UFC 91 Post-Fight Video Interviews and Analysis

UFC 91 Weigh-Ins Video

UFC 91 Predictions: Natural Selection

Lets take a look at the rest of the card before we get to the big fight of the night.

Non-Televised Bouts

Ryan Thomas vs. Matt Brown
I gotta go with Thomas in this fight, he is an up and comer with alot of talent. I think he can control this fight with his wrestling and overall ground game. Brown has a significant advantage standing, but I don't think he can avoid this fight going to the floor.- Thomas by decision.

Alvin Robinson vs. Mark Bocek
Love this fight, it has the potential to be the fight of the night, but I see Robinson as having better overall skills. He should be able to control the stand-up and avoid Bocek's take downs and submission attempts.- Robinson by TKO.

Jorge Gurgel vs. Aaron Riley
We all hear in every Gurgel fight how fantastic his Jiu-Jitsu is, but we rarely ever get to see it. Gurgel is the type of fighter that wants to put on a good show and actually winning the fight takes a back seat. This should be a brawl as both fighters have great chins and like to press the action, but if Gurgel decides to stand with Riley(I think he will) he will be in trouble as Riley has some heavy hands. I just can't pick Gurgel because he's showed many times that he will fight away from his own strengths.- Riley by Decision

Jeremy Stephens vs. Rafael dos Anjos
If Anjos can't get this fight to the mat, he's gettin knocked out. Stephens is a phenomenal striker and I think he gets the stoppage after avoiding some early take down attempts.- Stephens by KO


Televised Card

Dustin Hazelett vs. Tamdan McCrory
Another fight that should be extremely entertaining. Hazelett has the type of potential that could make him a champion one day, but McCrory has that same potential. I think this fight is a toss-up, but ultimately I like Hazelett to pull off another entertaining submission.- Hazelett by Submission

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Josh Hendricks
Hendricks makes his UFC debut and Gonzaga is coming off a win against Justin McCully. I don't know much about Hendricks, but I do know that if he has the cardio to take Gonzaga into the third round he has a chance. Gonzaga has shown suspect cardio in his losses against Couture and Werdum. That being said, I'm still picking Gonzaga to finish this fight early.- Gonzaga by TKO

Demian Maia vs. Nathan Quarry
Maia's Jiu-Jitsu is on another level compared to most fighters in the world, on the other hand his stand-up is sub-par to say the least. Quarry ran a track meet in his last fight with Kalib Starnes, so his cardio should be tremendous! Anyways, I think Quarry stays out of the sub and uses the Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares strategy.- Quarry by Decision

Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson
Ken-Flo is one of those fighters that gets better every time we see him. The only real advantage I can see for Stevenson in this fight is maybe he's a little better wrestler than Florian. Other than that I see Florian dominating this fight from start to finish with superior striking and even better Jiu-Jitsu than the recently anointed black belt, Stevenson. edit.- Florian by TKO

Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar
I hear many, many people talking about how great an athlete Brock Lesnar is. I'm sorry, but I disagree strongly with anyone that anoints Lesnar as a "great athlete". He has done nothing to earn a title like that. If you watched "UFC 91 Countdown" you no doubt saw the story about Lesnar's quest to play for the Minnesota Vikings. In the piece his trainers say that he had better numbers in the 40 and bench(not a suprise) than Houston Texans' number one overall choice Mario Williams. His trainers also go on to say that he has the talent to play in the NFL, even though the Vikings cut him. Forgive me for being highly skeptical of that whole situation and I don't know the whole story, but if he truly had the talent to play in the NFL that's where he would be(its not like the NFL is picky about who they let in.) and to insinuate that he is as good an athlete as Mario Williams is, is absolutely ridiculous.

He moves fast for a big man and he's a great wrestler and that gives him a chance in this fight, but I just have a problem with calling the guy a great athlete. When you think of a great athlete in terms of an MMA fighter, among other things, you have to think of overall skill set, heart, chin and endurance. Three things that we have no idea of when it comes to Brock Lesnar. You know who is a great athlete? Randy Couture.

Couture has been the underdog many times and he has risen to the occasion to prove all the critics wrong in the past. I think he pulls it off again here against an inexperienced fighter. Couture will pull out all the old MMA tricks to consistently frustrate the big man. I think dirty boxing will be a huge factor in this fight for Couture in the stand-up. Of course in the highly likely scenario that Couture does end up on his back, I suspect he has a few suprises for Brock either scrambling or submission attempts. I'm picking Couture to end this fight late in the third round after Lesnar realizes that he is outgunned in skill set and fighting intelligence.- Couture by TKO Late in the Third Round.

Its Official: Randy Couture is Back in the UFC and will Fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 91

Thomas Gerbasi of UFC.com breaks the news, which happened at the UFC 91 teleconference. If any audio or video comes available I will post it.

From Thomas Gerbasi

If we’ve learned one thing in combat sports, it’s to never say never. This old adage was solidified once again today, as UFC President Dana White announced the November 15th return to the Octagon of heavyweight champion Randy Couture to face Brock Lesnar in the main event of UFC 91 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The announcement comes after nearly a year of contentious relations between the organization and Couture, who walked away from the UFC in October of 2007 with two fights remaining on his contract. But in August, the heavyweight champion and the organization worked on a renegotiation of his contract that will enable ‘The Natural’ to finish his Hall of Fame career with the UFC.

In addition BloodyElbow has many details of the announcement.

- Dana White: Brock vs. Couture will be "the biggest fight in UFC history".

- Dana White on competitors and co-promotion: ": These guys are dying on the vine. You’re not under contract if the company’s not in business anymore.

- Dana White: "I would be horrified if Affliction's still in business in January."

- Couture: would rather fight Fedor, but fight with Brock "a step in the right direction"

- Couture says UFC and he have "cleared the air"; "comfortable with way things stand right now"

- Couture says he'll weigh approximately 225lbs for this fight.

- Dana White says he doesn't know if Couture is the richest fighter in the UFC.

- Dana White: Nogueira is probably thrilled Couture is back.

- Dana White: research was done and proves Brock vs. Couture will be biggest fight in UFC history.

- Couture: re-signing with the UFC to get Fedor is "path of least resistance"

- Dana White: the heavyweight division "is looking pretty damn good now"

- Couture: MMA is the combative sport for this generation

- Couture: how can you overlook a guy [Brock Lesnar] that size?

- Dana White: over the next year we are going to see some really great heavyweight fights.

- Randy and Dana: feels good to have this problem resolved; "to see a little sunshine for a change is pretty nice"

- Dana White: "I like fighting with Tito"

- Dana White suggests Fedor might have to be not under contract for the UFC to sign a fight with him. He didn't say it was required, but he alluded to it.

- Dana White: Affliction is losing "shitloads" of money.

- Couture: biggest part of my decision was communicating with Lorenzo and Dana that I was feeling. Second was frustration with legal system. Tired of throwing money with lawyers with no end in sight. Best place for me to fight is a cage, not a court room.

- Dana White: "I'm like a giddy little girl right now"

- Dana White: "It drives me insane when Fedor is called the best p4p fighter in the world." If Fedor is the best, he has to come to the UFC eventually.

- Dana White: people don't know this, but there was bad blood between Brock and Herring. Herring was insulted he had to fight him.

- Brock Lesnar: "not a lot of people get this opportunity".

- Brock Lesnar: "who gives a shit about Fedor Emelianenko?" I'm sick and tired of sitting on the phone listening about Fedor. "Who fucking gives a shit?"

- Dana White: "UFC Countdown" for this fight could be two or three part series.

- Dana White: this is where all the best heavyweights are. Randy Couture is relevant; Fedor is not.

- Couture: I can't spend any time worrying about losing to Lesnar and losing luster on a fight with Fedor.

- Dana White: rivals can have whichever fighters we cut.

- Dana White: Werdum is still in the mix.

- Dana White: expecting 1million to 1.5 million PPV buys for this fight. It's a new deal: 3-fight deal.

- Dana White: I would not sign a one-fight deal with Fedor.

- Dana White: all court action is dead.

- Dana White: Randy Couture is the guy everyone wants to fight. Fedor is completely irrelevant.

- Couture: Mark Cuban wants what's best for me. He just wanted to facilitate what I wanted. Now the best path is to make the fight with Fedor happen in the UFC.

Some amazing news for MMA fans, hopefully they are serious about making the Fedor fight happen. Does this willingness to work with Couture and possibly Fedor come from Lorenzo Fertitta now working full-time with UFC or did Dana White finally come to his senses?

Randy Couture vs Brock Lesnar Close to Being Reality

BloodyElbow has exclusive details on what now is becoming more than just speculation. Michael Rome of BE has the scoop.

First, I can say with 100% certainty that there are current negotiations for Randy Couture to return in November to main event, and that the current proposed opponent is Brock Lesnar. They can't get Fedor, too many issues to work out on short notice, and he has a US-only non compete with Affliction.

This will be a new contract, not a return to the old one. It will likely pay him more and give him more benefits, but it will lock him into the UFC for the long term. In exchange for signing it Zuffa would drop all breach of contract charges.

Its not just Rome either, Dave Meltzer has started confirming things on f4wonline.com

A source close to Randy Couture has confirmed today that Couture is in negotiations with UFC for a new three-fight deal which would end the nearly nine month legal battle between the two sides.

If the deal is closed, and the source said they are hoping to conclude negotiations and announce the match sometime within the next week, Couture would face Brock Lesnar on 11/15, most likely in Portland, Oregon.

Couture was said to be hoping that if everything went well, the next two fights could involve Fedor, Nogueira, and/or Chuck Liddell. However, all previous hangups involving Emelianenko and UFC remain.

In addition Ariel Helwani at MMARated is reporting that an announcement by the UFC may be made on Tuesday and the UFC is considering a Fedor fight after the Lesnar match-up.

Believe it or not, the UFC is also considering a proposal from M-1 Global to co-promote a Randy Couture vs. Fedor Emelianenko bout following the Lesnar fight in November. The third proposed fight would be a bout against either current interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira or Chuck Liddell - depending on where both fighters are in their respective careers. However, given the nature of the fight game and the fighters involved, it's hard to predict what will happen that far in advance.

Rumor Alert: Randy Couture to Possibly Headline UFC 91, Lesnar a Possible Opponent

MMA Junkie has a story on a possible UFC return for Randy "The Natural" Couture by the end of the year at UFC 91 in Portland, Oregon.

Reigning UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture could return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship by year's end as part of an out-of-court settlement with the organization.

Multiple sources close to the fighter, speaking exclusively to MMAjunkie.com, today said that Couture is willing to fight once more for the UFC, possibly before the end of the year, as a potential resolution to his ongoing legal battles with the fight promotion.

Red Sweat reports on a possible Brock Lesnar match-up.

In addition, the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota reported last Thursday that the UFC had Brock Lesnar in their sights for UFC 91. They apparently informed Lesnar of their wishes to have the WWE superstar compete at the event earlier that week.

What does this mean? If both of them compete at UFC 91, there is a chance they could compete against each other. However, there have also been rumors that Lesnar will be facing Cheick Kongo at the Portland event. Then again, with the Couture Saga in full swing and the popularity of Lesnar, a battle between the two would make for one of the biggest PPV events of all time.

While Couture’s participation at UFC 91 is far from official, Eric, an amateur member of the Xtreme Couture gym where Randy trains, has confirmed that Couture is training to fight somebody in the near future.

I would love to see him fight Lesnar or Nogueira, that would be a huge PPV for the UFC, especially the Lesnar fight. I just wish the UFC would somehow find a way to sign Fedor so we could all see the fight we've been waiting for.

Randy Couture on the Adam Carolla Show(Audio)

Great Interview, Carolla seems like a big fan of MMA.

Part 1

Part 2

New Randy Couture Video Interview

The Natural talks with Fighthype about the Anderson Silva vs Roy Jones speculation, "Redbelt" and more.

New Randy Couture Video Interview

Randy talks about wanting to fight Fedor outside of the UFC.

Randy Couture on Bubba the Love Sponge Full Audio

Big props to Last Emperor from Sherdog. Yesterday I reported about this interview and Couture's comments on his willingness to come back to the UFC if they sign Fedor. Here is the full interview from that show thanks to Last Emperor from Sherdog forums.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL AUDIO INTERVIEW

Randy Couture Willing to Go Back to the UFC if They Sign Fedor Emelianenko

On the Bubba the Love Sponge radio show Randy Couture stated that he would be willing to go back to the UFC if they sign, now free agent Fedor Emelianenko. Couture also stated that if he did go back to the UFC that it wouldn't be under his current contract. He said a new contract would have to be worked out. Couture has stated many times that Fedor is the only fight he wants. The current interim heavyweight champion is Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Dana White has offered that fight to Couture on more than one occasion, but its not likely that Couture would take that fight considering his statements about only wanting to fight Fedor in the past.

Kurt Angle vs Randy Couture Later This Year?

In an interview on the Scott Ferrell show Wednesday Kurt Angle stated that he would like his first MMA match to be against UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture. Now I've read reports on wrestling sites about this, but no MMA site seems to be reporting that Kurt Angle all but confirmed that the fight was already in the works and it will be in Los Angeles later this year. He wouldn't confirm who was going to promote the fight, but stated that it was neither the UFC nor Mark Cuban. He also stated that it was unlikely that he himself would win the fight. Is this just Kurt Angle blowing smoke up our butt again? I don't know, but if he is Randy Couture can't be happy about it because the way he was talking was as if the fight has already been agreed upon.

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

Dana White on Off the Record, Talks Ortiz, UFC 83 and Couture

Dana was recently on the same show as Serra and GSP, here is the video.

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO

New ESPN Video- Randy Couture on ESPN's First Take

Randy takes on a number of issues in this new video from espn.com

New Fedor Emelianenko Video Interview

Sherdog caught up with the M-1 Global Heavyweight.

Fedor is confident that a fight with Randy Couture will take place soon.

Big John McCarthy has Some Harsh Words for Dana White and UFC

Interesting, in an audio interview over at bloodyelbow.com here is some of what he said.

He said he doesn’t care if Dana White is unhappy with him working for the pro-Randy Couture FightNetwork. McCarthy predicts Couture will win his battle against UFC and be freed from his contract come July.
Big John doesn’t like UFC’s direction with pay-per-views saying UFC 80 should be on free TV.

Listen to the Full Audio Here

Fedor Emelianenko and Randy Couture Staredown During Commercial Shoot

This was shot for Affliction, I thought everyone might enjoy this. Its not exactly a "Staredown" but still, it seems this fight will take place at some point.

UFC 80 Reaction

Well my predictions for UFC 80 were pretty bad as usual with the exceptions being Penn, Davis, Sakara, Stout and Hardonk. Good for Werdum he impressed me alot as did the newcomer Paul Kelly in a terrific fight against Paul Taylor. Penn dominated Stevenson and after the bout saying "Sean Sherk is Dead" is classic, then Sherk came in and got booed. The first 3 televised bouts were all over pretty quickly and all in KO fashion. So we got too see all the undercard fights except the Sam Stout fight. All in all a very solid pay per view I thought. Can't wait to see Penn fight Sherk.

Zuffa Sueing Randy Couture

Adam Hill over at the Las Vegas Journal Review is reporting that UFC owners Zuffa are filing lawsuit against Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture. Here's an excerpt.

Lawyers for Zuffa, LLC, the UFC's parent company, on Monday filed suit in Clark County District Court, alleging chiefly that Couture's comments about the UFC and its senior management caused the business irreparable damage and that he is in breach of the contract he signed with the company in December 2006.

Read the Rest HERE

Well everybody saw this coming a mile away, not exactly a big suprise.

Top 10 MMA Dream Matches- No Sequels Allowed

Many MMA fans have their own personal fights that they would like to see, but might never happen. Hopefully the list I'm about write with come true and these fights will take place at some point in time. Chuck Liddell vs Wanderlei Silva is on for UFC 79, so that dream match has finally come true. Obviously there are many rematches that we would like to see, but I'll save that for another post.

10. Forrest Griffin vs Quinton Rampage Jackson- Dana White is dreaming of the day this fight takes place, both hardcore and reletively new fans would pay to see this fight. Griffin is coming off an amazing victory over Mauricio Rua, a fighter that Jackson lost too badly. Rampage has been on a roll and is getting more and more popular because of his charisma and personality.

9. BJ Penn vs Sean Sherk- This fight was planned and I was really excited about it, but unfortunately Sherk tested positive for steroids and now the lightweight belt is in limbo. Penn was recently quoted as telling Sherk to "grow some balls", this fight should happen down the road.

8. Wanderlei Silva vs Mauricio Shogun Rua- Wanderlei has stated many times that he will not fight his longtime friend and training partner, but what a fight it would be. They know each others styles in and out, it would be a true chess match. One stipulation, the fight has to be in a ring and soccer kicks and stomps are allowed.

7. Fedor Emelianenko vs Josh Barnett- This fight should've already happen but it never materialized. Barnett has long been considered the biggest threat to dethrone the Russian king, Emelianenko. For fans who have followed both of the fighter's careers this would be the ultimate test for Fedor.

6. Takanori Gomi vs Gilbert Melendez- This fight would be a war and both fighters have common opponents. Both fighters like to slug it out and it could be very similar to Gomi vs Nick Diaz which is one of the best fights Ive ever seen.

5. Anderson Silva vs Paulo Filho- Both of these fighters have tremendous Jiu-Jitsu skills, obviously Silva would have the advantage standing, but whatever the strategy would be this would be a dream matchup. Filho is undefeated and Silva looks like he could beat anyone on the planet right now. Dana White if your listening "Sign Paulo Filho!!!!".

4. Wanderlei Silva vs Fedor Emelianenko- Wanderlei has fought heavyweights like Crocop twice and Mark Hunt, why not the Fedor. This fight could've happened if Pride was still around, with their open-weight grand prix tournaments. Both fighters are warriors who give it everything they have in every fight. This fight is unfortunately probably never gonna happen.

3. Dan Henderson vs Anderson Silva- If Henderson were to drop back to middleweight, the hype for this fight would be enormous. Both fighters are so well-versed in every aspect of the game. Would Hendo's wrestling be too much for Silva? Could Hendo avoid the nasty clinch of Silva? Many more questions would be answered if this superfight were to take place.

2. Fedor Emelianenko vs Randy Couture- Whether you hate Fedor or you love him, all 3 fights with him in it that are on this list, you would pay to see. This fight was close to happening, if the UFC could've signed Fedor it would've probably been his first fight. Now that Fedor has signed with M-1 global and Couture has quit the UFC, its only a matter of months left on Couture's UFC contract that we could see this fight. Could Couture press the greco roman clinch and dirty box Fedor to death or would it be just another day at the office for the Russian experiment?

1. Kazushi Sakuraba vs Rickson Gracie- The "Gracie Hunter" against the legendary champion of the Gracie family, who claims to have won over 300 fights without a loss. This fight will probably never happen, but we can dream. This fight would be so huge in Japan you would probably have to kill 3 people just to get a nose bleed seat.