UNCASVILLE, Conn. – It’s the fight that never happened – the potential matchup that prompted photo shoots and video-game covers and posters and countless what-if columns. Even the fighters themselves still lament the fact it never happened.
But could
Randy Couture
vs.
Fedor Emelianenko
actually still be a real possibility?
Granted, former UFC champ Couture (19-11) and longtime PRIDE titleholder Emelianenko (34-4) are both officially retired. Couture entered the cage for the final time more than three years ago, and Emelianenko announced his retirement following a 2012 win in his native Russia.
Scott Coker previously ran Strikeforce and lured the Russian to the U.S. for a two-year run in 2009. With Coker now running Bellator MMA – and with the Couture’s current relationship with Bellator broadcast partner Spike TV – have the stars finally aligned for one of the sport’s biggest fantasy fights to actually happen? “You know, that’s a fight I personally would love to see, but I just don’t know if it’s going to happen,” an amused Coker said after Friday’s Bellator 123 event in Connecticut.
The UFC tried to book the heavyweight fight way back in 2007. However, in what would become a theme, negotiations between the UFC and Emelianenko’s management team at M-1 Global broke down. The short-lived Affliction promotion also tried to book the super fight, but the company ceased event operations in 2009 (and Couture was tied up in a UFC contract dispute anyway).
As hard as it would have been to book the matchup while the fighters were still competing, Coker knows it’d be doubly hard now. Couture, 51, and Emelianenko, 37, seem content in retirement. Additionally, Couture is tied up in TV and film projects, and he
recently joined the Season 19 cast
of “Dancing with the Stars.”
Coker knows that cutting a rug is far more appealing than getting punched in the face.
“Randy? He’s dancing with the stars now,” Coker said with a laugh. “I mean, he’s not going to want to go fight Fedor now that he’s hanging out with some good-lookin’ girls dancing every night.
“But we’ll see him next. We’ll talk to him and see what he has to say.”
The new Bellator boss did drop one intriguing hint. While negotiating with the notoriously private Emelianenko is never an easy feat, it appears Coker has maintained his relationship the fighter’s reps, who would no doubt want a hand in co-promoting such a matchup.
“All I can say is that we’re in dialogue with M-1, but that’s all I have to say at this time about that,” Coker said.
For more on Bellator’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the
MMA Rumors
section of the site.
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Not sure how I feel about this one. It would be a nice send off for both fighters to finally get this fight, but with Couture being 51 now it seems a bit crazy. Would you like to see this fight happen?