Anything MMA, except thumb wrestling

[SkinsOrlando]

That really freakin blows, I enjoyed his commentary during matches and of course watching him fight. Way to go Dana White, way to go.

[#98QBKiller]

That really freakin blows, I enjoyed his commentary during matches and of course watching him fight. Way to go Dana White, way to go.

Damn man WTF? First they blow the Fedor deal then they lose Randy. How funny would it be if Chuck retired?

I'm VERY diappointed about Randy leaving. Dammit is all I can say.

[#98QBKiller]

*Also

Maybe we'll see Randy vs. Fedor now?

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

This is terrible news. It would be one thing if he was leaving in order to chase Fedor, it's another when he's pissed about what's going on behind the scenes. Randy is (was) the most gentile personality in the UFC. Nobody will be able to replace the adrenalin we get when we see him join the ringside announcers for the main events. And he's provided two of the best memories this year...a year FULL of memorable events.

It's too bad. Maybe things will get settled in time. But this certainly bums me out to the max. I wish the best for him.

[#98QBKiller]

This is terrible news. It would be one thing if he was leaving in order to chase Fedor, it's another when he's pissed about what's going on behind the scenes. Randy is (was) the most gentile personality in the UFC. Nobody will be able to replace the adrenalin we get when we see him join the ringside announcers for the main events. And he's provided two of the best memories this year...a year FULL of memorable events.

It's too bad. Maybe things will get settled in time. But this certainly bums me out to the max. I wish the best for him.

Amen to all of that. I agree 150 percent. I know a lot of people have been hating on the UFC and TUF and the whole deal but I've never really been like that. I mean there are still a lot of good fighters that I enjoy that compete in the UFC but damn, they had a chance to put together the most prestigous, competitive MMA organization of all time and they've totally ****ed that up by A) letting Fedor slip by and B) not treating Randy the way a HOF fighter, current and PROVEN HW champion and amazingly gifted athlete should be treated.

There are some good rising organizations out there (WEC, EliteXC, BoDog, K-1 Heroes, and hopefully M-1).

I'm very disappointed right now.

[#98QBKiller]

Thank you, #53

No problem man.

[ZoEd]

This is suprising. Seems like Dana needs to pull his head out of his ass if it isn't already too inflated to do so. What Randy accomplished at his age is amazing and he should be IMO one of the highest paid fighters in the business. I don't think he should have resigned though, this is MMA, he should have just beat Dana Whites ass.

[SUNSTONE]

I definitly didn't see this coming.
That sucks......

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

Dana White is blaming a Holywood agent for, get this, brainwashing maybe the smartest martial artist in the world. Hey, who knows?

http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=8241

Dana White on the Retirement of Randy Couture

UFC President Dana White sat down with UFC.com editor Thomas Gerbasi to discuss Randy Couture's retirement.

TG – Were you surprised when the fax came into your office with Randy Couture’s resignation?
Dana White – No, I wasn’t surprised. I met with Randy several weeks ago and he said that the only thing he had left to prove in his career and the only challenge left out there for him was Fedor (Emelianenko) because everybody thinks that Fedor is the best. And Fedor has that mystique where people think he’s number one, which I don’t agree with. I think that Fedor is completely overrated – he’s fought Mark Coleman and Matt Lindland in the last year, with Mark Hunt being his only legitimate opponent - and I actually think that Randy Couture would have smashed Fedor.

TG – So this wasn’t a surprise, but were you at least surprised at the way he went about it, via fax?
DW – He is shooting a movie right now in South Africa, but yes, I am very surprised by the way he did it. I consider Randy Couture a friend and still do. He hooked up with some Hollywood agent that I ***** slapped about a month ago, and these Hollywood agents are parasites, so unfortunately this guy is probably in Randy’s ear right now. But, that’s the world Randy wants to be in; Randy wants to be in the movie world now, that’s what he’s working for and that’s his guy right now.

TG – What were the contents of the fax from Randy?
DW – It was just a letter saying that he resigned from his positions at the UFC. He was a color commentator and he was going to do some legislative work with us, helping Marc Ratner and going and talking to other States that we were trying to get sanctioned in.

TG – Some are saying that the timing is funny on this announcement given Fedor’s recent signing to another organization the day before…
DW – Yeah, but Randy is still under contract with the UFC. Apparently Randy’s upset about something, and the timing of this thing is a typical Hollywood agent move while Randy’s out of town. But he told me he wanted to retire anyway if he didn’t fight Fedor, and he can’t fight Fedor in another organization because he’s under contract to me. I’m very confident though that once Randy gets back in town, if we see each other we’ll work this thing out. Not saying that Randy wouldn’t stay retired, because that’s what he wants to do - he wants to act, he wants to be on TV shows, that’s his goal - but I’m sure Randy Couture and I are gonna be friends for a long time.

TG – What kind of efforts were made by the UFC to get Fedor in the organization?
DW – The thing that I’ve been trying to do for years is get the two best organizations in the world together. And the only two organizations that matter are PRIDE and the UFC. All these other ones are minor leagues, full of guys trying to fight their way up. What I wanted to do for years is get the best in every weight class together and let’s find out who is the number one fighter in the world. That has been my goal for the last five years and we wanted to make that happen. And I was extremely confident that Randy Couture would win against Fedor, and I still am. But we weren’t able to get that fight, we weren’t able to get Fedor, and I had to deal with these crazy reps he had – everything they said made no sense and the whole deal was crazy. It seemed like it was all about their managers and not about Fedor. So the deal didn’t happen and Couture let me and Lorenzo (Fertitta) know that without that, there was nothing really to accomplish anymore. In mixed martial arts he had accomplished everything, and I didn’t disagree with him. I said I completely agree, and I think Randy is looking right now at moving on and accomplishing his goals in acting.

TG – There have been reports that Couture’s fight contract with the UFC will expire in nine months; is there truth to those reports?
DW – Absolutely not.

TG – Were you hurt by some of the comments Couture has made regarding a perceived lack of respect from the organization?
DW – Of course we’re hurt by that. Randy Couture is a guy who I’ve said publicly a million times and I’ll say publicly right now who I feel is one of the guys who helped us get here. If you want to call me a liar, people think a lot of bad stuff about me
ad
anyway, but to call Lorenzo Fertitta a liar, the reason the sport exists right now is because of him and his brother (Frank). They’ve done nothing but good things for this sport, and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him and his brother. You ask anybody in Las Vegas about the reputation of the Fertitta family; they aren’t liars, they are great people. So for him to say that about Lorenzo, it’s not like Randy Couture. It’s not like him.

TG – Had he brought some of his concerns to your attention before, or was today the first time you had heard them?
DW – We had a breakfast a few weeks ago and he told me that he was upset about things and he felt like other fighters were getting paid more than he was and that he didn’t have the best contract in the UFC. And I assured him that he had the second best contract in the UFC with Chuck Liddell having the best.

TG – He negotiated this contract, correct?
DW – He did. It was the contract that he negotiated and that he was very happy with once we were done negotiating it.

TG – Until he perceived that someone else was making more money.
DW – Right. He thought that other guys were making more money than him, and we assured him that he had the second best contract in the UFC.

TG – How does Randy’s departure hurt the UFC heavyweight division?
DW – I don’t think it affects the division at all because after what we’ve seen over the last couple of years, anybody can win or lose on any given night. It’s what makes this sport so exciting. And now it’s like this big shocking news that Randy Couture retired. He’s 44 years old, he’s not 24. Is everybody really that shocked that Randy retired? Randy Couture has had an amazing career, he’s an incredible athlete, he’s pulled off more upsets, and has been the underdog so many times, what’s really left out there for him? I think he would have put a stone cold beating on Fedor, and he would have walked away with the same thing that he’s walking away with now. He’s walking out on top, and walking out on top is a smart thing to do. And it’s perfect for his acting career.

TG – Randy, to a lot of people, is the face of the UFC. How does this affect the organization?
DW – People were saying to me four months ago that Chuck Liddell was the face of the UFC. Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell are two of many faces of the UFC. The UFC has the greatest fighters in the world, and Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell might be two of the best known fighters in the UFC, but everybody pulls their weight in this company and everybody works hard for it. Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes, Rich Franklin, Joe Rogan, these are guys who were with us early on who I credit for helping us get to where we are today. Is Randy Couture the face of the UFC? No, he’s one of many faces of the UFC, but he is one of the guys who helped us get here. I love him, I respect him, I still consider him my friend and just like any friendship, we don’t see eye to eye all the time, but if you’re true friends, you work it out, and I consider Randy Couture a true friend, and I honestly believe that when he comes home from filming, and when his scumbag Hollywood agent isn’t around, we’ll talk and we’ll square away our friendship. And as far as his retirement and him wanting to retire, I have nothing but respect for him and I don’t disagree with his decision.

[Baculus]

A disappointing turn of events, but I suppose it had to eventually happen, though the events surrounding Couture's retirement are a little questionable. First, I wonder why they could not sign Fedor - do you think he is scared? Second, is Randy really the second best paid fighter in the UFC, or is Dana White incorrect? Also, is this similar to a situation in football, where you play the contract you have and that you signed? Perhaps Randy could have renegotiated the contract?

[Chachie]

Wow.

So with Vera fighting Sylvia and Nog fighting Kongo they will probably have the two winners fight for the vacant title.

Looks like Nog will be the next UFC heavyweight champion.

Not Vera? Nog may have beaten Herring but he certainly didn't impress vs. a guy who many think is well beyond his best days. Brandon, however, seems to dominate all comers. I'd like to see this matchup for the vacant title.

[StillUnknown]

Not Vera? Nog may have beaten Herring but he certainly didn't impress vs. a guy who many think is well beyond his best days. Brandon, however, seems to dominate all comers. I'd like to see this matchup for the vacant title.

Vera has been dominant in his fights, but he hasn't faced anybody in the top 10. i like vera alot, but he doesn't deserve a titlte shot at this point.

A disappointing turn of events, but I suppose it had to eventually happen, though the events surrounding Couture's retirement are a little questionable. First, I wonder why they could not sign Fedor - do you think he is scared? Second, is Randy really the second best paid fighter in the UFC, or is Dana White incorrect? Also, is this similar to a situation in football, where you play the contract you have and that you signed? Perhaps Randy could have renegotiated the contract?

1. They offered Fedor an obscene amount of money (7 figures per fight), but the sticking point was that Fedor wanted to still be able to compete in Russian Sambo tournaments, Dana would not bend on that.

2. its been reported that ufc fighters get their fight checks, and if they a big star (hughes, liddell, franklin, and at least i thought couture) they receive a little on the side that is never reported. from what i understand, as far as fight checks go, Randy was 2nd (only behind Liddell), but he was mad that he wasn't getting as big a side cut as some other fighters. Add to the fact that ufc wasn't goin to give him the same amount as they were goin to give Fedor to fight, you can kinda understand why he feels disrespected.

3. Fighters usually have to honor their contracts simply because they really have no leverage. Couture is an exception to that rule because of who he is. He helped build and launch the sport to where it is today. He has other avenues for money so he doesn't NEED to fight. The downside is that he can't fight for any other org. until his current contract expires, if you believe Randy, the contract ends in 9months, Dana has said that he contract is for another 2years though.

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

Might be the same story, but this was on the front page of Yahoo with Dana White's face on the cover picture.

http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns

Unreal.

[Westbrook36]

Dana's comments since this has happened are typical scumbag Dana White. He simply does not act like the President of a multi-billion dollar enterprise.

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

Dana's comments since this has happened are typical scumbag Dana White. He simply does not act like the President of a multi-billion dollar enterprise.

He doesn't. He's unprofessional, volitile, he carries around an ora that your typical pissed off UFC fighter retains. I actually like his style of personality. Yet, it's not something a focused and organized PRESIDENT should carry around with him. He needs to focus more of that 'tude towards forseeing the future. This is a mess. I cannot make a judgment now. But one would TEND to take Couture's word.