Billionaire renaissance man/entrepreneur Mark Cuban – who already owns the Dallas Mavericks and HDNet Cable - is suing the UFC over the broadcasting and promotional contract of fighter Randy “The Natural” Couture.

Cuban hopes the suit will make way for an eagerly anticipated bout between heavyweight champ Couture and Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko, whichCuban hopes/expects will be promoted by his very own HDNet Fights.

Couture says he is ready for the match but he and UFC differ over when, whether, and how his UFC contract is fulfilled and expires.

This heated UFC battle, taking place entirely off the Octagon, started in October of 2007 when Couture announced his intention to resign from the UFC, spurring MMA promoter Zuffa to file suit against him to get him to fulfill his contractual obligations before doing anything else. Couture believes his contract expires in July but Zuffa says he still has two more matches to fight before fulfilling his obligation.

Cuban’s lawsuit is actually the second round of this ongoing fight. It’s up to the Texas courts now to decide.

Filed under: General UFC, UFC Fighters