Our own Jonathan Snowden posted on Randy Couture's cryptic tweet yesterday that did more than hint at retirement.
Further reports from Josh Gross indicated that Couture wasn't announcing his retirement so much as setting the table for a dramatic outing of his current beef with UFC management. Namely that if he can't fight champion Mauricio Rua, aka Shogun, or Lyoto Machida, he doesn't want to fight anymore.
Here's Randy texting to Loretta Hunt:
"I think I'm done. The time is right," said Couture via text. "I'd fight Machida or Shogun but outside of that, I wanna focus on other things in my life."
Steve Cofield comments:
The Rua fight won't happen because that would mean Couture gets an immediate title shot after beating guys like James Toney, Brandon Vera and Mark Coleman. Couture wants Machida, but there are some with the promotion who worry about the fact that Brazilian has lost two straight fights. A third loss would be crushing for "The Dragon."
SBNation's Chad Dukes editorializes in response:
This would be hilarious is it wasn't so tragic. First of all Machida is the man that people pontificated about being unbeatable just last year. At the time, I found that humorous as it flew in the face of everything we have ever learned about MMA. On any given evening, Matt Serra can knock out Georges St. Pierre. On any given evening Kevin Ferguson can WIN inside the Octagon. The arrogant notion that any fighter needs to be protected is what would be expected from the defunct Elite XC, not the UFC. I get that younger fighters need to be brought along more slowly and test their skills at an appropriate rate. However, this is not a 23-year-old Jon Jones we are talking about. It's a former UFC champion in the cutthroat light heavyweight division. If a 47-year-old wrestler can pound out Machida., let it happen. If Shotokan Karate really isn't affective in the UFC, let's find out.
The notion that someone with Randy Couture's legendary resume would be denied a fight to shelter the "fragile" career of Lyoto Machida is not only insulting to Couture, it is insulting to MMA fans. Randy has proven that he is fighting at a level above these exhibition-style matches he has been fed lately. James Toney and Mark Coleman? Dana White has criticized fighters he believes don't want to fight the best in the world for business reasons. But Mr. President should heed his own advice. Couture might not be as good as his three-fight win streak insinuates and I don't believe Machida is as lost as his last two defeats would suggest. For those reasons and all the ones listed above, The Dragon vs The Natural makes perfect sense. Let's find out inside the cage.
I have to beg to differ with the esteemed Mr. Dukes, well sorta.
It's not a matter of protecting Machida, it's a matter of match-making that makes sense for the UFC.
The UFC is looking to book win-win matches where they come out ahead no matter who wins. If Machida had beaten gotten the judges decision he earned against Quinton Jackson, aka Rampage, then there would be no issue with booking Couture-Machida. At the same time, if Couture and Machida met, it might launch Couture into one final title shot, but as long as Shogun holds the belt Machida is well out of contention.
Furthermore, there's an extremely high likelihood that Machida doesn't just beat Couture, but beats him really badly and makes him look awful in the process. There have to be bigger money match-ups for the Natural that don't put his legacy at quite the same degree of risk.
Moreover why is Couture calling out a fighter on a two fight losing streak?
I'm with Joe Silva that Couture hasn't quite earned a title shot but at the same time, a guy like Couture that's coming off three straight wins shouldn't be calling out someone like Machida who's lost two-in-a-row, he should be calling out a fellow contender on the up-swing.
I can understand Couture wanting no part of the winner of Jon Jones vs Ryan Bader, but that bout would make much more sense for the UFC, letting a young lion build his name by beating up on Couture. I understand why Randy doesn't want that one.
But why not Rampage Jackson? That would be a huge money match and a clear title-eliminator bout. No matter who wins Shogun Rua vs Rashad Evans, the winner of Rampage vs Couture would be a perfectly logical #1 contender.
Regardless, this smacks more of Couture's trademark hard-ball negotiating style than a real retirement plan. After his last "retirement" in 2007, I don't see any reason why the UFC should kowtow to Couture's demands to handpick his next fight .
If Couture really wants to retire, fine. He's certainly earned it and has nothing left to prove. He's a Hall of Famer already. He's probably the best game-planner in UFC history. He's already shown that some athletes can compete at an age way beyond anything God intended. But don't expect me to fall for another round of Randy crying 'retirement' if he doesn't get what he wants.