Randy Couture Resigns

"Captain America" Randy "The Natural" Couture 16-8 and the current UFC Heavyweight Champion has resigned from the Zuffa run company. Randy has not retired, rather he is basically quitting the UFC company and all his ties with them. Couture has given up his Heavyweight Title, will no longer do any commentating for the UFC, and wants no association with the company what so ever! How did one of the most revered fighters of all time come to this decision, and what will the future hold for this current Hall Of Famer.

Apparently, Mr. Couture has been unhappy with the UFC and specifically Dana White for quite some time. In his own words, Randy said Thursday, "The motivation for the decision is two-fold," he continued. "I know Fedor (Emelianenko) just signed with another organization and that's the only real fight that makes sense for me at 44 years old as the heavyweight champion of the UFC. That's the fight I wanted and if that can't happen it doesn't make sense for me to compete with all these other guys. And then obviously that's not going to happen now. And, two, I'm tired of being taken advantage of, played as the nice guy and basically swimming against the current with the management of the UFC. I have a lot of other things going on in my life that I'm doing just fine with. I don't need the problems. I don't feel like I get the respect I deserve from the organization, and that's motivation No. 2 for the letter of resignation that was sent today."

He went on to say, "I think the final straw for me was meeting with Dana and Lorenzo (Fertitta, UFC co-owner) where they claimed I was the No. 2 paid athlete in the organization, which I know is a bold-faced lie," Couture said. Polling other athletes, said Couture, he learned that his compensation -- some $250,000 a fight with pay-per-view bonuses, according to the Couture camp -- was nowhere near what other top UFC fighters were making.

"All us athletes are all pretty tightly intertwined," he said. "You hear what other guys were paid signing bonuses and what other guys were paid on the record and off the record with bonuses. I've heard Chuck's numbers. Tito's numbers. Hughes' numbers. Quinton's numbers. Cro Cop, Wanderlei. I heard what they were offering Fedor, and it's insulting."

The Natural has a couple of movies coming out next year and was also upset with the UFC using his "likeness" for upcoming projects without compensation. He is expanding his successful Xtreme Couture gym into chains, and has left the door open to still fighting Fedor Emelianenko. Though Dana White claims he still owns the contract to Randy and will not let him fight anywhere else, Randy's agents will have something to say about it, and my guess is there is a loophole somewhere that will allow us to see Randy Couture sign with M-1 Mix Fight to allow us our dream matchup.

To reiterate, Randy has not retired, but simply quit the UFC, and is seeking a way to still fight Fedor and send a big message to Zuffa about how they treat their fighters. This is not the first time a UFC Champion has walked away from the company (BJ Penn, Frank Shamrock, Josh Barnett) while holding a title, but never has such a high profile widely respected and adored fighter stepped away in such a dramatic fashion.