The strained relationship between the Ultimate Fighting Championship and its heavyweight champion Randy Couture has taken another bad turn -- directly into a Las Vegas courtroom.

Lawyers for Zuffa, LLC, the UFC's parent company, on Monday filed suit in Clark County District Court, alleging chiefly that Couture's comments about the UFC and its senior management caused the business irreparable damage and that he is in breach of the contract he signed with the company in December 2006.

"We are alleging numerous intentional torts, which have caused Zuffa and the UFC significant harm," attorney Donald J. Campbell said. "Based upon that harm we are seeking to address these matters before a court of law."

The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $10,000 and states that the amount of both compensatory and punitive damages would be proven at trial. It also seeks an injunction restraining Couture from participating in any way in any promotion competing against the UFC.

The lawsuit is the latest episode of discord between Couture and UFC President Dana White, who said he has considered Couture a friend for eight years.

"What's really tough for me, to be honest, is we have been friends for a very long time," White said. "The hard part is that he is not living up to his obligations. Captain America is not keeping his word."

Couture is listed as the UFC heavyweight champion, even though the fighter and organization have been engaged in a public dispute that included his resignation from the company. An interim title match has been scheduled.

The tense relationship between Couture and the UFC, namely White and co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta, became public on Oct. 11 when Couture held a news conference at his Las Vegas gym. Couture detailed his frustrations with the company and announced he was resigning from the UFC.

Couture claimed Fertitta and White had lied to him; that the company paid "off-the-books" bonuses to fighters; that he never was paid a signing bonus that had been negotiated in his December 2006 contract; and that the company treated many of its athletes poorly.

Fertitta and White held their own news conference the following week, during which they addressed Couture's allegations and produced copies of checks cashed by Couture, including the signing bonus. The checks showed the heavyweight to be making much more money than he had claimed.

In the months since, the battle of words has continued and the sides have been unable to work things out.

"I expect Randy to honor the obligations in his contract that he signed (a year ago). I tried to resolve it by talking to this guy that I've had a relationship with for eight years and was unsuccessful," White said. "Now this thing's in the hands of the justice system."

Monday's lawsuit claims Couture's negative statements about the company constituted "injurious falsehood and trade disparagement," that has led to significant financial losses for the UFC.

The lawsuit also alleges conspiracy, stating that several unnamed parties to be identified at a later date worked with Couture to intentionally inflict harm on the UFC.

According to the lawsuit, Couture is also in breach of a stipulation that prohibits him from engaging in "direct or indirect competition" with the UFC for a period of 12 months following the termination of his contract.

Thus, Couture's sponsorship and promotion of a team in the International Fight League would be in direct violation of the stipulation. Currently, the IFL's Web site lists Couture's Xtreme Couture team taking on Mario Sperry's World Class Fight Center at the IFL's Feb. 29 card at the Orleans Arena.

A message left on Couture's cell phone on Monday was not returned.


http://www.lvrj.com/sports/13794082.html

typical Dana White BS, "Hey Randy, come back and fight for us again and we'll drop the lawsuit, you have my word on that"

typical Dana White BS, "Hey Randy, come back and fight for us again and we'll drop the lawsuit, you have my word on that"

Yeah, typical Dana BS for holding Couture to the agreement laid out in his contract.

Whoever is in Randy's head needs to get out of it, before he goes broke.


Sidenote: I have a feeling Randy's going to run into some trouble with the tax man in about 4-5 months from now.

Yeah, typical Dana BS for holding Couture to the agreement laid out in his contract.

Whoever is in Randy's head needs to get out of it, before he goes broke.


Sidenote: I have a feeling Randy's going to run into some trouble with the tax man in about 4-5 months from now.

Even if you accept that Couture should honour his UFC contract, which I don't, who is Dana White trying to kid when he says that Couture's comments have cost UFC significant money?

Im really getting tired of Dana White.

Yeah, typical Dana BS for holding Couture to the agreement laid out in his contract.

Whoever is in Randy's head needs to get out of it, before he goes broke.


Sidenote: I have a feeling Randy's going to run into some trouble with the tax man in about 4-5 months from now.
So you are saying you have read Couture's contract in full and he is clearly in breach? Perhaps you'd like to copy and paste it, we'd all love to see it.

Randy is a millionaire who never needs to fight again, he aint going broke anytime soon.

Yeah, typical Dana BS for holding Couture to the agreement laid out in his contract.

Whoever is in Randy's head needs to get out of it, before he goes broke.


Sidenote: I have a feeling Randy's going to run into some trouble with the tax man in about 4-5 months from now.

Man, why do **** like you care so much about contract stipulations?

Yeah, we all know he signed the contract.
Yeah, we all know he breached the contract.

But that doesn't stop me from wanting Fedor - Randy. And that doesn't stop me from wanting to stick a screwdriver up Dana's ass.

ya dig?

Even if you accept that Couture should honour his UFC contract, which I don't, who is Dana White trying to kid when he says that Couture's comments have cost UFC significant money?

Well, he did have to call multiple press conferences, cancel any Heavy Weight title matches with Couture, hire a damage control crew, create a conference to inform all of the fighters' under contract with the UFC what to expect when they get fame, and he hired a team of lawyers to meticulously comb through the contractual wordings.

I'm no expert, but just from an observing point of view, I'd say that's a lot of time and money. Especially hiring a team of lawyers that specialize in contractual disputes.

So you are saying you have read Couture's contract in full and he is clearly in breach? Perhaps you'd like to copy and paste it, we'd all love to see it.

Randy is a millionaire who never needs to fight again, he aint going broke anytime soon.

I didn't notice the spot where I said I read Couture's contract, did you?

Man, why do **** like you care so much about contract stipulations? I'll ignore your 5 cent attempt at an insult there. I don't really care that much about stipulations, however, knowing certain stipulations will give you insight into the kind of people he has around him.

For instance, if it clearly says on his paychecks that they are the signing bonuses, and he's denying that he actually received them. Then his credibility, and his accountant's credibility comes into play. If his contract clearly states that it is exclusive to the promotion and that he will be in breach of that contract if he fights anywhere else, then you really have to call into question his financial "knowhow" because of him willfully creating a multi-million dollar lawsuit against himself. And if his wife is his accountant and the one giving him advice to willfully generate a lawsuit against himself, then his financial status is most likely, very volatile to say the least. And I'd say he's on the verge of being financially Sodomized.

Yeah, we all know he signed the contract.
Yeah, we all know he breached the contract.

But that doesn't stop me from wanting Fedor - Randy. And that doesn't stop me from wanting to stick a screwdriver up Dana's ass.

ya dig?
Yes, we all want Randy-Fedor. That's not an issue. This thread wasn't about that.

Good move by Dana White, who is a great business man.

UFC's automatic contract extensions suck.

Couture should go back to the UFC and take a dive against some bum like Lesnar (Brock did the exact same thing in WWE, broke his contract) who they want to hype up. I just want to see Randy vs Fedor.

Also Dana White isn't the businessman, the Fertittas are. Dana is just a puppet who lies and talks trash.

"Fedor is the best HW in the world and we will do anything to get him"
"Fedor is overrated and not even in the top 10, why would we try to get him? Randy would kick his ass."
"Randy is my friend."
"Randy is a f***in idiot and a liar."
"We will try to get world's best talent in the UFC"
"Who the f*** cares about Lindland or Barnett? Nobody."

Couture claimed Fertitta and White had lied to him; that the company paid "off-the-books" bonuses to fighters; that he never was paid a signing bonus that had been negotiated in his December 2006 contract; and that the company treated many of its athletes poorly.

Fertitta and White held their own news conference the following week, during which they addressed Couture's allegations and produced copies of checks cashed by Couture, including the signing bonus. The checks showed the heavyweight to be making much more money than he had claimed.


This part makes the story very interesting!!

Couture claimed Fertitta and White had lied to him; that the company paid "off-the-books" bonuses to fighters; that he never was paid a signing bonus that had been negotiated in his December 2006 contract; and that the company treated many of its athletes poorly.

Fertitta and White held their own news conference the following week, during which they addressed Couture's allegations and produced copies of checks cashed by Couture, including the signing bonus. The checks showed the heavyweight to be making much more money than he had claimed.


This part makes the story very interesting!!

Well, he did have to call multiple press conferences, cancel any Heavy Weight title matches with Couture, hire a damage control crew, create a conference to inform all of the fighters' under contract with the UFC what to expect when they get fame, and he hired a team of lawyers to meticulously comb through the contractual wordings.

I'm no expert, but just from an observing point of view, I'd say that's a lot of time and money. Especially hiring a team of lawyers that specialize in contractual disputes.

There are no heavyweight title matches with Couture. The fact that Dana White is still calling Couture heavyweight champ tells you all you need to know about Dana White. I have no idea how press conferences cost Dana White money because I presume they are held at a private location as opposed to a rented one. I also don't know how Couture is to blame for UFC offering their fighters advice.

White has manufactured this situation so to try and blame it all on Randy Couture is laughable and will do his reputation and the UFC's far more damage than any comments made by Couture.

Dana White is the man!

I didn't notice the spot where I said I read Couture's contract, did you?
No but I did notice you post and i quote:

"Yeah, typical Dana BS for holding Couture to the agreement laid out in his contract"

this would lead me to believe that you know what is contained within the contract and that Couture has indeed breached it, but we both know that is not the case.

Your sarcasm detector is broken dude. Peace

No but I did notice you post and i quote:

"Yeah, typical Dana BS for holding Couture to the agreement laid out in his contract"

this would lead me to believe that you know what is contained within the contract and that Couture has indeed breached it, but we both know that is not the case.

Your sarcasm detector is broken dude. Peace

Correct. ^_^b' So you can figure out when something is directly inferred. It's a shame that you didn't use that ability to actually analyze the whole exclusive contract situation. You would have noticed these things: that Dana would keep bringing up the fact that he's going to keep holding couture to the exclusivity clause (which can be strongly inferred) in his contract. If such a clause did not exist, Dana would be beyond a retard right now. It would also make Shonie Carter's statements about being bound to the UFC's payroll, and not being able to fight anywhere else, a very pointless statement. That goes along with the near half dozen other fighter's that have commented about being bound to the UFC. Besides, having an exclusivity clause in each fighter's contract is just about as basic as you can get.


You're not an idiot, you're a complete stupid ass who thinks he's cleaver. Props.

Correct. ^_^b' So you can figure out when something is directly inferred. It's a shame that you didn't use that ability to actually analyze the whole exclusive contract situation. You would have noticed these things: that Dana would keep bringing up the fact that he's going to keep holding couture to the exclusivity clause (which can be strongly inferred) in his contract. If such a clause did not exist, Dana would be beyond a retard right now. It would also make Shonie Carter's statements about being bound to the UFC's payroll, and not being able to fight anywhere else, a very pointless statement. That goes along with the near half dozen other fighter's that have commented about being bound to the UFC. Besides, having an exclusivity clause in each fighter's contract is just about as basic as you can get.


You're not an idiot, you're a complete stupid ass who thinks he's cleaver. Props.
You're not making any sense, because Couture hasn't signed to fight anywhere else, hence the exclusive contract deal is irrelevant, he resigned from the UFC and refuses to fight there. I'm not trying to be a smart ass but could you explain how he has breached his contract by resigning from the UFC because I just don't see it, its not like he has signed with any rival org.

Lighten up dude, its a discussion forum meant for a bit of fun, no need to get so riled up. Take it easy.

You're not an idiot, you're a complete stupid ass who thinks he's cleaver. Props.

Oops .

You're not making any sense, because Couture hasn't signed to fight anywhere else, hence the exclusive contract deal is irrelevant, he resigned from the UFC and refuses to fight there. I'm not trying to be a smart ass but could you explain how he has breached his contract by resigning from the UFC because I just don't see it, its not like he has signed with any rival org.

Lighten up dude, its a discussion forum meant for a bit of fun, no need to get so riled up. Take it easy.

The article from the Las Vegas Review Journal also references the upcoming appearance by Couture’s Xtreme Couture team, which will compete for the International Fight League on Feb. 29 in Las Vegas at the Orleans Arena, as a direct violation of the non-compete portion of Couture’s contract. http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=5467&zoneid=13

Bad for the sport.

E

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=5467&zoneid=13
Again how is Couture competing in a rival org by allowing fighters from his team to fight in the IFL when he is not fighting himself? Couture isn't fighting, members of his fight team are, this is a stretch by the UFC at best IMO.

You know that Ken Shamrock did exactly the same thing whilst under contract in the UFC and they never went after him? They terminated his contract and now he is suing them.