MAD SQUABBLES EXCLUSIVE: Couture NOT training Ortiz

Even though I posted otherwise this afternoon, it turns out Randy Couture will not be headed up to Big Bear to help train Tito. I got an email this evening from Sean O'Heir, Director of Public Relations for Xtreme Coture, stating the following:

Randy Couture is not going to Big Bear to train with Tito Ortiz. Randy Couture is not training with Tito, period.

I'm not sure if Tito's just mistaken or lying, but either way, this doesn't look good for him. First the "bad blood" with Dana and now this? The plot thickens...

Randy Couture

Apparently Chuck Liddell thinks he's the toughest opponent he's ever faced. Notable quote:

East Windsor, N.J.: Who, in your opinion, has been your toughest opponent? For which of your fights are you most proud of your performance?

Chuck Liddell: I think beating Randy, the first time I beat him. He was one of the guys who could actually take me down without me making a mistake.

I watched that fight again last night. Randy utterly demolished him. The Natural looked virtually unscathed at the end of that fight. When I watched the fight the first time what struck me the most was Randy's awesome takedowns. Ditto that on Couture's fight with Ortiz. But the second time around it was Randy's mount in the third round. It was a nice high mount, deep inside Chuck's armpits. Chuck could do nothing but absorb punishment. If Rampage can get to the mount at some point in this fight, I honestly wonder if he'll be able to do the exact same thing.

Couture to help Ortiz

In an interview with Nokaut, Tito Ortiz reveals he'll be training for his fight with Rashad Evans by pairing up with Randy Couture. Notable quote:

Justin (Nokaut.com): With Randy [Couture]’s return, we might not see him back at 205 [pounds], but is that another fight you would like to see happen for you?
Tito Ortiz: I would love it, but Randy and I will probably be training for this fight with Rashad, he might come up to Big Bear for a little bit. Randy beat me, yeah, and if he stayed at 205 I would like to fight him, but he’s at Heavyweight now and he’s the champion, so there is no reason for him to be at 205. I think he is a better fighter at Heavyweight just because he can use his size against other guys and wrestling against other guys that don’t have that same style. It just comes down to having a great training partner in Couture and he’s going to help me with this fight so I am excited to train with him and I think it will really help me out and bring me to a new level with my wrestling.

Smart move on the part of Ortiz. Not only will this help sharpen Ortiz's wrestling as he prepares to fight another wrestler, but Couture is a master gameplaner. If you listen to him commentate, Couture is very adept at identifying strategy, fighter habits, and tactics. He will for sure help Ortiz train for some of Rashad's more noticable traits. Rashad trains with a master gameplaner himself in Greg Jackson, so whatever wisdom Randy imparts will not be all Ortiz needs to win. But training with an experienced, cerebral fighter like Couture - a fighter who easily bested Ortiz at his own game - will help Tito to avoid his more obvious mistakes. Couture will help sharpen his skill, help him prepare for his specific opponent, and clue Ortiz into the mistakes he should avoid making (likely some of the same ones Couture himself used to defeat Ortiz).

As a side note, I wonder what Chuck thinks about all of this.

UFC 70: Nations Collide after thoughts

1. Look out lightweights. Here comes Terry Etim.

2. Rogan is right: kidnap Cheick Kongo and lock him in a wrestling camp for 6 months. That guy is scary.

3. Arlovski is NOT that good...but he's way better than I thought.

4. Attention all wrestlers, grapplers, BJJ players and every fighter interested in taking a fight to the ground: if you're having trouble on the feet, do not try to take a fight to the ground by shooting from the outside unless you're sure you can take your opponent down that way. If your opponent has decent takedown defense and lethal combo's that can be delivered in tight quarters/breaking off from any type of clinch/trying to create distance/throwing tight strikes inside, you're going to get hit. Hard. So stop doing that.

5. Randy Couture wrote the blueprint for effective wrestling in MMA, particularly at the heavyewight division.

6. The Brits love their hometown boy, no?

7. I love the free fight card, I really do. But if you're going to show that many commercials and no undercard fights, I'd just rather pay for it to be perfectly honest.

8. Matt Serra and Matt Hughes for TUF 6? I already don't care.

9. The heavyweight landscape for the UFC is almost impossible to make sense of at this point. I feel like its anyone's game.

10. Everything happens in three's: first Randy over Tim, then Serra over GSP, and now Napao over CroCop.

Image Hat tip: UFCMania

Upcoming fights

Rather than list all the rumored fights and their equally rumored locations, I'll just thank Lay and Pray for doing that job for me.

Randy on Fedor vs. Lindland

"Fedor has his hands full."

UFC Heavies

This division is now very respectable. Pramit Mohapatra of MMA Insider sums it up nicely:

The UFC heavyweight division looks quite strong all of a sudden. With the announced signing of Antonio Nogueira -- former PRIDE heavyweight champion -- last night in addition to previous signings and the return of Randy Couture to the division, there is plenty of top-notch depth. In addition, with Brandon Vera reportedly signing an extension with the UFC, there is good up-and-coming talent in the division to complement the cadre of proven fighters such as Nogueira, Couture, Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski, and Mirko Filipovic. Heath Herring's victory in UFC 69 also keeps him in the picture as a solid contender in the division.

Let's not forget Fabricio Werdum, Gabriel Gonzaga, Jeff Monson, and Assuerio Silva. The division is still missing other top-tier fighters (the Emelienanko brothers, Sergei Kharitonov), but it's coming along.

Which makes last year's column from Sherdog's Jake Rossen all the more idiotic. Notable quote:

Letting Arlovski go frees the UFC up to do something radical: eliminate the division entirely. It’s a tattered mess of half-baked rankings and ugly bouts (Jordan-Buentello and Jordan-Gonzaga were mind-numbing). There is no talent on the horizon to try and salvage the mess. It’s only going to get worse, and paying Arlovski to clean up the scraps would be a bore.

Instead, activate the super heavyweight (over 265 lbs.) class. By excising the weight limit, you immediately open the gates for a fresh roster of compelling talent: Ron Waterman; Ricco Rodriguez; Jimmy Ambriz; Eric Pele; Tom Erikson, among others.

Even if Rossen's column is Jonathan Swiftian-trolling, this article is still moronic.

First Smith, then Drexler, now Couture

Randy Couture will be on Dancing With the Stars next week. It's not as bad as you think, but it's bad.

Quote of the Day

"He doesn't seem haunted at all. He just seems like a really cool guy who enjoys competition." -- Joe Rogan talking about Randy Couture on The Beatdown

Video of the Day

Randy Couture on ESPN last week after becoming the 5-time champ.

Hat tip: Fightlinker

Couture vs. CroCop

Seriously, doesn't this fight have the potential to be the biggest PPV in history, both in sales and hype?

There are a few impediments in the way. Namely, CroCop has to get through a very talented Gonzaga, Couture has to stay healthy, the other fights on the card should at least provide some enticement (as opposed to relying on the main event to do all the work), the UFC could perhaps debut more recently acquired talent if they're able to collect some between now and then, and Mirko needs to be more visible for ordinary UFC fans. I also think a proper venue would help to boost this event.

But that can all be done without too much haggling. I'm sure every event the UFC puts on is a mountain of work, but Couture vs. CroCop is one for the history books. Making sure all the t's are crossed and i's are dotted is an absolute must for this one. After all, the living legend versus the terminator (I know that title is normally reserved for Fedor) even sounds amazing. It's also not an opportunity that comes around every day. And to think, if somehow the UFC were able to delay the fight and add the Rampage vs. Iceman rematch to the same card, it'd be lights out for the competition.

2007 is shaping up nicely for MMA. Very nicely.

Randy's good for a chat

I want to hate on MMA Fever for beating me to the punch and providing the transcript of Randy Couture's chat on ESPN.com yesterday. I tried to use my ESPN Insider access to get it, but for some reason it wasn't working. Alas, I got scooped. Notable quote:

Scott Edmonotn Alberta: Why is there no talk of a rematch with Tim Sylvia?

SportsNation Randy Couture: (1:44 PM ET ) Well the fight just happened, and it was a dominating performance, so I think Tim would have to go fight someone else and reach contender status again.

I told you Randy agreed with me.