Cagewriter - UFC

Thu Nov 06, 2008 6:45 pm EST

Couture lays into Affliction

Randy Couture is facing the daunting task of giving up nearly 60 pounds to Brock Lesnar on fight night at UFC 91. But after dealing for more than a year with the politics of mixed martial arts it sounds like he'll take his chances in the cage against the behemoth.  

Just when Couture thought he was finished in the courtroom having buried the hatchet with Dana White and the UFC, now he may have another battle on his hands with his apparel provider Affliction. The relationship soured three weeks ago when Todd Beard, one of Affliction's founders, went on Scott Ferrall's Sirius Satellite Radio show and shredded Couture (AUDIO HERE):

"Randy if you're listening right now, I hope Lesnar (expletive) kills you."

Those are strange words coming from the guy whose company manufactures and markets Couture's Xtreme Couture clothing line. Beard then went crazy suggesting that the fight was a set-up by UFC management in order to have Couture lose to Lesnar and hand over the promotion's heavyweight title to the future star. 

Couture hasn't spoken much on the subject until yesterday when he spoke with Yahoo! Sports and came out firing at Beard:

"I'm not terribly surprised by anything he does at this point. He's been a bit of a loose cannon our entire relationship. Now he's pushed it over the line where it's not re-salvageable."

Couture is particularly peeved about the fact that he can't even wear his own clothing line into the cage next week. Affliction gear has been banned by the UFC since the clothing maker got into the fight promoting game. That ban was further solidified when Beard cursed out UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta during phone negotiations to bring Affliction back into the fold.

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88 Comments

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  1. Ram B
    1. Posted by Ram B Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:36 pm EDT

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    I'm not yet American (I'll soon be when I married my preggy wife next year) and I hate the tag "Captain America" on this guy.
    But nobody disrespects Captain America!!! He is one of my favorite/worshipped Americans (hehe) & the 3rd best HW in the world next only to Fedor and Big Nog.
    I know Lesnar is heavily favored because of his gargantuan body, athleticism, & wrestling pedigree. But on fight night, this guy will once again prove his skills and dirty box his way to a decision win.
    Me and my uncle will put our money on this guy. We've been winners of 15 straight bets (MMA and Boxing). And we're putting that streak on the line against the Steroid Hulk. ^^
  2. Ram B
    2. Posted by Ram B Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:36 pm EDT

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    I've got 15 Affliction Shirts, gonna burn them all.
  3. Ram B
    3. Posted by Ram B Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:36 pm EDT

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    I've got 15 Affliction shirts and I'm gonna burn them all.
  4. Ram B
    4. Posted by Ram B Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:36 pm EDT

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    Hahaha. *@#k that!!!!
    Someone's sabotaging my replies. I didn't write the 2nd one. Only the 1st, 3rd, and this one. ^^
  5. Kyle
    5. Posted by Kyle Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:48 pm EDT

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    Damn it I have a whole affliction line too I guess I will have to burn them all as well they are makin a bad name for themselves especially the affliction PPV events the last one blew soo bad the footage was horrible and the sound was terrible and they tried to have another PPV event and booked all the fights and pulled out at the last min. screwed over many fighters and then andrei arlovski had to fight on elite XC come on they are such a joke!
  6. stretcharmstrong
    6. Posted by stretcharmstrong Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:26 pm EDT

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    Ramb......check your new set of laws regarding becoming an American citizen. Marrying an American no longer counts.
    I do feel for you......$900.00 worth of shirts down the drain(assuming the average cost was $60.00)
  7. Farthammer
    7. Posted by Farthammer Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:07 pm EDT

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    Dude, this Beard guy is a moron. Affliction is struggling for air and needs all the friends in the world, and he goes on this month-long rant against everyone. Nice. I half-expect him to come out in a week saying Fedor is a phony-ass [profane] and Josh Barnett is a roid-using doosh.
  8. yep thats me
    8. Posted by yep thats me Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:26 pm EDT

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    Screw Affliction, they just need to stick with making over priced t-shirts. I hope Couture wins whatever legal battle they might have and sticks it to those jerkoffs. It really does suck that he cant even wear his own line of clothing for the fight. lol
  9. chano
    9. Posted by chano Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:02 pm EDT

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    Affliction in my opinion is just freakin jealous on the fact that FUCI is throwing out some crazy money making cards on the next pay-per-view events! The only way they can get back at Couture is by not letting him wear his brand or even trying to put him on blast on the radio!
    Real Mature DUDE!
    Even stating that you want Brock to Flippin Kill Couture is a little over the top seriously!
    Oh and Beard you best watch out before the Fertitta brothers slap you with their wallet!
  10. chano
    10. Posted by chano Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:02 pm EDT

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    UFC* not FUCI on the first line of my comment
  11. The Unsilent Majority
    11. Posted by The Unsilent Majority Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:01 pm EDT

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    "Beard then went crazy suggesting that the fight was a set-up by UFC management in order to have Couture lose to Lesnar and hand over the promotion's heavyweight title to the future star."
    Even if this was true, Lesnar would be one of the shortest-tenured HW Champions, because Minotauro or Mir will dispose of him easily. Yes, Lesnar is fast and strong and a great wrestler, but he demonstrated against Herring that that's where it ends. He should have finished Herring by the second round at the latest. Instead he used him as a sit-and-spin for 3 rounds and then laughed at him at the end. If he tries that against Couture, Nogueira or Mir, he won't be laughing at the end.
  12. chano
    12. Posted by chano Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:02 pm EDT

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    The main key is submission, yeah he is a great wrestler and has great strength, but we all saw Lesnar can take a fighter to the ground and ground and pound but one little mistake can cause him to tap again for the second time. We all know Lesnar has no submission and haven't seen them even attempted. Lesnar has to keep that in his head and remember the Mir fight. Lesnar was dominant until he left his leg out in the open and Mir took advantage of that. I'm sure Lesnar training camp is being cautious in this fight and not having Lesnar really trying to take Coutrue to the ground cause we all know Couture will try to get away and that's where he gets in Lesnars head and capitalizes.
  13. Nutcracker
    13. Posted by Nutcracker Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:22 pm EDT

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    Lesnar will kill Couture.....I never liked stupid goth type Affliction crap. I hope that fad dies yesterday...
  14. Darkness!
    14. Posted by Darkness! Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:45 pm EDT

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    have to agree with Nutcracker-
    they're both pure wrestlers... Lesnar is basically Couture- except 15 yrs. younger, much bigger, much stronger, and much faster. Couture's only chance is IF Lesnar gets overzealous and leaves himself open to submission, and IF Randy is quick enough to capitalize on it. I don't see that happening; this might be Randy's retirement fight.
    And I hate Affliction clothes, too... $40 for a f**kin' black t-shirt?!?
  15. Ram B
    15. Posted by Ram B Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:36 pm EDT

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    Already aware of the legal stuff. I've been studying there for the past three years and not really in a hurry. ^^
    I've been watching UFC 91 preview a lot these days and I can't wait for this bout. Couture has always been the 'old guy' coming to his fights, he was branded "the underdog" in many of his matches, and I always hear the phrase/statement- "That guy is gonna kill him"- every time he's up against a younger, bigger, stronger opponent.
    Lesnar is scary to bet against. When he fought Mir last year, during the first minutes of the fight, me and my uncle were like "Oh my God, were gonna lose this one". Lucky for us that referee was on our side. He's so good at trampling veteran fighters that I don't mind seeing him get a title shot even if he has only two wins in his record.
  16. FyrHog
    16. Posted by FyrHog Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:03 pm EDT

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    13 and 14 make me laugh.
    Lesnar has size and strength and a punchers chance as he displayed in the fight with HH. Couture, 1st and foremost, has experience add to that combinations and angles and Lesnar will be left frustrated and bewildered. I predict a repeat of RC v TS with some wrestling mixed in.
    I do believe that Dana set that fight up to try to injure RC and, if Lesnar wins, tarnish Coutures reputation.
    Lesnar does have a promising future but only if he expands his skills. I really hope UFC doesn't wants a HW champ that employs boring "sit and spin" tactics to maintain cotrol of a fight until the final bell. Not that he'll get past Nog. Not yet anyway.
  17. Darkness!
    17. Posted by Darkness! Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:45 pm EDT

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    Bubonic-
    I don't think Dana set up the Couture/Lesnar fight as an attempt to injure Couture, or tarnish his reputation; though both of those results are possible. Lesnar's marketability and wwe fame prob. had a hand in the booking; but the guy is for real- he's an absolute beast. On top of that, he's way too good for only having 4 pro fights, and no previous martial arts training. Brock Lesnar is not a normal human being... he's that rare breed of Alpha Male, that just excels at everything, and isn't satisfied unless he's the top dog. He showed drastic improvment from the Mir fight when he dominated Herring; so I think it's safe to assume he'll be even better against Couture than he was against Herring. I think Nog will beat Mir, and then beat Lesnar for the undisputed HW championship.
  18. The Unsilent Majority
    18. Posted by The Unsilent Majority Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:01 pm EDT

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    I have to disagree, Jay. Drastic improvement would suggest that he did something different. He leveled Herring early in the first round and then couldn't finish it. FFS, pick the guy up and F-5 him if you're too dense to work an armbar or a choke. In the Mir fight he used a tackle-and-hammerfist strategy. In the Herring fight, he did pretty much the same. He needs to work on his ground striking accuracy, learn where to hit a guy that's not going to waste all that strength, and he needs a submission game, even if it's completely basic. I do think he has potential, but how many guys with potential have been flushed down the UFC toilet because it never manifested itself in results?
    And just for the record, didn't Mir only have like 3 or 4 fights when he won the title?
  19. Nutcracker
    19. Posted by Nutcracker Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:22 pm EDT

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    Bubonic.. Did you put Couture, combinations and angles all in the same sentence?? Couture is an average "striker" at best. Do you really think he can pin Lesnar against the cage and "dirty box" him?? Or mount him and pound away?? Couture is agile as a wrestler, but as a striker/boxer he is not.. I dont see him shoe shining anyone, let alone Lesnar. They basically come from the same type of backround, I think Lesnar will negate Coutures' strengths. There is no way in hell Couture will slam Lesnar same he did a guy like Gonzaga.. If anything, it will be the other way around. As for striking, both these guys couldn't box their way out of a paper bag...
  20. Fightfan86
    20. Posted by Fightfan86 Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:57 pm EDT

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    This stuff is ridiculous!!! Hasn't any one learned anything about MMA over the last 15 years in the U.S.??? Size doesn't mean squat!!! Yes it can be a powerful weapon, but it won't match up aginst experience and wit. I was really impressed with Lesnar when he took out Heath, and we all know anything can happen in there and there is always a chance, but its so funny to me that everyone talks about his wrestling experience. Remember when Coleman first showed up in the UFC?? Everyone was freaking out about his size and his wrestling ability and it was fun to watch, but it did't take long for the Mixed Martial Artists to figure him out. PRIDE was filled with way more examples of that too. Its hard to make comparisons like that in this sport because every match is unique, but Couture is a world class wrestler and one of the smartest fighters in the game. And it never fails, he is always the underdog. Anything can happen on fight night, but for me, when I first saw this match up I thought wow, poor Lesnar.
  21. Darkness!
    21. Posted by Darkness! Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:45 pm EDT

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    Unsilent-
    I see ur point about Lesnar using the same offensive strategy against both Mir and Herring. What I meant was that he didn't get overzealous against Herring and let himself get caught in a submission when he was dominating, like he did with Mir. I would also agree that he needs some work on his ground game (submissions, etc.), striking, and some formal martial arts training wouldn't hurt, either. He's definitely a raw talent. But because of that "type A" personality, he has unlimited potential... and that's the diff. Everyone has some level of potential; it's just a matter of whether or not they live up to it. By Brock's track record- he's always been one of the few that does.
  22. Darkness!
    22. Posted by Darkness! Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:45 pm EDT

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    Mir himself said after fighting Lesnar that he thought he was finished 30 secs. into it; and Herring said he'd never been hit harder than he was by Brock... so imagine all that power, speed and wrestling ability- channeled properly into a 290 lb. ultimate fighting machine! That's my point. Can u tell I'm a Brock fan?
  23. Shaun
    23. Posted by Shaun Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:44 pm EDT

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    Affliction cannot compete with the UFC...Affliction sells T-shirts come on now we all know that there gonna fall like Elite XC did its just a matter of time...Lesnar and Couture goes all 5 rounds and Brock pulls off an upset!!!Plus Kenny Kenflo destroys Joe Daddy and earns hisself ashot at the title....
  24. Nathan m
    24. Posted by Nathan m Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:34 pm EDT

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    I think the biggest difference between the Mir fight and Herring fight is the fact that Lesnar figured out he doesn't have to make Herring tap or knock him out. I know its boring, but controlling the cage and outpointing your opponent is still a "W". I hate fights that are point matches, but Lesnar knew going into this fight, if he gets submitted early, his chances of fighting on huge cards are done.
    I expect a little of the same in the fight with Randy. Lesnar definitely has knock out power, but we have yet to see it. I expect a TKO in the 2nd round when Lesnar has his back and can't get a choke on him, so he just beats him with those hams he calls fists.
  25. Patrón
    25. Posted by Patrón Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:01 pm EDT

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    War Randy!!!! I hope he humiliates Brock

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