According to a Feb. 13 report from MMA Fighting, MMA legend Randy Couture was offended that Matt Hughes was given a significant job with the UFC, just days after retiring.
Couture says he tried for over a year to land a significant job with the promotion, and serving four events on FOX a year as a commentator wasn't going to cut it.
"I gave the UFC and Dana every opportunity to find a way to significantly use me since I retired a year and a half ago," Couture said. "They acted like they were doing me a favor by giving me the four events on FOX a year as a commentator."
Couture decided to bolt from the UFC, and take a job as coach for Bellator MMA's upcoming reality series.
"In my opinion and estimation, [that's] not a terribly significant role in the organization, and the company of Zuffa," Couture said of the FOX commentator job. "So I tried like hell to get them to keep me with the company in some significant way and they had nothing for me. I made them aware that this offer had come onto the table, that the TV thing was heating up for me, that there were significant offers being pushed to me, but I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement to even hear those pitches and could not tell them specifically what was going on or who was offering what."
Couture thinks the job the UFC gave to Matt Hughes was a slap in the face to him.
"So, you know, in my professional estimation, they had an opportunity to keep me and use me. They chose not to, and a week later, after this whole thing leaks, they give a job to Matt Hughes in a significant fashion," Couture said. "Frankly that was a big ‘f--k you' to me from Dana. And that's exactly what he intended to do."
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