The Ultimate Fighting Championship and its heavyweight champion are back together after a nearly year-long argument.

Almost eleven months after titleholder Randy Couture announced he was quitting UFC, the two sides on Tuesday afternoon announced that he would return to fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 91, scheduled for Nov. 15, in Las Vegas.

Couture in October said he was leaving the promotion to pursue a fight with Russian superstar Fedor Emelianenko, but UFC claimed Couture was contractually bound for at least two more UFC fights before he could compete in mixed martial arts for anyone else. The company later sued Couture, claiming he breached a separate employment contract by allowing his name and likeness to be used by other MMA promoters.

An attempt by HDNet Fights owner Mark Cuban to have a court in Texas rule on Couture’s contractual status failed earlier this year, leaving the matter in the hands of arbitrators in Nevada, UFC’s home state.

Couture, a five-time UFC champion, last fought in July of last year, when he successfully defended his heavyweight belt with a technical knockout of Gabriel Gonzaga in the third round.

Lesnar has fought only three professional MMA bouts, but he dominated hardy veteran Heath Herring at UFC 87 last month. As an NCAA Division I-A wrestling champion and a former star in professional wrestling, Lesnar brings a combination of enormous athletic ability and widespread name recognition.

Couture said he was eager to end the legal battle. Fighting Lesnar “makes sense because it’s part of a resolution for getting back on good terms with UFC,” Couture said, during a Tuesday conference call with reporters.

The winner of Lesnar-Couture will fight the winner of a December bout between interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir, said UFC President Dana White.

Couture’s return to UFC raises questions about future opponents for Emelianenko, who fights for M-1 Global and Affliction Entertainment. Emelianenko, widely considered the world’s top heavyweight, won the newly created heavyweight title of the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts when he defeated former UFC champion Tim Sylvia in 36 seconds.

Immediately after beating Sylvia, Emelianenko said he wants to fight Couture. Affliction officials have said they would be interested in promoting that matchup if Couture could resolve his legal issues with UFC.

Couture said he takes the Lesnar fight seriously, but also made clear that Emelianenko remains his ultimate goal.

“I have faith that the UFC is working diligently to make the Fedor fight happen,” Couture said. “Obviously, that’s the endgame for me.”

Although White dismissed Emelianenko as “completely irrelevant” to the company’s current situation, he still would like to match him against Couture because of the interest among hardcore fans. But UFC doesn’t want to undercut the Russian’s contracts with other promoters, White said.

“If the Fedor fight can be made … then absolutely we would love to make the Fedor fight,” White said.

Joe Calzaghe kept his perfect record in a split-decision win over Bernard Hopkins on Saturday night in the Thomas & Mack Center.

Calzaghe (45-0) rebounded from a first-round knockdown at the hands of “The Executioner” to seemingly win easy, however one judge did give the 43-year-old Hopkins the fight by a score of 114-113. The other two judges scored in favor of the 36-year-old from Newbridge, though, 116-111 and 115-112.

Hopkins (48-5-1) floored the favored Calzaghe in the first round, but was dominated for much of the fight, and suffered his first loss since dropping consecutive decisions to Jermain Taylor in July and December 2005.

Known as one of the greatest middleweight champions of all-time, Hopkins stepped up to light-heavyweight to dethrone Antonio Tarver in June 2006 and then beat Ronald “Winky” Wright on July 21 of last year. He ran into an unstoppable force in the form of Calzaghe, however, who was making his first fight in the U.S.

Calzaghe looked in trouble early, as a right to the chin from Hopkins sent him to the mat. The Welsh southpaw quickly made up for the knockdown, though, and took control in the third round, landing a series of hard left hands late in the round to Hopkins’ head. The fighters traded combos to the bodies before the bell sounded.

Calzaghe landed a series of hard jabs at the end of round eight, and began showboating as the bell sounded, making faces at Hopkins before hopping back to his corner.

The fight stopped for a bit early in the 10th round after Hopkins claimed he took a low blow. Replays showed a borderline punch by Calzaghe to the waistline, which sent Hopkins reeling. The showman Calzaghe shook his hips at “The Executioner” as Hopkins was doubled over, and Hopkins ultimately fell to the mat. No point was deducted from Calzaghe for a low blow, but the referee allowed Hopkins to take a minute or so to recover before the fight resumed with 2:21 left in the round.

Hopkins claimed another low blow with 28 seconds left in the 11th, but was given no time to recover this time. He threw two hard rights after the brief stoppage, but Calzaghe came right back and landed two of his own before the bell sounded.

Both fighters were aggressive in the 12th round, but Hopkins couldn’t land enough shots to make up the difference.

CANCUN, Mexico - Samuel Peter had waited 15 months for his crack at WBC heavyweight champ Oleg Maskaev. And he made good on the opportunity, stopping the Russian on a TKO at 2:56 of the sixth round at the Plaza de Toros Saturday night.

It was the appropriate venue, because Peter, at 250 pounds, is a bull of a man. He proved it when he smashed a right to the side of Maskaev’s chin late in the sixth round, sending his opponent sailing backwards. Then he threw a barrage of punches, including a big left that drove Maskaev into the corner.

Maskaev clearly was hurt, and referee Guadalupe Garcia sensed it. He jumped in and stopped it before Peter could inflict more damage.

Was it a quick hook? Possibly. Maskaev was only four seconds from getting out of the round. But he was also four seconds away from getting his head taken off.

“I’ll tell you the truth, James Toney is the best boxer,” said Peter, a Nigerian who lives and trains in Las Vegas. “I beat Toney twice. All of them are going down.”

Peter (30-1, 22 KOs), who earned $1.4 million, had the “interim” tag removed from his title and collected the WBC crown. There has been talk of the winner of Saturday night’s match facing Vitali Klitschko, who is something called the WBC champion emeritus.

The future for the 39-year-old Maskaev (34-6, 26 KOs) is more cloudy. He had been off for 15 months after elbow surgery and a back injury.

It was the biggest boxing event ever in Cancun. Gerry Cooney, Larry Holmes, Tommy Hearns, Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather Jr. all showed up. No doubt the location had a lot to do with their presence at the raucous bullfighting ring, but it turned out to be an entertaining bout.

After a slow start, things heated up in the third round when Peter landed a big overhand right that caught Maskaev on the temple. Maskaev fell back into the ropes and Peter threw a barrage of punches while Maskaev covered up to survive. Once Maskaev was safe, he landed a big left hook on the chin that rocked Peter.

There was open scoring, with the cards announced after the fourth round. Peter was ahead on all four judges’ scorecards, including one judge that had him pitching a shutout.

Peter closed the show in the sixth round, landing a right to Maskaev’s ear to start a barrage of 12 unanswered punches.

In the other championship fight on the card, Nate Campbell (32-5-1, 25 KOs) upset Juan Diaz (33-1, 17 KOs) with a 12-round split decision to take the IBF, WBA and WBO lightweight belts. Campbell battered Diaz, cutting his eye with a head butt and having a point deducted as a result in the sixth round. Diaz seemed to lose steam after the cut.

Musicians Snoop Dogg and John Legend, and actress Raven-Symone will be involved in World Wrestling Entertainment’s annual WrestleMania XXIV extravaganza later this month as it continues to attract celebrities in guest roles.

The March 30 pay-per-view event at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando will also feature boxer Floyd Mayweather in a match with 7-foot, 399 pounds wrestler Big Show.

Legend will kick off the event by singing “America the Beautiful.” Snoop Dogg will serve as celebrity ring announcer for a “BunnyMania” match featuring female wrestlers who have appeared in Playboy.

Raven-Symone, who stars in the upcoming comedy “College Road Trip,” will host a wish-granting event as well as a “Bacon, Bagels and Biceps” brunch during WrestleMania weekend.

Evander Holyfield arrives in Glasgow this week for the latest leg of a promotional tour of Great Britain to publicise his autobiography. There will be a stir of interest but nothing like the fanfare of adulation reserved for the heavyweight champion of the world during the sport’s golden era.

At 45, and with an historic career now captivatingly committed to hardback, this should be a fitting and graceful celebration of the only four-time heavyweight champion. Past tense. If only. With the division’s credibility in the midst of an elongated 10-count, Holyfield’s refusal to stay honourable in an increasingly dishonourable profession has spawned a commercially profitable but morally bankrupt spectacle that will confirm the sport’s sorry descent to self-parody.

Holyfield has revealed his intention to fight Mike Tyson, a bloated 41-year-old nightcrawler, and thus complete a trilogy that ought to be promoted by Tim Burton. The sad part is that not only will the geriatric bout be sanctioned by an opportunist state boxing commission but is also likely to draw a capacity crowd and a Pay Per View subscription in the millions.

It will, alas, provide as much thrilling combat and sporting prowess as Giant Haystacks versus Big Daddy. Boxing is in a state of depression and its most prestigious title has been devalued to the point of worthlessness. How ironic that a sport that for decades adopted a policy of affirmative action in order to unearth The Great White Hope has shamelessly indulged in a reverse ferret with a steady heartbeat the only essential criterion.

At present, the titles have been monopolised by Eastern European brawlers with as much subtlety in the brutal art as an average nightclub doorman. What makes Holyfield/Tyson III so appealing? In short, the pitiful pit-a-pat session between Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov last weekend that denigrated the fine traditions of Madison Square Garden. Save for the sibling rivalry of the Klitschko brothers, a non-starter according to both, there is not a legitimate contest worthy of the name for the foreseeable future.

Oleg Maskaev v Samuel Peter? It wouldn’t draw a crowd if it took place on Sauchiehall Street. Somehow, the elder of the Klitschko brothers now holds the IBO, IBF and WBU versions of the heavyweight crown after his slow-motion waltz with Ibragimov. Ruslan Chagaev, a tubby Uzbek, grappled successfully with Matt Skelton for 12 insufferable rounds to squeeze the WBA belt around his waist while Maskaev, of Khazakhstan, will give Nigeria’s Peter another opportunity to choke at championship level with the WBC title at stake.

This barren landscape is what makes the illogical logical. Faced with the global phenomenon of Mixed Martial Arts, promoters have little alternative but to wallow in harmful nostalgia. Holyfield’s legacy is, in time, likely to have been caused untold damage with his forlorn hope of retiring as undisputed heavyweight champion. The worst of it is that his faculties remain intact after two decades in the ring. This has been a considered journey into pugilistic dotage.

A pointless comeback has already produced three consecutive losses to opponents who would not have lasted a sparring session against the beefed-up cruiserweight in his prime: Chris Byrd, James Toney and the journeyman Larry Donald. It is difficult for a mere mortal to comprehend Holyfield’s persistence in obtaining one last, paper title 14 years after his initial retirement. Recent history suggests Holyfield can remain active until his 60s and still get no closer to achieving his unfathomable ambition.

Even with nine children to provide for, a £100m fortune should keep his entire family in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed. Money is not his motivation but for all his noble Christian values and articulate explanation, Holyfield’s rationale is flawed. And what of Tyson? He has been the main attraction of pugilism’s decline to PT Barnum territory from the moment he left jail with a rape conviction.

The heavyweight division has not seen the likes of Tyson before or since his short-lived but devastating prime. As a raw teenager he possessed the strength of a rhinoceros and the athleticism of a middleweight. His last win of substance occurred in 1991 when he vanquished Donovan Razor’ Ruddock for a second time; reclaiming titles from Frank Bruno and Bruce Seldon were akin to relieving the school geek of his lunch money.

A curious thing happened to Tyson. A courteous and softly spoken teen, he now speaks with a pronounced slur. The Baddest Man on the Planet has been rebranded as pugilism’s pantomime villain.

More recently, he has come off second best to the tax man and the recreational drug dealer. He last approached a boxing ring as a hammy extra in Rocky Balboa, was embroiled in embarrassing defeats to Danny Williams and Kevin McNeely and is now reported to have ballooned to more than 20 stone. A third instalment of the Holyfield v Tyson franchise will capture the imagination, and crucially the dollars, all the way to the opening bell. The moral of the story? It is okay to bite the ear that feeds you.