White takes wait-and-see approach to Couture's next UFC appearance

At 46 years old, UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture (18-10 MMA, 15-7 UFC) continues to defy the odds each time he steps into the cage.

Couture fought for the third time in less than six months – one of the busiest stretches of his illustrious career – when he defeated Mark Coleman at this past weekend's UFC 109 event.

But there's no rest for the weary, and many MMA fans are already anticipating "Captain America's" return to the cage. UFC president Dana White recently said Couture's next move could depend on what transpires shortly in two different divisions.

"There's some unfinished business in the light heavyweight division," White said to a small group of reporters following the UFC 109 post-event press conference. "We've got to do Rashad (Evans) and (Quinton) 'Rampage' (Jackson). We've got to do the (Lyoto) Machida-(Mauricio) 'Shogun' (Rua) fight, and Randy falls in the middle of that whole mess somewhere.

"We'll see what happens. I've got to see what happens over the next couple of fights not only with the light heavyweight division, but with the heavyweight division, too."

Couture has held UFC gold in both divisions at various times in his illustrious career. While Couture has gone 2-0 since dropping down to 205 pounds after back-to-back losses in the heavyweight division, White didn't seemed to be ruling out a potential return for Couture to the division currently ruled by Brock Lesnar.

"The thing about Randy Couture is he's a smart guy," White said. "He's a smart guy when it comes to fighting. He saw an opportunity in the heavyweight division after he lost to Chuck (Liddell) twice. He knew that the heavyweight division was weak when he saw that Tim Sylvia-Jeff Monson mess.

"I swear to God, I pulled up at the video game awards that night and Couture called me. He's like, 'I want to move up to heavyweight.' I was like, 'That's interesting, and I don't blame you.' It was smart. He went in there, and he won the heavyweight title when he knew it was weak."

Of course, most MMA observers believe the heavyweight division has improved greatly since Couture's 2007 run as champion. White tends to agree, and while he admits to keeping an eye on the 265-pound weight class, the UFC exec said Couture is likely to remain at 205 pounds.

"He knew he could beat those guys at that weight class (in 2007)," White said. "Now, he belongs in the light heavyweight division.

"This heavyweight division is sick. These guys are monsters. They're all tough, and Randy Couture fits very nicely at 205 pounds."

A series of recent reports from Sherdog.com has linked Couture to a potential light heavyweight contest with former middleweight champion Rich Franklin (25-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC), but sources close to "Ace" insisted to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the bout is far from a sure thing.

So for now, Couture will take a well-deserved break, focus on a few acting opportunities and wait for his next assignment from the UFC, which looks likely for the second half of 2010.