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Couture sounds disappointed that Fedor is off the table | read this item

Couture sounds disappointed that Fedor is off the table

August 6, 2009 � UFC Betting Staff � Jump to comments

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As MMA fans we’re certainly down about the fact that we don’t get to see Fedor Emelianenko potentially smash the UFC’s heavyweight roster but that has to be nothing compared to what 46-year-old Randy Couture is feeling. The Fedor deal with Strikeforce pretty much dashed any hopes that the two legends can ever meet in a ring or cage. Couture spoke with ESPNRadio1100 on Wednesday. His assessment of Fedor and M-1 Global turning down the UFC’s offer is pretty pragmatic:

“I don’t think it’s about money for them. It’s about continuing to build their brand of M-1 Global. To attach that to the UFC helps them tremendously. It wasn’t about the numbers that were on the table.”

Couture doesn’t agree with Dana White when he says Fedor is afraid to face the best:

“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. I’m pretty sure if it were just up to Fedor and he was calling all the shots, the fight would’ve happened a long time ago. It’s a brand he has a vested interest in so he’s going to stick with them.”

Does Fedor really know what he was actually offered by the UFC? Couture has his doubts:

“You find yourself questioning ‘well how much does he really know? What’s he being told of the situation by his representatives of the situation?’

Fedor putting his legacy at risk, has been a big topic this week. Couture isn’t about to smash the No. 1 heavyweight in the world:

“I think he’s fought a lot of top guys already in PRIDE and fought two pretty dang good guys in [Andrei] Arlovski and [Tim] Sylvia. I know as a fighter he wants to fight the best guys. There’s a busniess decision that plays into that. He’s doing the best he can.”

Fedor is likely to face Brett Rogers in the fall while Couture is slated to fight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira later this month in Portland at UFC 103. We may find out more today about Fedor’s future during a Strikeforce press conference at 2 p.m. ET.

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