"Couture's One-Man Strike Against the UFC"

By Gary Herman

Randy Couture's decision to leave the UFC will have important short-term and long-term ramifications on the UFC.

In the short-term, the UFC needs to address who is the heavyweight champion. The best way to do that would be an 8-man tournament fought over eight months to determine the new champ. The tournament should start this Saturday with Tim Sylvia vs Brandon Vera. Other guys in the tournament could be Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera, Andrei Arlovski Cheick Kongo, Gabriel Gonzaga, Mirko Cro Cop, and Fabricio Werdum (or they could be imaginative and go outside the UFC for someone like a Josh Barnett or Ben Rothwell).

By having the tournament, the UFC would establish a major star in MMA. Many of the new fans of the sport have never seen a tournament before. Imagine how much recognition someone like a Noguiera would get after winning three major matches and having three countdown shows done about him? It would quickly repair the championship. Short-term, UFC would be fine.

In the long-term, what Couture is doing is basically a one-man strike. He is walking out on the UFC over money. (I don't buy the UFC's lack of signing Fedor as the main reason - it may be in the background, but I do not believe Couture couldn't get somewhat excited about a fight with Noguiera or even a surging Vera). By money, Couture mentions the inequities between himself and the other top guys in the UFC - mainly Mirko Cro Cop and Rampage Jackson. However, the real inequity has to do with what UFC fighters are paid verses what boxers are paid.

Now, I know they are two different sports, but the main revenues from each come from PPV buys. Most PPV buys are sold on the main event. When Randy Couture fights, he is in the main event. I do not think Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquaio, or Floyd Mayweather would ever receive a check of 250k for a main event boxing match. On the contrary, the boxer's paychecks would be well in the millions.

By walking out on the UFC, Couture is basically laying down the gauntlet for himself and the rest of MMA. Couture is making the statement that the top guys need to be paid an equitable share of the PPV revenues. The question is going to be a little different though - for MMA, is it the fighters that sell the show? Or is it the letters U-F-C that sell the show?

I'm sure the answer is a little of both. Most assuredly, Dana White believes it is the UFC that sells the show while Couture thinks it is the fighter the sells the show. If Couture somehow gets his wish and fights Emelianenko is another organization, we may finally have the barometer. In actuality though, could the buys possibly exceed 100k - whereas in the UFC the fight would possibly top 1mil? I would think most hardcore fans would find the fight and order it but most mainstream fans would probably not be interested. I just couldn't see the sports bar down the street airing an EliteXC show on the big screen instead of the local sports team.

Basically, Couture and the UFC need each other, but the UFC has other mega-stars like Chuck Liddell and Jackson. Couture is a top star, but the UFC has the vehicle to make other top stars. For Couture to have long-term success with his walk-out, many other top guys would need to join him immediately (before the UFC can create new stars). Guys like Liddell, Jackson, Anderson Silva, Georges St Pierre and BJ Penn would have to drop everything and leave as well.

Short-term, UFC could benefit if they promote a huge heavyweight tournament. Long-term, Couture can only benefit if the other UFC fighters get solidly behind him - which is a very unlikely scenario. From the looks of things, the UFC will be fine in both the short-term and long-term scenarios.