Randy Couture on Fight with Fedor: 'Never Say Never'

The permutation of the heavyweight ranks and infusion of new talent has created an unfamiliar landscape in the last eight years.

It was nearly a decade ago that Fedor Emelianenko was still the undefeated Russian nightmare, towering over every heavyweight on the planet, and Randy Couture was the real-life Rocky Balboa, brandishing UFC gold at the unprecedented age of 44.

Things change in sports. Rosters and rankings are modeled and shaped anew. But we never forget about the legacies that enthralled us for a moment in time.

Couture and Emelianenko were two of the greatest and most beloved fighters in MMA history, and we never got to see them share a ring. There was always some contractual holdup or corporate bigwig impeding the dream fight from ever coming to fruition.

Both men eventually retired and came to terms with the fact that they would never get an opportunity to fight one another.

But we all know you never say never in MMA.

Union MMA, per BloodyElbow.com, reported a week ago that Emelianenko would be coming out of retirement and returning to fighting. This news obviously piqued the interest of the now 52-year-old Couture, who hasn’t competed in over four years.

When speaking with MMA Fighting’s Chuck Mindenhall, Couture admitted he would contemplate a return fight with Emelianenko under the right circumstances:

"

You never say never -- you never say ‘no, I’m not going to do that.’ But I’m very, very happy being retired doing all the other stuff I’m doing. If the stars align and the right situation came up...you know, Fedor’s not a cheap ticket. So I don’t know who’s going to pay that price right now. ... I know the UFC would like to get it done, and more than likely I’m out if that’s the case.

"

Vadim Finkelchtein, Emelianenko’s ex-manager, told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour that Emelianenko hopes to receive an offer to fight in the UFC.

Not much is known about Couture’s current contractual standing with the UFC, aside from him signing a six-fight deal with the promotion after his loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in 2009. He only fulfilled four of those fights before retiring nearly two years later.

The ball could once again be in the UFC’s court pertaining to this legendary heavyweight fight.

Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.