In February, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeated Tim Sylvia to win the UFC heavyweight championship. But the UFC has always made clear that Nogueira was just its interim heavyweight champ, and now that Randy Couture is back in the UFC, Couture retains his heavyweight title.So here's how the UFC will handle its heavyweight situation: Couture will fight Brock Lesnar on November 15, Nogueira will fight Frank Mir on December 27, and the winners of the two fights will fight each other some time in 2009 to unify the titles.
Some might say it's a little bit unfair to Nogueira and Mir that their heavyweight title fight now seems somewhat diminished, but really, this was the best way to do it: The circumstances of Couture leaving and then coming back are extraordinary, and the best thing for UFC fans is to see three great fights: Couture-Lesnar, Nogueira-Mir and the winners against each other.
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