Randy Couture: ‘It’s not really my decision’ to be excluded from UFC 200 festivities

Randy Couture is still involved in mixed martial arts, but perhaps not in a role similar to the kind that made him famous.

‘The Natural’, now 52, doesn’t have a role with inside the organization, but has been brought on as a brand ambassador. That means doing promotion, showing up to the Bellator FanFest, and being a part of the organization’s push behind Veterans Operation Wellness, or VOW.

“For this particular card, it’s a special card. Bellator and Spike TV have gotten together and basically created an organization called VOW,” Couture explained on Monday’s The MMA Hour. “That stands for Veterans Operation Wellness. They did this last year in Houston. They created some spaces on their undercard for some active-duty military and veterans to actually fight once you train in MMA. They put them on the undercard and allow them to fight and then not only give them a paycheck and an opportunity to fight on a nationally-recognized card, but give them a bonus check as part of the VOW, Veterans Operation Wellness.”

Two fighters on Saturday’s card from the military will compete on these terms, which explains Couture’s involvement. Couture, an Army veteran, is interested when there’s “anything to do with veterans that supports them,” he noted. “I think that’s another reason why they brought me in for their show. It’s one of their VOW cards.”

But here’s the lingering issue: Is that all they’ve involved him on? Is he part of the organization in a different capacity? And what about a return to fighting? In a moment in time when Bellator is bringing back Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock and other fighters from a different generation of MMA, why hasn’t Couture been involved as a fighter, especially given his existing proximity to the organization?

As it turns out, it’s not for a lack of the organization trying to lure him back, nor is it a function of a lack of external interest or pressure.

“I think when Fedor [Emelianenko] threw his hat back in the ring and showed up at Rizin on New Years, my phone started ringing,” Couture confessed. It was certainly a conversation I had with Scott. Scott and I were actually doing promotions for their card in Connecticut in the Mohegan …

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