| Date: 10/11 | 3:10 PM |
| Views: 2,542 | |
This just in from www.MMAJunkie.com - current UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture has reportedly decided to walk away from the UFC and the two fights remaining on his current deal. This news is confirmed by Loretta Hunt at The Fight Network website, who indicate that Couture delivered his resignation with a letter to UFC President Dana White. Here's a quote from Couture: "I appreciate this opportunity the sport of MMA and the UFC has given me. However, I’m tired of swimming upstream at this stage with the management of the UFC. It only makes sense at this point in my career to fight Fedor Emelianenko, and since he’s now signed with another organization, I feel like it’s time to resign and focus on my other endeavors." Obviously this has huge implications for UFC's Heavyweight division, as Couture will be stripped of the title and they will have no champion, and it's also a huge blow to UFC as a whole as Couture is one of their most popular and beloved fighters.
Dana White has not wasted any time posting a response on the UFC website. Here's what he has to say.
“I’m not surprised at all by Randy’s decision. I talked to Randy several weeks ago and he said that if he couldn’t fight Fedor, then he has nothing left to prove in the sport of mixed martial arts. He has been doing a lot of acting, and I know he is in South Africa right now filming a movie. I think it’s a great move for Randy’s acting career to retire from fighting while he is on top. As we all know, Randy retired before. The landscape in MMA changes every day. So when he is ready to come out of retirement again, he is still under contract with me, and I’m ready to promote him.”
We'll continue to bring you more as this story develops.