Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Randy Couture Signs Contract with HDNET Fights



According to Adam Swift from mmapayout.com and sherdog contributor, Randy Couture has a contract with Mark Cuban's HDNET Fights. Here is the meat of the article.

New details of the action have been revealed in the complaint obtained by Sherdog.com. According to the filing, HDNet Fights has entered into a contract with Couture that is scheduled to commence upon the expiration of his Zuffa promotional agreement. At that time, the company plans to promote a fight between Couture and Fedor Emelianenko in Dallas, assuming terms can be reached with the highly regarded Russian heavyweight.

The existence of an actual contract between HDNet Fights and Couture is believed to be key to the company's action in Texas. Without it, it is unlikely that the court would find an actual controversy ripe for adjudication.

According to the filing, Couture has stated that he believes his Zuffa promotional contract expires with the stated term of the agreement in July, while Zuffa maintains that the contract remains valid indefinitely under the infamous "retirement clause." In the complaint, HDNet Fights characterized Zuffa's contention as "outrageous."

"Zuffa's position regarding Couture is both illegal and involves critical timing," the filing states. "First, like all fighters, Couture's ability to fight at a championship level will diminish as he ages. Through their actions, Zuffa seeks to ensure that Couture is prevented from gainful employment and practicing his craft until he cannot be an elite fighter. Importantly, the law in Texas is clear that indefinite employment restrictions such as Zuffa claims to be enforcing are per se illegal and against public policy."


Read the Rest Here

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is just gettiung messy. Its really starting to take away from a great sport. I have no doubt either side is overly innocent here.

Anonymous said...

I wish Zuffa would just fuck off. Randy and Fedor, the only thing stopping this fight is fucking Zuffa!

Anonymous said...

I watch UFC since day one, and that organisation made these guys... I dont know all the inside stuff but they could honor their contract and show a little bit of respect to a organisation that built up their career.

Anonymous said...

Why the fuck are Zuffa so intent on stopping Randy from fighting? Zuffa are just been assholes. If Dana wasn’t buddies with the owners of Zuffa then he would have been fired ages ago I used to love UFC as it was what got me into watching MMA. I still love all the fighters and prefer the octagon to the ring but ive found myself watching the old Pride matches

Fedor Couture will be the best fight by a long shot

Fire Dana and work together with other organisation Zuffa, that’s what’s good for the sport