Randy Couture Returns to the UFC; Will Fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 in November

Has there ever been a better time to be a fan of mixed martial arts?

We are certainly entering a "golden" era for the sport; one that will likely draw in millions of new fans and break long-established PPV records.

In case you didn't hear, Randy Couture and the UFC settled their differences and agreed to a new three-fight deal. Couture was the champion when he "left" the promotion, and he is still considered the champ by UFC brass.

Couture's first official defense after his long absence will be against Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 on November 15th. The fight is expected to easily clear 1M in total PPV buys, with some expecting that the number may climb as high as 1.5 million. This is a big, big fight. The event, once rumored to be taking place in Portland, Oregon, will actually be held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The winner of the Lesnar / Couture fight will face the winner of the Mir / Nogueira fight, which is taking place in December. Nogueira is the current interim UFC heavyweight champion, so the Lesnar/Couture vs Mir/Nogueira fight will unify the two titles and be the UFC champion.

Couture's signing is big news for many different reasons. First off, it completely energizes the heavyweight division in the UFC. With the emergence of Lesnar and the re-signing of Couture, suddenly the heavyweight division has gone from rags to riches. Dana White has said that he will try to sign Fedor as well, once his deal with Affliction expires. Suddenly you have a number of marquee potential match-ups in the heavyweight division. Let's say that Couture beats Lesnar and Nogueira beats Mir. Couture/Nogueira is a big fight. Is Lesnar beats Couture, a Lesnar/Nogueira or Lesnar/Mir rematch are both big fights. Then, if the UFC is able to finally sign Fedor, then a number of other interesting match-ups can take place. Lesnar/Fedor. The long-awaited Couture/Fedor fight. The possibilities are endless.

This signing has completely taken the air out of Affliction's sails. They had some positive momentum after their first PPV, but now all of the buzz in the MMA world is back with the UFC. I am sure that the management of Affliction were hoping for an eventual Couture/Fedor mega-fight in their promotion - now, that will likely never happen.

The UFC has an absolute embarassment of riches right now. Practically every PPV from UFC 90 on will be headlined by a "mega"-fight. UFC 91 will be headlined by Couture vs Lesnar. UFC 92 will possibly have Liddell vs Griffin for the light heavyweight title. UFC 93? Georges St. Pierre vs BJ Penn. And then you have Anderson Silva probably jumping up to light heavyweight again to take on a big name. There are big matches coming as far as the eye can see.

Some people will say that Lesnar hasn't earned his shot at the title. I got news for them - this is all about money and raising the profile of the sport. Couture vs Lesnar has got everyone talking, and UFC 91 could do as many as 1.5 million in PPV buys. That's exactly the reason why they brought Lesnar in, like it or not. Everyone is talking about this match-up, and the news has gotten plenty of mainstream press. This is exactly what the UFC wanted, and this fight will only help to raise the profile of the sport.

A few interesting notes about this fight. Betting has opened up in Vegas for this tilt, with Couture a slight -140 favorite.

Lesnar will outweigh Couture by approximately 50 pounds.

This will be a five-round championship fight, not a three round fight. If the fight goes the distance, this could end up being the deciding factor.

There has never been a better time to be a MMA fan.

Play Poker - Receive a $600 Bonus