Couture (left) and Fedor (right), a duel was close to happening, but it ran into legal issues. Photo: Disclosure
For many years, Fedor Emelianenko and Randy Couture were the biggest names in MMA, respectively, in Japanese and North American events. Today, almost a decade after the duo's peak, a duel between them can finally get off the ground, at least if it depends on Couture.
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In an interview with the North American magazine “Sports Illustrated”, Couture, who is currently 52 years old and has been retired from MMA since April 2011, when he was knocked out by Lyoto Machida at UFC 129, he said he would think long and hard about a duel against Emelianenko, who recently announced his return to the ring.
“Obviously this fight at our peak would be a great battle at that time. Whether or not I would be willing to fight him at 52 years old, coming out of retirement, after four years of working on everything else in my life, I don't know. It would be something I would think about intensely. You can't say no. I don’t think there is anything absolute in the world”, declared the veteran.
In 2009, a duel between Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko it almost happened, with the North American even breaking his contract with the UFC to face the Russian in the now defunct “Affliction” event. However, an intense and drawn-out legal battle ended up preventing the historic confrontation from taking place.
Randy Couture, one of only two athletes in history to win belts in two Ultimate categories, ended his MMA career with a record of 19 wins and eleven losses. Already Fedor Emelianenko He has a professional record of 34 wins, four losses and one unsuccessful fight. The “Last Emperor” hasn’t fought since June 2012, when he knocked out Brazilian Pedro Rizzo.
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