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2008-02-19 09:31:59
Mark Cuban and the UFC Battling Over the Rights to Randy Couture
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It has become clear that if the much-anticipated Randy Couture - Fedor Emelianenko fight ever takes place, it will be shown on Mark Cuban's HDNet Fights. Cuban has a short history with Fedor, having shown Fedor's New Year's Eve at Yarennoka! against Hong-Man Choi on HDNet Fights in the United States.
Mark Cuban is clearly trying to make a big splash in Mixed Martial Arts fighting by first trying to sign Floyd Mayweather Jr. to a MMA deal, and now by suing the UFC to try and determine exactly when Randy Couture's contract with the UFC officially expires.
Couture signed a four-fight deal with the UFC in early 2007 that included a $500k signing bonus. He first fought Tim Sylvia at UFC 68, winning by unanimous decision, and then defeated Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74 via TKO.
The Gonzaga fight was Couture's last fight with the UFC. The UFC is saying that Couture "retired", and that if he wants to continue fighting, then it has to be with the UFC because he still has two fights remaining on his contract.
Couture's side contends that he resigned from the UFC and that there is an 18 month no-compete clause in his contract that will expire sometime this year, which will enable Couture to fight somewhere else.
The UFC says that there is a specific clause in the contract that freezes the 18 month no-compete if Couture retires. This would mean that, according to the UFC, Couture would only be able to fight in the UFC because he is still bound to their contract.
Cuban is basically suing the UFC so that he can find out for sure what the deal with Couture's contract is. He doesn't want to sign Couture and then get hit with a massive lawsuit from the UFC. He wants to get confirmation with a judge as to when Couture's contract with the UFC does expire.
What started all of this bad blood between the UFC and Couture? The UFC's inability to sign Fedor Emelianenko. Couture has stated publicly that he believes a match with Fedor is important to cement his legacy as a Mixed Martial Arts fighter. The UFC tried to sign Fedor to a contract, but the two sides couldn't come to an agreement.
Couture was also angered by the terms of Fedor's proposed contract, feeling that Fedor was getting a much better deal than he was even though Couture helped to build the UFC. Feeling disrespected and frustrated by the fact that he wouldn't be able to face Fedor in the UFC, Couture "quit" the company, sparking the litigation between himself and the UFC.
In my opinion, the UFC seems to have a pretty strong case here, and I would be surprised to see a judge side with Couture.
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