RANDY COUTURE TURNS DOWN TITLE DEFENSE

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Couture Turns Down Nogueira Fight
Published 12/3/2007 by Michael Rome <info@bloodyelbow.com> at Bloody Elbow
MMA Weekly has an interview with Randy confirming the rumors. In a meeting with Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White last Tuesday, current heavyweight champion Randy Couture turned down a proposed title defense against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 81 on Feb. 2, 2008. There was also some fence mending to be done at the meeting. Following ...

Randy "The Can" Couture Officially Ducks Big Nog
Published 12/3/2007 by Greg Clark at MMA Fever - Are you down with the sickness?
... Randy declined the bout against who most forsee as the future Heavyweight Champion, Minotauro Nogueira. Seriously folks, did you buy into the Couture hype thinking he was the best in the world because he won by Unanimous Decision against a crippled Tim Sylvia and TKO'ed a relative nobody who's claim to fame was a Right High Kick to the Left High Kick master in Mirko Cro Cop? Fedor would have put Couture in a coma. From MMAWeekly who broke this story about a 16-8 Can Who Quit. ====================================== In a meeting with Ultimate ...

Couture Rejects Offer To Defend Title; Opens The Door For Nogueira vs. Sylvia at UFC 81
Published 12/3/2007 by MMA Movement at MMA MOVEMENT
Randy “the Natural” Couture has turned down an offer to defend his UFC Heavyweight crown against Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira on February 2, 2008 at UFC 81. Couture revealed to MMAWeekly today, that he was presented the offer last Tuesday, when he met up with UFC president Dana White for a meeting. According to Randy, his latest encounter with Dana served as an opportunity to patch things up. Since resigning from the UFC, Couture had gotten into a war of words with White through the media. However, that is all behind them now. As Randy explains: “We’ve cleared the air, and hopefully we’ll move forward with some sort of relationship. I’ve got a lot of ...

Randy Couture turns down title defense against Minotauro Nogueira
Published 12/4/2007 by Adam Morgan at Five Ounces of Pain
Randy Couture has turned down the offer to defend his title against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 81 but still would like to continue to work with the UFC in other capacities according to MMA Weekly: In a meeting with Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White last Tuesday, current heavyweight champion Randy Couture turned down a proposed title defense against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 81 on Feb. 2, 2008. “We’ve cleared the air, and hopefully we’ll move forward with some sort of relationship,” Couture said. “I’ve got a lot of fighters and a lot of ...

Couture Turns Down Title Bout, Mends Relationship With The UFC
Published 12/4/2007 by Kris Karkoski at MMAFrenzy.com
UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture has declined a title bout against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and will now likely be stripped of his title. Despite declining the match Couture sounded optimistic about continuing a relationship with the UFC in an interview with MMA Weekly: “We’ve cleared the air, and hopefully we’ll move forward with some sort of relationship. I’ve got a lot of fighters and a lot of things that hinge around mixed martial arts and the UFC as well. I want to continue to work with them and I think that they want to continue to work with me, so we’ll figure out how that happens.” The 5-time UFC ...

What's Up At Heavyweight?
Published 12/10/2007 by Michael Rome <info@bloodyelbow.com> at Bloody Elbow
About a week ago, MMA Weekly reported that Randy Couture turned down a title fight with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.  Randy clearly says as much in the piece.  As a result, everyone assumed Nogueira would be fighting Tim Sylvia for the title at UFC 81.  The UFC is yet to announce anything, and all of their TV graphics for UFC 81 simply feature Brock Lesnar v. Frank Mir. There are lots of possible explanations.  Maybe since the show is heavily rumored to be on CBS, they want to save a title fight for PPV the next month.  Maybe the Randy title situation isn't completely sorted out.  Maybe they want to focus all the marketing on a WWF ...