Randy Couture Returning to UFC to Battle Brock Lesnar: Captain America Lives

Earlier in the week there were rumblings about UFC President Dana White and UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture meeting to attempt to patch up their differences. The two have been at odds since just after "The Natural's" last fight, a win over Gabriel Gonzaga just over a year ago.

Today, those rumblings came to fruition and the chasm that existed between the two came together in a big, big way. White announced that Couture will be returning to the organization for a Heavyweight title defense against Brock Lesnar on Nov. 15 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The winner will then fight the victor of the December battle between interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Nogueira and Frank Mir to unify the belts.

Just like that, Captain America is back in the UFC saddle in what could be the biggest fight in MMA history.

Does Lesnar deserve a title shot after just two UFC bouts? Certainly not. Is there a ton of money to be made that will make all the naysayers seem irrelevant? Absolutely. With just over two months to plan, Couture/Lesnar has all of the marketing hooks needed to create a mega-fight that might sink boxing for good.

Just Couture's story is enough to pop a buy-rate and grab some media attention. Add in what's happened over the past year and you have some legit drama there, not to mention the growing Tyson-like heel that Lesnar is evolving into. Judging by his comments about Fedor (see below), Lesnar is going to be disliked—and feared—for years to come.

And yeah, Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock now seems plain ridiculous compared to this. Just when you think they can't pull another ace out of their sleeve, White and the Fertittas do it again and again.

Some additional notes from today's conference call via various sources, mostly Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Weekly and Five Ounces of Pain:

•White predicted one million buys.

•A fight between Couture and Fedor Emelianenko was discussed, but Fedor's contract with Affliction obviously is preventing that. They will not tamper, but if Affliction ends up folding, that goes out the window.

•White said he would be shocked if Affliction was still around come January due to major money losses and such.

•Lesnar was on the call and was quite irate when the talk of Fedor came up. Actually, the quote was, "Who gives a s— about Fedor!? This fight is between me and Randy.”

•White said a two or three episode 24/7 style Spike series is being discussed to help build for the fight.

Josh Nason started Ropes, Ring, and Cage in 2007 and is the main contributor of content for the site. A long-time writer, his work can also be read at sites like SmallWhiteBall.com, EmailMarketingGuy.com, and others. He can be reached at [e-mail].