(Photo:UFC.com)

The UFC issued a press release this afternoon, confirming widespread rumors that Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture will be returning to the Octagon this year.  It appears that Zuffa and Randy Couture have come to a mutual agreement that will see the Heavyweight Champion back in action at UFC 91, on November 15th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV.  That first match back will be a Heavyweight title defense against the new kid in town, Brock Lesnar.

Lesnar, fresh of his win over Heath Herring will get a bit of a bogus shot at the title given a 1-1 record in the UFC. The reality is that this is probably the biggest drawing match that the UFC could set up in the Heavyweight division, without getting Fedor Emelianenko in the Octagon.  Lesnar has been a big draw for the organization since transitioning from his pro wrestling gig with the WWE and has no doubt brought legions of wrestling fans with him.  It’s a no lose opportunity for Lesnar, who will come out looking great if he can hang with the Couture and will be a bonafide star if he can manage to get the win.  Boosting that chance at victory will be a significant size/weight advantage for Lesnar as well as the fact that Couture has been out of action for a year.

The winner of that title fight will have to face off against the winner of the pending match between current interim title holder, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria and former champion, Frank Mir.  It boils down to lots of action in the UFC’s Heavyweight division, which is a great news considering the core of Heavyweight fighters that have so far legitimized Affliction’s fight promotion.  Personally, I have never enjoyed the Heavyweight fights as much as the other weight classes, but I am as much a sucker for the phenomenon that is Randy Couture as the next guy. With Brock Lesnar and his recent post fight antics setting the stage to make him a perfect arch nemesis for the champion, I will be anxiously awaiting the return of “Captain America” on November 15th…

Fedor and his management team recently spoke of the difficulty in dealing with UFC and specifically Dana White when they attempted to negotiate fight deals as recently as November of 2007.   Dana White made public statements in the past regarding his frustration in trying to come to terms with Emelianenko and company, implying that they were just difficult to deal with.

In a rebuttal noted on MMA.tv, Fedor’s Manager, Vadim Finkelstein made it pretty clear that Dana White seemed to be the one with the issues as far as negotiating goes.

“Of course, he can’t deal with us because he can’t deal with anybody, he wants to have everything in his own control, but we can’t deal with people that want to control everything.”

Apparently the comments were made while Fedor Emelianenko and Randy Couture (and their respective entourage’s) were meeting to discuss options for a potential fight between the Heavyweight MMA stars.  The biggest stumbling blck to that fight taking place is obviously the legal conflict between Couture and Zuffa (The UFC). 

Despite the hard feelings, business is business and team Fedor was quick to mention that,

“If round two of negotiations with Zuffa were to take place shortly, Finkelstein said he might be open to a two-fight deal, with Couture the first opponent on the ledger. However, Finkelstein seemed less than assured that the UFC would budge from the original offer they made nearly eleven months ago. ”

“This is unfortunately the only company right now that is attempting to monopolize and essentially do everything themselves,” said Finkelstein. “That’s not what we’re about.”

From a personal perspective, I would expect this fight to happen, but not with Zuffa.  Affliction has dumped a lot of eggs into the Heavyweight basket and have secured some top fighters in the process.  By securing former UFC Champions in Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski, they have set up an opportunity to legitimize Fedor while discrediting the UFC’s Heavyweight Division.

Fedor suffered a hand injury during his recent first round destruction of Sylvia. If this wasn’t the case he would likely be meeting Arlovski next.  After beating both of those former UFC champions, Affliction would have a great case to force a bout between their man Fedor and whatever UFC Heavyweight is holding the title at the time.  If the UFC doesn’t agree to the fight, then it brings to question the validity of their Heavyweight “world” title and diminishes their ability to headline PPV events featuring Heavyweight matches.

It’s hard to tell how it will all shake out, but the stage is certainly set in favour of fighters being able to significantly increase their compensation and secure long term contracts.  As the sport grows, it is the nature of the beast, and the Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz issues are symptomatic of the transformation of MMA from back alley sideshow to mainstream professional sport. 

Thank god there are plenty of great fights to distract from legal issues and mind numbing contractual debates that are ramping up these days.  

 (Image: Round5mma.com)

Despite the recent challenges that Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson has been dealing with, the UFC and in particular Dana White has been quick to come to the former Light Heavyweight Champion’s defense.   Although Rampage was arrested after living up to his MMA nickname and banging into a few vehicles while evading the police,  Dana White has been quick to back his man, telling everyone who will listen, the real reason for Jackson’s erratic behaviour.

As reported on Sportsnet.ca, White brought Jackson up to the podium at a press conference for UFC 87 and proceeded to tell the story again;

“Rampage lost the fight to Forrest (Griffin),” White explained. “He hung out in Vegas for a week. He was hanging out by the pool and he was fasting. He wasn’t drinking (alcohol) and he wasn’t eating. He was drinking energy drinks and you saw what happened on TV and the problems that he had.”

“They took him in for psychiatric evaluation for 72 hours, and what they came back with, was that there was nothing wrong with him mentally, it was physically,” White said. “He was exhausted. Severe dehydration and that caused something called delirium.”

“Apparently they tell us he is healthy”, said a smiling White. “He is healthy, mentally and physically and will back in the UFC soon.”

So obviously, the UFC is looking to keep Jackson around and for an organization as fickle as the UFC, that is no small gesture.  Bad press is the last thing Dana White wants these days and for him to turn the other cheek on this one is just huge.   It may be based on a personal relationship bordering on friendship, but certainly has to do a lot with retaining talent in the organization.  Jackson, regardless of this recent trouble, is a huge draw for the PPV crowd and with the pressure from rival organizations like Affliction who would love to snap up a marquee fighter like Jackson, it really just boils down to business sense.

No matter what, it’s good news that Jackson will remain with the UFC.  He is a great character and a serious fighter with a lot of career left in the tank.   I think he will obviously need to face the music from a legal perspective, but certainly look forward to his return in the Octagon.

(Photos:Sherdog.com)

It’s not official yet, but the rumor mill is buzzing with the new that the UFC has scrambled to put together a July 19th Fight Night event to counter the Affliction PPV debut scheduled for the same night.  As noted on Sherdog.com, the fights will be less than conventional due to the time constraints, but they will be interesting … and free to boot.

 The tentative card will have a main event featuring Middleweight Champion extraordinaire, Anderson “The Spider” Silva Vs. James “The Sandman” Irvin in a Light Heavyweight showdown.  Irvin brings plenty of punching power, although that seems to be a recipe for disaster based on Silva’s past opponents who chose to stand with him.

Value adds include:

 Brandon Vera fighting a 205lbs as well, in a quick turnaround following his sketchy loss due to referee stoppage in his UFC 85 bout against Fabricio Werdum.  His opponent was originally rumored to be Wanderlei Silva although that deal apparently fell through and now he will face IFL standout Andy Reese who holds a 7-1 pro record.

Cain Valesquez and Jake O’Brien are also scheduled to meet as per an MMAJunkie.com posted rumor.

So, certainly a few more fights to be announced for this one.  It is an interesting move and to me at least, shows that the UFC is somewhat concerned with the pressure that Affliction is applying with this event.  With the UFC event airing for free on SpikeTV, the UFC should win out with viewers in real time, although I expect that many fans will purchase the Affliction event as well. 

The UFC move should sting Affliction, but with options to purchase and watch later, the Affliction event should still draw a respectable crowd…. or maybe I will tape the UFC event… ?  It’s nice to have options, and that’s what Affliction is banking on after all.

Affliction has taken a few more steps towards becoming a real MMA promotion powerhouse this week.  Most of the news was leaked as rumors spread across the Internet over the past few day, but today everything became “official”

Donald Trump has become a financial partner with Affliction, providing some additional financial and reputational clout. The flashy money man has become an American icon over the years and his business savvy and marketing success can only mean good things for Affliction.

Affliction Management, including Trump, confirmed their relationship this afternoon and took the opportunity to announce the signing of former UFC Heavyweight champion Andre Arlovski.  The departure of Arlovski was pretty much inevitable, although it isn’t entirely clear why the UFC didn’t take the necessary measures to lock the “Pitbull” into  another contract with their organization.  Arlovski has all kinds of personality and plenty of skill.  He could be a number one contender in the UFC today if not for contract negotiations that sidelined him the better part of a year.

A post on The Fight Network confirmed that Arlovski’s first bout will be against Ben Rothwell on the July 19th “Banned” card which features a main event (or Maine event)  between Tim Sylvia and Fedor Emelianenko.

The article also quoted Trump discussing another former UFC Champion, Tito Ortiz, who left the UFC with a well publicized history of bad blood between him and UFC President, Dana White,

“We already have many, many great fighters, but we’ll be asking Tito to come along.”

The news about Tito isn’t very surprising considering his recent Celebrity Apprentice experience with Trump. In fact, the addition of Trump to the mix and the sense that he is a legitimate business mogul means that we can probably expect to see a number of quality fighters signing up to compete with Affliction.

So… lot’s of development for Affliction and it all is positive in terms of them positioning themselves as a true competitor to the UFC.  More to come in the next few weeks for sure…

Afflcition “Banned” will take place July 19th at the Honda Centre in Anaheim, CA

The current fight card is:

• Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia
• Ben Rothwell vs. Andrei Arlovski
• Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo
• Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Negao
• Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs. Mike Whitehead
• Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Paul Buentello
• Mark Hominick vs. Savant Young
• Justin Levens vs. Ray Lazama
• Mike Pyle vs. Brett Cooper
• J.J. Ambrose vs. Patrick Speight

For more details, ceck out the official site for the Affliction “Banned” Event.