Spike TV Signs Randy Couture

UFC Hall of Famer, Randy Couture has signed a multi-year deal with Spike TV. For those of you who don't know, Spike TV broadcasts Bellator, the Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) number one competitor in mixed martial arts (MMA). So what does this mean?

Randy Couture (shown above). Photo courtesy of fightinginsider.com

Let me break it down for those of you not familiar with this sport. Randy Couture was a pioneer of MMA back in the late 90's when the sport was still looked upon as "human cockfighting". He became the oldest fighter to win a UFC championship at the age of 42 and the first fighter to win championships in two different weight classes. After going back and forth contemplating retirement, he finally announced his permanent leave from fighting in April of 2011 in front of a crowd of 55,000. He is arguably one of the most accomplished fighters from the UFC. 

Now let me get to the point. With Zuffa (the company that owns the UFC) having recently shut down Strikeforce, a sister promotion of the UFC, leaving few major MMA organizations under operation. Bellator has recently announced that they will be airing a reality show based on MMA, which Randy Couture will be featured as the coach on the inaugural season. Couture did the exact same thing when the UFC aired their inaugural television show, The Ultimate Fighter, coaching against fellow hall of famer, Chuck Lidell. 

For those of you not familiar with MMA, let me give you another analogy that might strike home a little better. What if the Canadian Football League signed Tom Brady or Peyton Manning? What if the National Basketball League Euro signed Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant? 

A lot more people are going to be tuning in to Spike TV, that's for sure. Will the UFC be hurt by this move at all? Not really. It is a somewhat awkward situation having one of your companies "founding fathers" helping to promote your number one competitor. How will it all pan out? Tune in to Spike TV to find out.