Even since Fedor announced his return to professional competition, rumors spread about whether former UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture could be a potential opponent. Following Fedor's first fight against Jaideep Singh on New Year's Eve in Japan, it was revealed that Rizin had reached out to Couture several weeks before the fight but that they were unable to reach a deal.
Speaking to Submission Radio, Rizin Vice President Jerry Millen delved into the entire sequence of events, as well as whether the promotion will actively seek out Couture in the future.
"I talked to Randy and it would have taken Randy a little bit more time to get ready," Millen explained. "I mean, come on, you can't just throw it on Randy at the last minute. And never say never. You never know who Fedor will fight next. You never know if Randy Couture would come out of retirement to fight, you know. I think it's a definite possibility. We talked to quite a few guys. Some guys weren't ready, some guys said they were ready but, you know, they want five million dollars. And it's like ‘come on man', I mean our phones are blowing up. And at the end of the day, Jaideep Singh -Sakakibara felt it made the most sense. You know, he's of Indian decent but he's lived in Japan since he was three years old, speaks fluent Japanese, and he is definitely interested in mixed martial arts. And Sakakibara felt that he had the credentials to go up against Fedor, and you know, anything can happen."
According to Millen, Rizin was always going to face fan negativity when it came to Fedor because they could not match their expectations of supposed UFC-level opposition.
"People are always gonna complain. No matter who Fedor fought, there would've been a complaint. Make no doubt. Because he wasn't in the UFC, you know, all the nut-huggers would've complained that ‘oh he fought this guy or this guy's a bum, or he should've fought that guy, that guy's a bum'. But unless he's in the UFC, everybody's gonna complain. Even if he's in the UFC people are gonna complain who he fights. That's that problem.
Millen also offered his own counter argument to fans who considered Fedor's return to MMA a stain on his legacy.
"It's like, you really have to step back and say, number one, Fedor makes the decisions if he wants to accept this opponent. Fedor accepted Jaideep Singh. Fedor is a grown man that's proven himself, time and time again in this sport, and he doesn't have to answer to anyone. He didn't have to come back, he came back for the love of the sport. He was fine with Jaideep Singh as an opponent, and I think everyone should respect that. And the debate ‘oh he's not the greatest of all time, that hurts his legacy', Fedor's legacy is cemented. I've seen ninety percent of Fedor's fights live. And when he fought in Pride, it was the Joe Louis era of mixed martial arts. And to me, Fedor is the greatest of all time in that era. Now, we're in a different era in mixed martial arts. So people gotta realize that Fedor is at the end of his career. Fedor's gonna choose what's best for Fedor. And as long as he puts on a great fight and we're not asking somebody to pay 70 dollars for a pay-per-view, I don't think they really have anything to bitch about to be honest."