"I'll say my peace on Randy Couture, and after today, I'll never mention him again. The bottom-line is this: When that whole thing went down with Randy years ago, we weren't on the best of terms. Now, before that happened, Randy Couture was on the Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell deal. He was getting a salary, he was in with the company, he was one of those guys. Then he tries to do all this stuff, pull all this bullshit with Affliction, loses and comes back. So, it took me a long time to warm up to him. His lawyer, who I can't stand, calling our lawyer every day, saying, 'We want to come back, we want that job again, we want to work for the UFC,' and all this stuff. Finally, I just say, 'yes,' and give him the FOX deal. He doesn't even finish his contract -- he's got one more fight left -- and he bails on the contract to go do this. Randy Couture has this 'Captain America' image and stuff like that, but he is not a good guy. He has never been a good guy. And I'm actually, and I mean this, I couldn't mean it anymore: I am happy that he went there. I'm happy he is there. I never have to deal with Randy Couture ever again.... Talk to 99 percent of the people who know him and you'll see [he's not what people perceive him to be]."
-- Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture will most likely fit right in with the liars/clowns at Bellator/Spike TV because, according to Dana White, perception is not reality when it comes to "Captain America." White apparently wasn't being sarcastic when he revealed that he "loved" hearing that "The Natural" signed a deal with the competition to help buoy its upcoming mixed martial arts (MMA) reality series, serving as coach and assuming other responsibilities. Couture, a UFC Hall of Fame inductee, is considered a cornerstone of the promotion, one of the few stars -- along with Hughes and Liddell -- who helped build it into the monster that it is today. However, unlike Hughes and Liddell, Couture has often dipped his toes in competing endeavors such as signing deals with Affliction MMA and EA Sports, which drew the ire of White and Co., landing him in an expensive and likely very extensive legal fight. Couture eventually relented and returned to the UFC, losing his Heavyweight title to Brock Lesnar and then competing five more times inside the Octagon before retiring from the sport. He segued into a career as a broadcaster on FUEL TV, getting hooked up with post-UFC jobs just like Hughes and Liddell after their MMA careers ended, but he apparently thought (again) that the grass was greener elsewhere. Couture might be right, but if history is any indication, he might have just burned a very important bridge for the third and final time. Contribute the maximum into that 401K while you can, Randy.
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