Randy Couture: I’m happily retired, but I want to see where Fedor goes

Randy Couture

At one time, Randy Couture vs. Fedor Emelianenko was the fight to make in the heavyweight division. It was the dream matchup to make, a meeting of two titans who ruled over separate promotions.

A 2008 picture of the two faced off was as close as the pair got to fighting. Couture was unable to free himself from his UFC contract, and Emelianenko’s promotional home, Affliction, went under. Both retired from the sport, and the dream died.

But now that Emelianenko has come out of retirement, people want to know whether it could come true. Couture knows this, because people keep asking.

“When Fedor threw his hat back in the ring and decided he wants to compete some more, we’re all kind of interested in seeing where he gets signed and what that competition is going to look like,” Couture told MMAjunkie Radio. “And having chased that fight for a while with Zuffa years ago while we were both at the top of our game, I got asked.

“I was sitting next to (Bellator President) Scott Coker in New York City getting ready for (Bellator 140) when that happened. I’ve been asked that question a lot over the last couple months.”

It just so happened that when MMAjunkie Radio asked the question, Couture was sitting next to Emelianenko in advance of a Bellator press conference. The two eventually reprised their faceoff, with Couture playing up the competitive rivalry by lunging in jest at Emelianenko.

All fun aside, though, “The Natural” doesn’t sound overly motivated to start fighting again.

“I’ve been pretty happily retired for four over years now, enjoying making more movies and getting to play more characters on TV, and getting three or four or five takes in those fight scenes rather than what MMA entails,” he said. “It’s certainly an intriguing question.”

But it’s one that the world probably will have to answer without him.

“It’s good to see (Emelianenko); I haven’t seen him in a number of years since he retired,” Couture said. “It would be interesting to see what happens. This sport definitely has a lot of things going on and this brand is certainly shaking things up in the MMA world.”

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