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2686469&postcount=1521

is this guy seriously legit? who is he?

[Evan]

is this guy seriously legit? who is he?

He's a random dude that has contacts somewhere.

Like I said in that post...he trumped everyone with PRIDE and CroCop coming to the UFC.

[djohn14]

Sherdog.com is reporting that current UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture has suffered another legal setback in his quest to win his contractual freedom from the parent company of the UFC, Zuffa.

Dallas Mavericks and HDNet owner Mark Cuban, acting on Couture’s behalf, had been trying to arrange for a motion for a summary judgment declaring Couture’s contractual status and for it to be heard in a Texas court and away from Zuffa’s home state of Nevada.

Zuffa had filed for a motion to be granted a stay from having the matter ruled on outside of Nevada, which is where the contract had been executed. On Friday, that motion was granted and pending an appeal, Cuban will not be able to have a ruling made on Couture’s current status decided by a Texas court.

The matter is still not closed though, as Cuban is expected to appeal the court’s decision to the Texas Supreme Court.

According to Sherdog, the legal dispute between Zuffa and Couture will now shift back to Las Vegas. The site indicates that arbitration hearings have commenced to try and bring forth a resolution that will end the nine months of contentious relations between the two parties. It is unclear if a settlement of some kind could be a realistic possibility.

Couture’s fight contract with the promotion expired on July 19. When the five-time UFC champion initially handed in his resignation last October, it was his position that he would be eligible to fight for another organization once his fight contract expired. However, Zuffa maintains that in order for Couture to satisfy the contract, he must not only meet the requirements of the duration of the agreement, but also the number of fights. Couture still has two fights remaining on his current UFC contract.

Couture is also subject to a one-year non-compete clause as a result of an employment agreement he signed with the UFC in order to serve as a commentator and ambassador for the promotion. The non-compete will expire on Oct. 11.

An additional wrinkle is that to date Couture has never been stripped of the UFC heavyweight title in spite of his attempt to resign from the organization. It is believed that the UFC continues to recognize him as its heavyweight champion because he could be subject to an extended contractual obligation to them through a “champions” clause that prevents him from becoming a free agent so long as he is a title holder.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com contacted Couture’s agent, Matt Walker, via e-mail for comment. As of press time, he had not responded to our request.

[dbreiden83080]

^^

Randy bailing on the UFC was the worst decision he ever made. He trashed the company on the way out the door so they made it as hard on him as possible to move on and get this fight with Fedor. He lost tons of fans, respect and money because of this. Plus whenever he does fight Fedor, he will likely get beat handily and none of this, will have been worth it.