The past year has been laden with nothing but legal battles for Randy Couture, who previously claimed that UFC lacked the support he needed in order to further his career with them. On Tuesday, however, UFC and Couture announced that they have finally come to terms regarding their previous disagreement. In fact, the 45-year-old fighter is set to return to the wrestling battlefield on November 15th in Las Vegas, Nevada. There, he will finally get to defend his title against Brock Lesnar.
“We've resolved them all,” Dana White said of the differences UFC had with Couture. “He's always been the heavyweight champion of the UFC. ... All I care about is that [Couture] is back and fighting.”
Couture adds that they have “cleared the air and addressed the issues. We are both in different places (then we were then); both the company and myself.”
Couture also expresses that he still wants to fight Fedor, but respects UFC’s decision to fight Lesnar first upon coming back in November.
"There were some compromises on both sides. I know that the UFC is working diligently to make the Fedor fight happen," Couture said. "(Fighting Lesnar) is certainly a step in the right direction, absolutely. I'd rather be fighting Fedor in November but I think we are on the right road, headed in that direction. With any luck...we'll get there."
Lesnar, on the other hand, seemed happy to have been given the opportunity to fight the three-time heavyweight champion. He said, “For me it's a great opportunity and one that anyone in my position wouldn't turn down.”
Lesnar adds that he needs to fully prepare for battle, with an opponent as tough as Couture. He said, “We'll figure out what we need to do ... Randy poses all kinds of threats so we'll try to nullify them.”
Fans are gearing up for Couture’s return to UFC on November 15, when he faces Brock Lesnar. This is one fight that viewers have been waiting for, and Dana White promises that it’ll be “an interesting tournament.”
-Valerie Anne del Castillo, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source:
FOX Sports
(Photo courtesy of UFC)