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Is Zuffa Sue Happy, Frank Shamrock Thinks So

March 6, 2008 By

frank shamrock

Most people know that Zuffa the parent company of the UFC has been on a suing streak lately. (UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture, DSE (PRIDE), and threatening various websites for using UFC in there name)

In a recent article by Sam Caplan over at CBSsports, Caplan enlightened many of us to a long standing suit the UFC has with former UFC middleweight champion Frank Shamrock.

Here a clip:

Shamrock has made it clear he doesn’t approve how the UFC does business. It’s also little known that the UFC has been suing Shamrock for years over a variety of issues, the most notable being that Shamrock uses footage of himself from when he was in the UFC. According to Shamrock, he has legal rights to 30-second clips of some of his fights because they were signed over to him by Bob Meyrowitz before Zuffa obtained ownership of the UFC. Zuffa doesn’t seem to care about the legal documents that Shamrock claims he has and is suing him anyway.

Shamrock is believed to be losing thousands of dollars in legal bills each month in this legal dispute. In talking to him in the past, he’s also not allowed to fight in Nevada. The belief is that the UFC is trying to bleed Shamrock dry in order to force him to come to a settlement with them and fight once more for the UFC. The thing is, while the UFC is burning a hole in Shamrock’s wallet, he’s still making a very healthy living on his own.

Frank Shamrock is set to take on Cung Le at the co-promoted Strikeforce-EliteXC event on March 29 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA.

Filed Under: News, Outside The Cage, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Tagged With: , ,

Mark Cuban Sues Zuffa Over Couture’s Contract

February 15, 2008 By

mark cuban

I bet you didn’t see this one coming, Mark Cuban owner of HDNet and the Dallas Mavericks basket ball team has filed suit against UFC owners, Zuffa LLC. According to Adam Swift, Cuban is trying to get the court to make a ruling on when Randy Couture’s contract ends with Zuffa.

With the mixed martial arts industry focused on the Zuffa v. Couture proceedings scheduled to begin with a preliminary hearing March 4 in Las Vegas, billionaire Mark Cuban and his HDNet Fights company has quietly entered the fray, opening a second front in the Couture-UFC war, Sherdog.com has learned.

On Wednesday, in district court in Dallas, HDNet Fights filed suit against Zuffa seeking a declaratory judgment concerning the contractual status of Couture under his Zuffa promotional contract. In an ironic twist, Zuffa’s co-defendant in the suit is technically none other than Couture himself.

What Cuban wants from the Lawsuit:

The lawsuit filed by HDNet Fights asks the Texas court to provide the company with declaratory relief — a ruling on when Couture’s promotional contract will expire. A favorable ruling could clear the way for a highly anticipated showdown between Couture and Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) this fall, potentially promoted by HDNet Fights.

“Sue and Be Sued”

Forget the Lawsuits and have Dana White take on Randy Couture in a boxing match, just like the one he had scheduled with Tito Ortiz on SpikeTV. If Dana wins Couture stays and fights Nogueira, if Couture wins Dana tears up Couture’s contract.

And just for some excitement, Couture must fight with one hand tied behind his back.

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Filed Under: HDNet Fights, News, Outside The Cage, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Tagged With: , ,

UFC News: Couture Speaks Out Against Lawsuit

February 7, 2008 By

randy couture lawsuit by the UFC

In a recent interview with MMAWeekly, Randy “The Natural” Couture responds to the lawsuit filed against him by the UFC for breach of contract.

“It’s unfortunate that things have kind of degraded to that point……..I’m sure that’s part of their ploy, to force me to spend enough money that I’ll have to come back and fight for them, which isn’t the case.”

“I’ve got a very good team of lawyers. I think we’ll basically have to get a declaration from the state of Nevada on what they interpret the contract as, but the way I see it, the contract is up in July.”

Couture on the UFC Banning his Clothing Line

“Like trying to ban my clothing line, and things like that that don’t really hurt me, they just hurt the athletes that we sponsor……We sponsor some 35 athletes with that clothing line, and give back to the sport in every way we can. We’re already in Nordstrom’s and Macy’s and all the big outlets, so it just takes away from money that the athletes are getting from their sponsorships. It’s kind of stupid.”

Getting Back To What Matters

“I’m not worried about clearing my name, I haven’t done anything wrong…..I’m simply wanting to pursue the profession that I’m in, which is fighting. And they’re trying to prevent me from doing that, so you tell me who’s wrong or right?”

The UFC sinks to a new low

The UFC is doing everything it can to disgrace the current UFC heavyweight champion, doing a great job of not filming Randy Couture as he recently cornered Extreme Couture fighter Tyson Griffin at UFC 81 in Las Vegas.

If you payed close attention, the UFC filmed Griffin from a lower position as he made his way to the cage, Couture’s bald head could only be seen briefly as he followed his fighter to the cage. After Griffin gives his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Couture has his arm draped over Griffins shoulder, but all you can see is Couture’s arm and watch.

It is amazing how well they planed and executed the filming of that fight, but ultimately it making me as a fan feel discussed at the UFC, a company that did so much to build this sport.

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Filed Under: Interview, News, Outside The Cage, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Tagged With: , , , ,
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