White, Fertitta Fire Back at Couture
Jake Rossen Oct 30, 2007
The war of words between UFC officials and Randy Couture (Pictures) continued Tuesday.
At a news conference in Las Vegas, UFC President Dana White, co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta and Chief Financial Officer John Mulkey addressed comments recently made by their heavyweight champion. Both White and Fertitta agreed that Couture's recent revelation of his business dealings with the UFC had been "damaging" to their company.
"I felt the statements that he made so grossly misrepresented the
facts that I felt we needed to protect ourselves because I felt the
statements were made in a way meant to hurt us," Fertitta said.
In a gathering at his Xtreme Couture training facility in Las Vegas last week, Couture had refuted statements made by Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole that he had a contract with the UFC worth upwards of $15 million.
Couture explained that he was disenfranchised with the UFC after the company had not provided a "shower room" bonus following the Gonzaga fight, had not offered a signing bonus when he committed to the new deal early in 2007 and had not fulfilled his requests for tickets and other ancillary perks. He faxed his "resignation" from his contract on Oct. 11.
On Tuesday, Mulkey rebuffed Couture's financial complaints, passing along documentation that alleged the fighter was given a $500,000 signing bonus for inking a new contract in 2007: $250,000 paid at signing and $250,000 payable after he competed against Sylvia in March. The first check, dated Jan. 15, 2007, was said to have been cashed by Couture on Jan. 30, 2007.
What's more, Mulkey argued, Couture was paid a total of $936,000 in pay-per-view royalties for the Sylvia bout -- $436,000 more than what Couture had claimed -- based on 534,000 pay-per-views sold.
At his press conference last Thursday, Couture estimated the Sylvia fight produced 520,000 buys.
For the Gonzaga fight, Zuffa expects Couture to earn $787,000 in pay-per-view royalties based on 485,000 pay-per-view subscriptions, payable within 10 days after the company receives compensation from cable providers and expected to be remitted in full by the end of the year. Couture also received a $35,000 bonus for "Fight of the Night," according to Zuffa.
The checks are in addition to the $250,000 he received for each 2007 bout and the $500,000 bonus, which Couture told Sherdog.com last Friday he interpreted as being an ancillary reward for the Sylvia bout and UFC chairs have dubbed his signing fee.
In total, the UFC is expected to remit approximately $2.9 million to Couture for his two 2007 contests.
"Randy did receive a signing bonus," White said. "He wanted a half-a-million-dollar signing bonus to re-sign with us."
"This is a guy who lost twice to Chuck Liddell (Pictures) by knockout at light heavyweight. … He calls me up and tells me he wants to come out of retirement and he wants to fight Tim Sylvia (Pictures) for the heavyweight title," White continued. "I give him that title shot. When he says he wants to come out of retirement he wants to renew his contract, he wants a new deal. We do a new deal with him.
"Realistically, he got half-a-million-dollar signing bonus. And this is a signing bonus he said he never received."
Of the bonuses handed out to some athletes after fights, White reminded listeners that the checks were not off-books and still appeared as taxable income.
"I don't know if there's ever been a promoter who pays more than what's on the contract," he said. "That's what we do. A fighter does well, we walk back into locker rooms and cut guys checks for more money."
Media did not ask, and White did not volunteer, why Couture was not granted any discretionary bonuses for his 2007 fights.
Couture had made his decision to remove himself from the UFC after a breakfast meeting that took place at Palace Station, one of several Las Vegas casinos operated by the Fertittas. While White admitted that Couture voiced his displeasure over several out-of-the cage concerns, as well as his belief that a fight with Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) was the only bout left for him, he did not anticipate his champion would leave.
"He didn't say in the meeting ‘you have two weeks to get back to us,'" White said. It wasn't like that."
White, confident Couture remains under firm contract, said he expected to offer him a title fight, likely against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures), as early as this week.
In response to the possibility of legal action, Fertitta answered, "We will do whatever we have to do to continue to protect our rights."
Inevitably, talk turned toward both Couture's desire to face Emelianenko, widely considered to be the sport's top heavyweight, and his disappointment that the Russian was slated to receive a UFC salary greater than his own.
"Hell, no, I wasn't going to pay Fedor more money than Randy Couture (Pictures)," White sniped. "I don't think Fedor is a top-five heavyweight in the world, and I'm not saying that because I didn't get Fedor. I've always felt that way about Fedor and I always felt Randy Couture (Pictures) would beat Fedor. I was trying to make that fight for Randy Couture (Pictures)."
"Fedor is a farce."
Asked if he expected Couture to make an attempt to sign with a rival promotion to get his wish, White demurred on speculating: "You have to ask yourself, ‘What's the endgame here?' Maybe that's what's going on. I don't know. I'm obviously not going to talk about contracts."
That paperwork, which some have speculated contains a "freeze" clause that could commit Couture to the UFC beyond the 18 months stipulated, remains open to legal interpretation and will likely be the crux of Couture's athletic future.
Fertitta summed up his feelings on the company's growing pains.
"When we first bought the company back in 2001, I told people that one of my goals was, one day, I will know we that we will have succeeded when we can actually afford to pay a fighter a million dollars for a fight," he said.
"Little did I know that was going to be the start of our problems."
At a news conference in Las Vegas, UFC President Dana White, co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta and Chief Financial Officer John Mulkey addressed comments recently made by their heavyweight champion. Both White and Fertitta agreed that Couture's recent revelation of his business dealings with the UFC had been "damaging" to their company.
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In a gathering at his Xtreme Couture training facility in Las Vegas last week, Couture had refuted statements made by Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole that he had a contract with the UFC worth upwards of $15 million.
Passing around copies of unsigned bout agreements for both the
Tim Sylvia (Pictures) and Gabriel Gonzaga (Pictures) fights, Couture argued that he
had received a base pay of $250,000 for each. Couture also said he
was paid pay-per-view royalties for the Sylvia fight that he
estimated to be in the neighborhood of $500,000 "to date," as well
as a $500,000 "off the books" bonus.
Couture explained that he was disenfranchised with the UFC after the company had not provided a "shower room" bonus following the Gonzaga fight, had not offered a signing bonus when he committed to the new deal early in 2007 and had not fulfilled his requests for tickets and other ancillary perks. He faxed his "resignation" from his contract on Oct. 11.
On Tuesday, Mulkey rebuffed Couture's financial complaints, passing along documentation that alleged the fighter was given a $500,000 signing bonus for inking a new contract in 2007: $250,000 paid at signing and $250,000 payable after he competed against Sylvia in March. The first check, dated Jan. 15, 2007, was said to have been cashed by Couture on Jan. 30, 2007.
What's more, Mulkey argued, Couture was paid a total of $936,000 in pay-per-view royalties for the Sylvia bout -- $436,000 more than what Couture had claimed -- based on 534,000 pay-per-views sold.
At his press conference last Thursday, Couture estimated the Sylvia fight produced 520,000 buys.
For the Gonzaga fight, Zuffa expects Couture to earn $787,000 in pay-per-view royalties based on 485,000 pay-per-view subscriptions, payable within 10 days after the company receives compensation from cable providers and expected to be remitted in full by the end of the year. Couture also received a $35,000 bonus for "Fight of the Night," according to Zuffa.
The checks are in addition to the $250,000 he received for each 2007 bout and the $500,000 bonus, which Couture told Sherdog.com last Friday he interpreted as being an ancillary reward for the Sylvia bout and UFC chairs have dubbed his signing fee.
In total, the UFC is expected to remit approximately $2.9 million to Couture for his two 2007 contests.
"Randy did receive a signing bonus," White said. "He wanted a half-a-million-dollar signing bonus to re-sign with us."
"This is a guy who lost twice to Chuck Liddell (Pictures) by knockout at light heavyweight. … He calls me up and tells me he wants to come out of retirement and he wants to fight Tim Sylvia (Pictures) for the heavyweight title," White continued. "I give him that title shot. When he says he wants to come out of retirement he wants to renew his contract, he wants a new deal. We do a new deal with him.
"Realistically, he got half-a-million-dollar signing bonus. And this is a signing bonus he said he never received."
Of the bonuses handed out to some athletes after fights, White reminded listeners that the checks were not off-books and still appeared as taxable income.
"I don't know if there's ever been a promoter who pays more than what's on the contract," he said. "That's what we do. A fighter does well, we walk back into locker rooms and cut guys checks for more money."
Media did not ask, and White did not volunteer, why Couture was not granted any discretionary bonuses for his 2007 fights.
Couture had made his decision to remove himself from the UFC after a breakfast meeting that took place at Palace Station, one of several Las Vegas casinos operated by the Fertittas. While White admitted that Couture voiced his displeasure over several out-of-the cage concerns, as well as his belief that a fight with Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) was the only bout left for him, he did not anticipate his champion would leave.
"He didn't say in the meeting ‘you have two weeks to get back to us,'" White said. It wasn't like that."
White, confident Couture remains under firm contract, said he expected to offer him a title fight, likely against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures), as early as this week.
In response to the possibility of legal action, Fertitta answered, "We will do whatever we have to do to continue to protect our rights."
Inevitably, talk turned toward both Couture's desire to face Emelianenko, widely considered to be the sport's top heavyweight, and his disappointment that the Russian was slated to receive a UFC salary greater than his own.
"Hell, no, I wasn't going to pay Fedor more money than Randy Couture (Pictures)," White sniped. "I don't think Fedor is a top-five heavyweight in the world, and I'm not saying that because I didn't get Fedor. I've always felt that way about Fedor and I always felt Randy Couture (Pictures) would beat Fedor. I was trying to make that fight for Randy Couture (Pictures)."
"Fedor is a farce."
Asked if he expected Couture to make an attempt to sign with a rival promotion to get his wish, White demurred on speculating: "You have to ask yourself, ‘What's the endgame here?' Maybe that's what's going on. I don't know. I'm obviously not going to talk about contracts."
That paperwork, which some have speculated contains a "freeze" clause that could commit Couture to the UFC beyond the 18 months stipulated, remains open to legal interpretation and will likely be the crux of Couture's athletic future.
Fertitta summed up his feelings on the company's growing pains.
"When we first bought the company back in 2001, I told people that one of my goals was, one day, I will know we that we will have succeeded when we can actually afford to pay a fighter a million dollars for a fight," he said.
"Little did I know that was going to be the start of our problems."
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