It has been a very busy week for the Ultimate Fighting Championship inside and outside of the octagon. Not only is the organization preparing for UFC 88: Breakthrough and its initial foray into Atlanta, Georgia, but the UFC also announced the return of heavyweight champion Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture.

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Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, and Couture were locked in a bitter legal battle over the length and terms when he resigned last October. Not only did the two sides resolve all issues earlier this week, but the 45-year-old fighter has now signed a three-fight deal. Opening odds list Couture as a $1.40 favorite (bet $140 to win $100) over Lesnar, the $1.10 underdog (bet $100 to win $110).

Couture (16-8) will square off against Brock Lesnar (2-1) in what is shaping up to be a mini tournament for the heavyweight title. The UFC always considered Couture its champion, but didn’t know if he would ever fight again inside the octagon.

Meanwhile, Antonio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira (31-4-1) won the interim heavyweight title back in February with a third-round submission over Tim Sylvia. Nogueira is slated to fight former champion Frank Mir (11-3) at the end of the year, with the fight being built up after the two coached against each other on The Ultimate Fighter 8.

The two winners between Couture-Lesnar and Noguira-Mir will square off sometime in 2009 for the undisputed heavyweight title, while the two losers might square off as well. The third fight on Couture’s new deal might eventually occur against Fedor Emelianenko if the UFC can sign the coveted Russian heavyweight.

But all of that is down the road, the immediate concerns for the UFC are occurring in Atlanta this weekend.

Saturday’s main event is a light heavyweight matchup between former champion Chuck ‘The Iceman’ Liddell (21-5) and Rashad ‘Sugar’ Evans (11-0-1). Liddell has been installed as a decided $2.70 favorite against Evans, a $2.10 underdog.

Liddell won seven fights in a row, and was the UFC light heavyweight champion from 2004-07. ‘The Iceman’ then dropped his next two fights before rebounding to beat Wanderlei ‘The Axe Murderer’ Silva at the end of last year. This fight with Evans was originally scheduled for UFC 85: Bedlam in England before Liddell had to pull out due to a leg injury.

This is a classic matchup between two former collegiate wrestlers, but Liddell is the best in mixed martial arts at dictating the style of the fight. Opponents usually want to take ‘The Iceman’ down, but many accomplished wrestlers have failed while Liddell unloads with his powerful right hand and assortment of leg kicks.

Evans will have to solve this problem because he isn’t as accomplished a striker as Liddell, and is three inches shorter. That doesn’t mean that Evans doesn’t have any power, knocking out Jason Lambert with punches from the mount along with a vicious head kick to knockout Sean Salmon.

Another interesting fight on the UFC 88: Breakthrough card is the light heavyweight matchup between former middleweight champion Rich ‘Ace’ Franklin (25-3) and Matt ‘The Hammer’ Hamill (6-1). Franklin is moving up a weight class for this fight because he is stuck behind champion Anderson Silva in the middleweight division.

Franklin and Hamill actually have a history together, as Franklin hired Hamill to improve his wrestling skills a few years ago to prepare for a couple of fights. This contest figures to be a contrast in styles, with Franklin more comfortable standing and Hamill content on taking the fight to the ground.

Hamill’s lone setback was a controversial split-decision loss to Michael Bisping, but he rebounded with a TKO victory over Tim Boetsch in the second round. Hamill, who is deaf, has steadily improved his standup game since appearing on The Ultimate Fighter 3.

Franklin opened as a $2.70 favorite to defeat Hamill, a $2.10 underdog.

Brad Young can be reached at byoung@vegasinsider.com.