Couture Wins First Battle With Zuffa

It is common knowledge that Randy "The Natural" Couture is in legal disputes with UFC promoter Zuffa. On Monday, Randy, supported by HD Net's Mark Cuban, claimed a victory over Zuffa officials.

HD Net Fights filed a case against Zuffa in Dallas, Texas, in February this year, asking the court to make what is known as a summary judgement regarding Couture's non compete clause in his contract, on the grounds that they had a business arrangement with him which is being hampered by Zuffa's lawsuit.

Zuffa then challenged this claim in Texas by claiming that such a ruling would undermine the efforts in Las Vegas courts to clarify the terms. Zuffa asked the court to stay, delay or dismiss the challenge by HD Net.

To cut a long story short, Zuffa's case was thrown out on all three counts on Monday, meaning that HD Net can go ahead with their case to potentially resolve Couture's contract issues. If all goes ahead, Couture's planned bout with Fedor Emelianenko could be given the go ahead before the end of the year.