Couture at Broken Arm's Length w/UFC

Couture almost ready for gym

By Jeff Cain/MMAWeekly.com
December 2, 2007

In his Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title defense against Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74, Randy "The Natural" Couture suffered a broken arm while blocking a high kick in the second round of the scheduled five-round bout. Couture on Saturday confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that the arm still hasn't completely healed, but he believes he will be back in the gym training at full capacity in two weeks.

"I'm training again. It's not 100%, but it's good," said the current UFC heavyweight champion. “I just had it x-rayed again. I think in a couple of weeks it will be cleared 100%."

He added, "It feels a little strange in certain places, but overall it's good."

Couture's acting career has taken off, but it most likely hampered the healing process. He commented, "It would have healed faster I think if I allowed them to put a cast on it. With the acting gig, I couldn’t be walking around ‘The Unit’ and ‘Scorpion King’ with a cast."

Despite still being recognized as the UFC heavyweight champion, Couture – ranked as the No. 4 heavyweight in the world by MMAWeekly.com – is currently in the midst of determining his future, both with the company, and in the sport in general.

He submitted his resignation from the UFC, both as a fighter and in other capacities, in early October, saying, “I’m tired of swimming upstream at this stage with the management of the UFC.”

A public war of words has ensued since his resignation with both Couture and the UFC holding separate press conferences to detail their respective sides of the situation.

Couture since has reportedly been offered a title defense against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

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Rumours abound that Nogueira may face Tim Sylvia at UFC 81: Breaking Point as the signing of the fighters has been completed. No word yet about Randy's decision to come back with his tail between his legs for another million dollar payday with the UFC.