The MMA world was rocked today with UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture announcing that he was quitting the UFC. MMAFightLine.com has comments from Couture, in which he mentions that the reason why he quit was not only over UFC's failure to sign Fedor Emelianenko, but also due to his pay rate for his fights.
"I think the final straw for me was meeting with White and Lorenzo (Fertitta, UFC co-owner) where they claimed I was the No. 2 paid athlete in the organization, which I know is a bold-faced lie," Couture said. Polling other athletes, said Couture, he learned that his compensation -- some $250,000 a fight with pay-per-view bonuses, according to the Couture camp -- was nowhere near what other top UFC fighters were making."
Meanwhile, UFC President Dana White responded to Couture's retirement saying, "I’m not surprised at all by Randy’s decision. I talked to Randy several weeks ago and he said that if he couldn’t fight Fedor, then he has nothing left to prove in the sport of mixed martial arts."
For more news and this huge story, as well as full comments from Randy Couture and Dana White, visit MMAFightLine.com by clicking here.
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