UFC will make Couture's return official at Noon PT

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After 11 months of fighting in the courts it looks like the UFC and Randy Couture have buried the hatchet. The promotion is holding a press conference on Tuesday at Noon PT to announce a new deal with the heavyweight champion.

UPDATE: The press conference has been delayed until 4p ET.

Couture is expected to face Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 in Portland in what could be the biggest pay-per-view show in the UFC's history. There is also talk now that with a win over Lesnar, Couture could face Fedor Emelianenko in 2009, under the UFC banner.

Media members received an email with this bulletin at 6a ET.

*MEDIA ADVISORY*

DANA WHITE TO HOLD MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL

TO MAKE MAJOR UFC^® ANNOUNCEMENT

Today, Sept. 2, 2008 at 3pm ET/12Noon PT

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – Dana White, President, Ultimate Fighting Championship^® will hold a media conference call today to make a major UFC announcement. The conference call will take place today, Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 3pm ET/12Noon PT.

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1. Posted by Wreckinball Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:43 pm EDT
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Randy is a great wrestler but he will be man handled by the beast that is Lesnar. This is nothing less than punishment by Dana for Randy's lack of respect towards the organization that made him who he is. In short if Randy wants out, he's gonna fight his way out.
2. Posted by PennP Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:12 pm EDT
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Fedor cannot fight in the UFC in North America. In case you aren't aware, he is under contract to Affliction, a contract that was recently extended.
3. Posted by Duper Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:22 pm EDT
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Wreckinball nailed it. This is simpy a ploy by Dana to punish the old man. Boring match but, Lesnar will ride Couture to the victory and Randy will fade away into retirement. Funny that they throw him in against Lesnar and not Nog. Surprised Couture agreed to it.
4. Posted by RobK Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:47 pm EDT
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Fedor is under contract with M-1 not Affliction, and M1 will allow him to fight under whichever banner he wants.
Randy feels his age creeping up on him and knows the UFC has him in a corner. His final fights will be under a UFC banner. Rumor has it this is a 3 fight extension. 1st fight Brock, second Fedor, and third (depending on how the first two went) will be winner of Nog/Mir. Dana thinks Brock will beat him, then when he loses to Fedor he can blame his age and say Brock Lesnar already beat him and try to set up Fedor/Lesnar.
5. Posted by Sean Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:59 pm EDT
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It wouldn't surprise me if Couture approached the UFC with a settlement offer. Randy likely sees the holes in Brock's game, and feels that he could figure out (and carry out) the game plan to beat Brock in the Oct. Randy knows that the end is creeping closer and closer, and that delaying a return for much longer could mean he never fights again. The UFC knew this, and just waited Randy out. They had nothing to lose, really.
6. Posted by ryan p Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:20 pm EDT
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Thank you Rob K. You've got it right. He can fight for which banner he wants to. Brock is a beast, but has yet to polish his game. I think a guy like Randy would have the best chance to beat him because Randy can find a hole in almost anybodys game and exploit it. This will be a great fight. We might even get to see what Brock's chin is made out of. I think Randy might even try to fight this one standing w/ some dirty boxing as well. The ground game will either be boring or it could get crazy with reversals. I think this one will be a great fight to watch.
7. Posted by chano Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:02 pm EDT
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WOW now this is a fight im willing to pay big bucks for!..........then Fedor againts Couture I think everyonw has been waiting to see this one, we are talking record breaking numbers and watching this fight!
8. Posted by chano Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:02 pm EDT
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Hey Rob Kirk...........I believe your right I think this is another attempt to shut Couture up for good and make him retire completely by humiliating him like he did with TITO. Brock will ofcourse give respect for Couture I'm sure for being a veteran in the sport, but will break down his ground and pound wrestling skills saying he will be no match for him. As for Mir and Noguira I believe Mir will take this fight. Nothing to take away from Noguira but he wasn't that impressive winning that title. Defending it will prove champion status but dont believe he will hold it after the Mir fight.
9. Posted by Steelersfootball Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:02 pm EDT
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Wow....Brock is a beast, but Im not sure he's ready to fight Randy. It would be a match everyone would watch tho. I'm sure the UFC has some elaborate plan set up already, and hopefully it ends in Fedor coming to the UFC to have some interesting fights.
10. Posted by chano Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:02 pm EDT
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Well hey I know im putting my foot in my mouth by saying this..........Brock and Slice and both in the same position, why its because the promoters put them as the highlight of the fight and only way to keep it big for them to gain fan status is having them fight well named fighters, and having them ontop of the card and not in the bottom. Then again SLICE hasnt fought any well named fighters, Bock has Mir under his belt but lost, he beat Heath Heiring so ok he's 1 for 1. But Brock needs to step up his ground game more, yes you gain X amount of points taking him to the ground but what you do on top is what the judges really score!
11. Posted by Karl A Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:47 pm EDT
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COUTURE-LESNAR, this should be a he!! of a fight. I don't beleive lesnar can dominate Couture like he did Herring. Herring is nowhere close to being on the same level as Couture. I'll be pulling for the old man for a couple reasons, I'm a fan, Lesnar hasn't paid his DUES yet and it would be like Randy screwing Dana White in the mouth if he beats the Dana's GOLDEN BOY CASH COW. Couture, Couture, Couture.
12. Posted by Clint Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:27 pm EDT
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Dana White is Smart!! He wants to sign Couture and get the most out of him while he can. Even more important is that Dana is taking Afflictions biggest name. Dana is no fool, but I still hope Affliction and Elite XC make it so UFC has competition.
Dana's only reason to get back Couture is to make $$$ and keep him from fighting elsewhere!!!!!!
13. Posted by matt g Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:11 pm EDT
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Couture should fight Nog, but with TUF crap it probably won't happen. A fight with Lesnar would be good , and don't count the old guy out. Experience vs. Brawn isn't always as clear cut as you would think. It would be a huge fight . Randy should have just fought out his contract before ,nstead of wasting time and money. Putting your career, as short as it is, in the hands of lawyers is a big mistake.
14. Posted by cin_da_man Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:25 pm EDT
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I live in the northwest and had already planned on going to portland show.... now with lesner-couture i'm going crazy waiting.
this maybe the highest grossing ufc of all time.
15. Posted by PM Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:14 pm EDT
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1. Fedor's Affliction deal is only exclusive to America, so he could fight for UFC in Canada, the UK, etc.
2. Supposedly the Nog fight has been on the table for Couture for a long time, so I dunno why you guys would think he would go for it now
3. Couture took this fight because he knows that a fight with Brock will do HUGE PPV numbers, and i'm sure his new deal includes a cut of PPV revenue
4. All this really proves is that Couture only cares about money, and that what this whole thing has been about. Brock is not the best out there right now, but he is the highest profile fight, which equals more $$$$ in his pocket. All that bull about fighting the best (ie. holding out for Fedor) was just that, BULL!
16. Posted by PM Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:14 pm EDT
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Dana White is the big winner in all of this:
1. Affliction doesn't get Couture
2. Couture vs. Lesnar will be HUGE
3. If Couture wins, White has a couple of fights he can make...winner of Mir/Nog and apparently a Fedor fight, either of which will do big numbers
4. If Lesnar wins, well he obviously gets a huge boost to his career, and proves that White was correct to sign him, plus White gets his so-called revenge against Couture
17. Posted by Karl A Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:47 pm EDT
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#17 &18 PM
Couture is due for a few big paydays. He and a few others, Gracie & Shamrock come to mind literally built the UFC. Couture's time is coming to an end as a fighter so why not set himself up while continuing to fight top opponents. It's amazing that Liddell was getting three times as much per fight as Couture (plus a % of pay per view) while losing to Jackson and Jardine while Couture defeated The Maniac and Ganzaga. If you were in his shoes you would want to get paid as well. Hell yes it's about the money.
18. Posted by BOSS Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:32 pm EDT
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i cant wait to watch this fight. it looks like brock lesnar could walk right through couture, but people have said that more than once about couture. i guarantee this will not end quick and lesnar wont dominate. dana white is the biggest winner in this match. his "next big thing" in brock lesnar is in a sweet spot. if he loses, he loses to randy couture, a ufc icon and hall of famer. so, its not a bad blemish to have on his record. if he wins, well enough said. as for couture, if he wins hes gonna shock a lot of people and just blow up in popularity again. making his next fight even bigger than the lesnar fight. i imagine he'll get fedor (if possible) or the winner of nog and mir. (my guess is mir). either way im happy hes fighting again. honestly we all win, if youre an mma fan.
19. Posted by lastman standing Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:25 pm EDT
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Im a Couture fan but lesner will probably dominate the fight which will open up the idea of the Fedor fight but i dont think it can happen until Lesner beats Nog or Mir, personally I think it will probably be Mir.I know it sounds crazy but i truly believe that Lesner is the next big thing and IF he could secure a fight with Fedor after cleaning out the division he'll make the FEDOR and COUTURE fight look like a undercard fight! DANA is an evil genius and Affliction is F*cked not to mention headed for bankruptcy and as for Fedor all he can do is sit and watch as the MMA world goes on without him if you ask me his managers have grossly overestimated his value in the everchanging fight game.
20. Posted by IDGAD Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:27 pm EDT
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Don't see how Randy ever imagined his tussle with Dana would come out any other than being bounced out of the Texas courts. Yes, Dana is devious among many other laudable attributes. Just love that man.
21. Posted by Flyguy Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:02 pm EDT
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Fedor's Affliction Contract is for a no compete in the US for 3 fights and he already has had one of them. He is suppose to fight on Affliction's New Year's Eve Fight Card. So that will be 2 fights down. If this is case Affliction will most likely "release" Fedor of US deal, becasue his 3rd fight will be just a huge promo for UFC. UFC can have Fedor fight in Canada, Japan (which Fedor wants), or in the UK at any time.
Randy's contract is going to be structured like Brock's from the $$ point. It is either a 3 or 4 fight contract with UFC buyouts after the 2nd fight.
Affliction lost between $10-$15 million from the last PPV
22. Posted by El Payaso. Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:45 pm EDT
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Randy will emerge victorious if he fights Lesner. With a whopping 3 fight career, Lesner's inexperience will be his downfall. Randy's got too much skill and experience to lose to Lesner. Could it happen? Of course, anything can happen in MMA but I'd put my money on Couture.
23. Posted by chano Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:02 pm EDT
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Man its crazy how everyone perspective on Lesnar has changed.
First everyone was pulling to see Lesnar fight Kongo, and now its a complete shock to us all Lesnar againts Courture! cant wait to see this fight.
24. Posted by Wreckinball Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:43 pm EDT
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The only way anyone gets up after Lesnar takes them down, is if he lets them up. Randy will be no different. Randy is a great wrestler but he will not be able to match Brocks power. If the beast wants him to stay down, he will.
25. Posted by Robert D Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:45 pm EDT
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Most of you have valid points, but I think Randy has the patience, a chin, conditioning, and EXPERIENCE to take Lesnar. All else being equal the bigger, stronger fighter will win...but guys, c'mon...all things are NOT equal. After all is said and done I think Randy will be putting on a clinic on how to beat a bigger, stronger, and YOUNGER opponent. I would be shocked if Lesnar wins this one...