Both the MMA and pro wrestling worlds have had some major announcements made by some of their biggest stars lately, the most momentous of which is probably the return of Randy "The Natural" Couture to the UFC.

Upon his departure, Couture was very vocal about his dissatisfaction with the way he was treated by UFC's parent company Zuffa (and by UFC president Dana White in particular), even going so far as to state that he'd rather never fight again then return to the Octagon. But several months of legal wrangling and abortive attempts to make a fight between Couture and Fedor later, it became apparent that Zuffa was going to be able to prevent Couture from fighting for any competitive organization, at least for the time being. And with his 45th birthday now behind him, Couture has to be feeling Father Time's breath on the back of his neck, and know that he can't afford to wait any longer to get his fights in.

And thus, the recent announcement was made that Couture had signed a three-fight deal with UFC, which will commence with a heavyweight title defence against Brock Lesnar. This fight is a masterstroke by the UFC, since for them it's a win-win situation. If Lesnar wins, which I personally favour him to do, then a new star is born and new life will be breathed into a largely lackluster heavyweight division. If Couture wins (and it should be noted that out of the last ten fights where Couture was declared the underdog, he only lost once), then the legend of "The Natural" becomes even greater (if that's possible) and UFC will still have him for what may be the final two fights of his career. And of course, let's not overlook the fact that, if properly promoted (which it almost undoubtedly will be), the Couture vs. Lesnar match could very well set an all-time record for pay-per-view buy rates, putting millions of dollars into the already-swollen coffers of Zuffa, Inc.

On the wrestling side, Mick Foley has announced that he will be jumping ship from his spot with WWE and heading off to rival company TNA. This was originally Foley's plan some time ago, when he correctly felt that by helping TNA become viable competition for WWE, he'd be driving Vince McMahon to greater heights than he might otherwise attain, therefore helping the entire business on the whole. Of course, McMahon predictably disagreed with this idea the first time around and offered Foley a contract so much larger than the TNA offer that he couldn't say no, but lately Foley has expressed dissatisfaction with his current position on the SmackDown commentary team (probably due to McMahon's apparent habit of bellowing at his announcers during broadcasts) and with his contract now expiring, is free to re-enact his original plan.

While I consider TNA largely a lost cause in the booking department, I do think that Foley will be a valuable addition to their roster, and I am sincerely hoping that his arrival will result in the eternally apoplectic Don West getting a lot less mic time!

Both UFC and TNA will bear watching in the future to see how these new developements play out.