UFC officially announces the return of Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar at UFC 91

While reported rumors had been running rampant in recent days, UFC President Dana White made it official on Tuesday afternoon that the promotion’s estrange heavyweight champion Randy Couture has re-signed with the promotion.

Calling it the “biggest fight in UFC history,” White also announced that Couture will be defending his heavyweight title vs. Brock Lesnar in his return on Saturday, Nov. 15 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Both Couture and White confirmed that all legal issues between all parties have been resolved and Couture is returning to the UFC under terms of a new agreement. When asked whether Couture would fight for the UFC after UFC 91, White said Couture would remain with the promotion regardless or whether he beats Lesnar.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will remain the UFC interim heavyweight champion and will defend his title vs. Frank Mir in December. According to White, the winner of Nogueira vs. Mir will fight the winner of Couture vs. Lesnar to determine an undisputed heavyweight champion in what he dubbed as a tournament.

White was asked about a possible fight for Couture against Fedor Emelianenko but White indicated that while the promotion was interested in making it happen, Emelianenko already has an existing contract that they will not attempt to interfere with.

Couture resigned from the UFC last Oct. 12 over claims that he had not been treated by the company with respect while also expressing frustration with the promotion’s inability to make a match happen between he and Emelianenko, the former PRIDE heavyweight champion.

The months that proceeded Couture’s departure from the UFC saw ill will expressed publicly from both sides and resulted in multiple lawsuits disputing the language of Couture’s contract with the promotion.


UFC Media Conference Call Coverage

4:12pm ET — Dana White has announced that UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture will take on Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 on November 15th in Las Vegas. Both Couture and Lesnar are on the call.

4:13pm ET — Win or lose, Couture will remain in the UFC.

4:13pm ET — The UFC will do “everything in their power” to get Couture vs. Emelianenko booked, but says they must work it out with Affliction.

4:15pm ET — The fight will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, not in Portland, Oregon as expected. White says that the UFC will still be coming to Portland at some point but that the November 15th date was just rumors.

4:17pm ET — Nogueira and Mir will still fight at UFC 92 for the interim heavyweight title then the winners of both bouts will unify the titles in early-2009.

4:18pm ET — The UFC and Couture has settled their legal dispute as part of their agreement to have Couture return to the octagon.

4:19pm ET — Couture says he is not yet ready for Lesnar but will analyze his opponent and train accordingly.

4:20pm ET — Lesnar says heavyweight championship shot a “great opportunity”.

4:21pm ET — Dana White says they are happy to resolve issues and Couture adds that both sides had to make compromises to make things work. White says all he cares about is that Couture is “back and he’s fighting”. They have cleared the air and are “trying to move forward”.

4:23pm ET — White says Lesnar looked “damn good” in his fight against Heath Herring and that he was determined to be the top contender as fans had little interest in seeing Lesnar fight Cheick Kongo.

4:24pm ET — Dana White says Couture-Lesnar will be “biggest fight in UFC history

4:25pm ET — Lesnar “honored” to get into the octagon with Randy.

4:26pm ET — Couture says he weighs 225 pounds at present and will weigh 225 pounds for the fight. Says he can overcome the weigh difference with Lesnar.

4:27pm ET — Couture says he’d be okay walking away now in terms of his legacy but that he’s “fighting because he loves to fight” and he wants to take top heavyweight ranking away from Emelianenko.

4:28pm ET — White says UFC will offer Emelianenko a “fair deal”. Says contract of Emelianenko with Affliction another “obstacle” to Couture-Emelianenko happening.

4:33pm ET — White says UFC 91 will do over a million PPV buys.

4:34pm ET — Dana says he would be “horrified” if Affliction survives until January.

4:35pm ET — Couture says he’d rather fight Emelianenko in November but that they’re “on the right road”.

4:36pm ET — White calls upcoming heavyweight championship fights a “tournament”.

4:40pm ET — White says UFC heavyweight division looking “pretty damn good” now.

4:41pm ET – Couture says there’s no way he can overlook someone as big as Lesnar and that he will take him “very, very seriously”.

4:44pm ET — White says Affliction is losing loads of money and that when you’re losing the kind of money Affliction’s losing you have to “sell a lot of t-shirts”.

4:49pm ET — White says it drives him “insane” when people call Fedor the best pound-for-pound fight in the world because he hasn’t fought top competition. White says he wants to see if Emelianenko is the best and White says he has to come to the UFC to fight the best.

4:52pm ET — Lesnar says he doesn’t “give a shit” about Fedor.

4:53pm ET — Lesnar says it’s tough to succeed in MMA without a solid wrestling base.

4:55pm ET — White says “UFC Countdown” for Couture-Lesnar will be a two or three part series on Spike TV.

4:56pm ET — Couture says he believes his Nevada fighting license is still current but White says the UFC would buy him one if it wasn’t.

4:58pm ET — White says other promotions can have any fighters he cuts.

4:59pm ET — White says Fabricio Werdum is also in the heavyweight title mix.

5:00pm ET — Lesnar says he cuts 15 pounds to get down to the 265 pound heavyweight limit.

5:01pm ET — Couture will be attending UFC 88 on Saturday with White in Atlanta.

5:02pm ET — PPV projections are 1-1.5 million buys, but White is hesitant on saying it will bear De La Hoya-Pacquiao.

5:02pm ET — Couture says deal is a new, three-fight contract replacing the previous contract which had two bouts remaining.

5:03pm ET — White says he would not sign Fedor to a one-fight deal and that he would have to sign a multiple-fight contract in order to fight in the UFC for the heavyweight title.

5:04pm ET — White says no one was cheated by Couture coming back, including Frank Mir.

5:05pm ET — Couture says he wishes things could have gone better in the last year with the UFC.

5:07pm ET — Lesnar says he’s not frustrated about Fedor talk, but that he’s ecstatic about fight against Couture and feels like he’s wasting time because everyone’s talking about Fedor.

5:08pm ET — White says Fedor is”completely irrelevant” and that everyone just wants to talk about fighters not in the UFC.

5:10pm ET — White says dispute with Randy Couture is “done” but says other disputes, including one with HDNet, may continue.

5:12pm ET — Lesnar says he’s never declined a fight and that he puts himself at risk with matchups and hopes the risk pays off with victories over good opponents.

5:15pm ET — Couture says HDNet owner Mark Cuban not disappointed in his choice to return to the UFC but that he hopes to get more UFC access for HDNet.