As if the situation between Randy Couture and the UFC couldn't get any messier it just did.
Mark Cuban and HDNet Fights filed a lawsuit against Zuffa and the UFC on Wednesday in a
Dallas district court regarding the promotional contract status of Randy Couture, according to Sherdog.com.
The lawsuit seeks "declaratory relief -- a ruling on when Couture's promotional contract expires." Oddly, the lawsuit actually names both Couture and Zuffa as co-defendants.
The employment contract between Couture and Zuffa -- the part that guaranteed four fights -- has been the crux of Zuffa's complaint against Couture in Nevada.
Couture has stated that he believes his contract expires 18 months from when it was signed, which would be October 2008. UFC President Dana White and the UFC still maintain that "The Natural" owes them two fights.
The lawsuit from HDNet Fights concerns the promotional portion of the contract -- a portion that has not been made available in public court as of yet. Essentially, Cuban wants a judge to interpret the contract and issue an official ruling on what it actually means.
Up until now, again, it has been a he said-she said in terms of how to interpret the employment contract.
Couture believes that by resigning from Zuffa and UFC he terminated the employment (fights) portion of his contract and only has the promotional and non-compete portion remaining, which expire in October.
Zuffa's position is that Couture can void the two remaining fights on his contract only if he is completely retired from MMA (he is not ... he has clamored for a future fight with Fedor Emelianenko).
Furthermore, Zuffa believes that he is in violation of his non-compete clause because of his perceived involvement with the International Fight League and has recently filed a lawsuit in Nevada court claiming "irreparable harm."
Regardless, a ruling in favor of HDNet Fights could open the door to a mega-fight between Couture and Fedor Emilianenko sometime this fall. In fact, the HDNet Fights lawsuit seeks a quick resolution to the matter in the hopes that Couture will be free by October so HDNet Fights can promote a Couture-Emelianenko match.
Don't hold your breath ... who knows how all of this is going to unravel.
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