Randy Couture
From FightWiki
Randy Couture is one of the biggest names in MMA. He is twice the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, as well as a three time Heavyweight Champion.
Due to problems with his contract, Couture's future in the UFC was up in the air until August, where the dispute was finally worked out. He has since returned to the organization only to lose in his comeback to WWE poster-boy and Heavyweight sensation Brock Lesnar at UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar.
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Name | Randy Couture |
| Nickname | The Natural, Captain America | |
| Association | Xtreme Couture | |
| Weight Class | LHW, HW | |
| Style | Greco-Roman Wrestling | |
| Birth Date | 6/22/1963 | |
| Country | USA |
Contents |
Professional Record
| Record | 16 - 9 - 0 (Win - Loss - Draw) |
| Wins | 7 T(KO) 2 Submissions 7 Decisions |
| Losses | 5 T(KO) 4 Submissions 0 Decisions |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Brock Lesnar | TKO (Punches) | UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar | 11/15/2008 | 2 | 3:07 | Lost the UFC Heavyweight title |
| Win | Gabriel Gonzaga | TKO (Strikes) | UFC 74 - Respect | 8/25/2007 | 3 | 1:37 | Defended the UFC Heavyweight title |
| Win | Tim Sylvia | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 68 - Uprising | 3/3/2007 | 5 | 5:00 | Won UFC Heavyweight title; FIGHT! Magazine's #2 biggest upsets |
| Loss | Chuck Liddell | KO (Punch) | UFC 57 - Liddell vs Couture 3 | 2/4/2006 | 2 | 1:28 | For UFC Light Heavyweight title |
| Win | Mike Van Arsdale | Submission (Anaconda Choke) | UFC 54 - Boiling Point | 8/20/2005 | 3 | 0:52 | |
| Loss | Chuck Liddell | KO (Punches) | UFC 52 - Couture vs Liddell 2 | 4/16/2005 | 1 | 2:06 | Loses UFC light heavyweight title |
| Win | Vitor Belfort | TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | UFC 49 - Unfinished Business | 8/21/2004 | 3 | 5:00 | Wins UFC light heavyweight title |
| Loss | Vitor Belfort | TKO (Cut) | UFC 46 - Supernatural | 1/31/2004 | 1 | 0:49 | Loses UFC light heavyweight title |
| Win | Tito Ortiz | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 44 - Undisputed | 9/26/2003 | 5 | 5:00 | Wins UFC light heavyweight title |
| Win | Chuck Liddell | TKO (Punches) | UFC 43 - Meltdown | 6/6/2003 | 3 | 2:39 | Wins interim UFC light heavyweight title |
| Loss | Ricco Rodriguez | Submission (Strikes) | UFC 39 - The Warriors Return | 9/27/2002 | 5 | 3:04 | For vacant UFC heavyweight title |
| Loss | Josh Barnett | TKO (Strikes) | UFC 36 - Worlds Collide | 3/22/2002 | 2 | 4:35 | Loses UFC heavyweight title; Barnett was then charged with steroid use |
| Win | Pedro Rizzo | TKO (Strikes) | UFC 34 - High Voltage | 11/2/2001 | 3 | 1:38 | Defends UFC heavyweight title |
| Win | Pedro Rizzo | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 31 - Locked & Loaded | 5/4/2001 | 5 | 5:00 | Defends UFC heavyweight title |
| Loss | Valentijn Overeem | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | Rings - King of Kings 2000 Final | 2/24/2001 | 1 | 0:56 | |
| Win | Tsuyoshi Kohsaka | Decision (Unanimous) | Rings - King of Kings 2000 FInal | 2/24/2001 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Kevin Randleman | TKO (Striikes) | UFC 28 - High Stakes | 11/17/2000 | 3 | 4:13 | Wins UFC heavyweight title |
| Win | Ryushi Yanagisawa | Decision (Majority) | Rings - King of Kings 2000 Block A | 10/9/2000 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Jeremy Horn | Decision (Unanimous) | Rings - King of Kings 2000 Block A | 10/9/2000 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Mikhail Illoukhine | Submission (Kimura) | Rings - Rise 1st | 3/20/1999 | 1 | 7:43 | |
| Loss | Enson Inoue | Submission (Armbar) | VTJ 1998 - Vale Tudo Japan 1998 | 10/25/1998 | 1 | 1:39 | |
| Win | Maurice Smith | Decision | UFC Japan - Ultimate Japan 1 | 12/21/1997 | 1 | 21:00 | |
| Win | Vitor Belfort | TKO (Strikes) | UFC 15 - Collision Course | 10/17/1997 | 1 | 8:16 | FIGHT! Magazine's #9 on it's list of biggest upsets |
| Win | Steven Graham | TKO (Strikes) | UFC 13 - The Ultimate Force | 5/30/1997 | 1 | 3:13 | Wins UFC 13 heavyweight tournament |
| Win | Tony Halme | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UFC 13 - The Ultimate Force | 5/30/1997 | 1 | 0:56 |
Biography
Randy Duane Couture was born in Lynnwood Washington on June 22, 1963. Randy served 6 years in the Army after graduating high school. He learned Greco-Roman Wrestling in the Army, and was considered the top Greco-Roman wrestler in his weight class in the United States.
Randy is legend in the sport of MMA and was inducted into the UFC's hall of fame (Becoming an MMA Superstar).
Wrestling Years
Couture graduated from Lynnwood High School in Lynnwood, Washington where he won a State Championship during his senior year. Couture served in the U.S. Army from 1982–1988. Upon discharge, he was a three-time Olympic team alternate (1988, 1992 and 1996); a semifinalist at the 2000 Olympic Trials; a three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division-I All-American and a two-time NCAA Division-I runner-up at Oklahoma State University. In 1992 he was the Division-1 runner up at 190 pounds coming in second after Mark Kerr.
MMA Career
Light heavyweight title and trilogy with Liddell
After his two consecutive losses in the heavyweight division to larger opponents, Couture moved down a weight class to fight at 205 lbs in the UFC's light heavyweight division. In his light heavyweight debut, Couture took on long-time number one contender Chuck Liddell for the interim light heavyweight championship. Couture won by TKO in the third round, and became the only UFC competitor to win championship titles in two weight classes, a feat since matched in 2008 by BJ Penn; this earned Randy his nickname "Captain America". His next match was billed as a "Champion vs. Champion" fight in order to settle who was the rightful, undisputed champion of the division. Couture faced the five-time defending champion Tito Ortiz for the undisputed light heavyweight title. Couture won a unanimous decision and became the undisputed UFC light heavyweight champion at age 40.
On April 16, 2005, Couture lost his title and suffered the first knockout loss of his career in a rematch with Chuck Liddell. Couture came back in August with a win over Mike Van Arsdale to re-establish himself as a top contender. He faced Liddell again for the third and final time in a championship match on February 4, 2006 at UFC 57. He did not succeed, falling victim to a second round knockout. Immediately after the match, he announced his retirement from the sport.
UFC 57
UFC 57 was the last episode in one of the most exciting trilogies known to MMA fans. Taking place at the Mandalay Bay Event Center, "The Natural" met Chuck Liddell in the octagon for the third time on February 4, 2006. It was the UFC's largest grossing PPV to date, which brought in $3.3 million.
Liddell won by knockout in the second round at 1:28. Chuck is the only man to ever knock out Couture.
Couture announced his retirement after the unfortunate loss, though it was obviously not his last time inside the octagon.
UFC Hall of Fame
On June 24, 2006, during The Ultimate Fighter 3 finale, which was broadcast live on Spike TV, Couture became the fourth fighter to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, joining Royce Gracie, Dan Severn, and Ken Shamrock.
Retirement
After retiring from the professional fighting circuit, Couture began embarking on a variety of activities, including appearing at UFC events as a regular broadcast commentator and as co-host of "Before/After The Bell" on The Fight Network. He also appeared in the Rob Schneider comedy Big Stan, along with fellow mixed martial artists Don Frye and Bob Sapp.
On November 17, 2006, Couture decided to compete athletically again, facing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in a submission wrestling match. The bout ended in a draw.
Couture was featured on season two of Spike TV's reality show "Pros vs. Joes", which premiered on January 25, 2007. His teammates on the episode were Michael Irvin, Kevin Willis, and José Canseco. He returned for the finale, where he even took part in a football based round. His teammates were Willis, Randall Cunningham, Bruce Smith, Roy Jones Jr., and Tim Hardaway. Couture also had a brief cameo appearance on the season finale of the CBS show The Unit as a military guard and on the film Redbelt as a fight commentator. Couture also appeared on an episode of The History Channel's "Human Weapon" on September 27, 2007, and starred in the 2008 film, The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior.
Reclaiming the Heavyweight Title
On January 11, 2007, Couture appeared for an interview on the Spike TV magazine show, Inside the UFC to announce his return from retirement. In a conversation with Joe Rogan, Couture confirmed that he would be facing Tim Sylvia for the UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 68 on March 3, 2007 and revealed that he had signed a four-fight, two-year deal with the company.
At the age of 43, Couture defeated then-champion Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 by unanimous decision to claim his third UFC heavyweight title. Couture's first punch, at 0:08 of the first round, sent the 6'8" (2.03m) Sylvia reeling to the mat. Couture controlled the pace of the fight for five rounds, smothering Sylvia with effective striking and numerous takedowns. All three judges' scored the bout 50-45 for Randy, making him the first fighter in UFC history to become a three-time champion.
On August 25, 2007, at UFC 74 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, Couture defended his title against Gabriel Gonzaga, who previously defeated Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović at UFC 70 to become the number one contender. In the fight, Couture defeated Gonzaga by TKO (strikes) to retain the title. Randy suffered a broken left arm from blocking one of Gonzaga's kicks during the course of the fight. Randy's ulna was not displaced and would be in a sling for 6 weeks, and he was expected to recover completely. It was doubtful he would be medically cleared to compete before January 2008, this would be the least of Randy's worries as shortly after the fight he would be embroiled in a legal battle with the UFC.
Resignation from the UFC
On October 11, 2007, Couture announced that he was severing all ties with the UFC, leaving two contracted fights, a position as an on-air analyst, and his heavyweight championship behind. Reportedly he received $250,000 plus $936,000 of PPV revenue for his comeback against Tim Sylvia. He also reportedly received a $250,000 purse for defeating Gabriel Gonzaga, as well as a $35,000 bonus for "Fight of the Night" and $787,000 in PPV revenue. This became a sticking point since Chuck Liddell lost his two previous fights yet is still being paid a higher amount, according to Couture. Randy cited the UFC's failure to sign #1 ranked heavyweight fighter Fedor Emelianenko, as well as disputes with UFC management.
UFC president Dana White said Thursday Oct. 18, 2007 that Couture remains the promotion's heavyweight champion despite his announced plans to quit. White also reiterated he will not release Couture from the final two fights on his UFC contract. Couture held a press conference on October 25, 2007 in which he denied his leaving of the UFC was a "retirement", set forth his grievances over the pay he received for his fights against Tim Sylvia and Gabriel Gonzaga, and reiterated his belief that he would be free from any contractual obligations to the UFC after nine months. On October 30, 2007, UFC president Dana White and co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta held another press conference. There White reiterated the UFC's position that Couture remains the promotion's heavyweight champion despite his tendered resignation, and that Couture would remain obligated under his UFC contract well beyond nine months. White also released documents at the press conference to refute Couture's claims about the pay he received. Sherdog.com analyzed language reportedly found in the UFC's standard contracts relating to fighter retirement which Sherdog believes clarifies the dispute over Couture's contractual status.
In another chapter to the Couture/UFC saga, Dana White and Randy Couture met and had a "good" conversation at UFC 78. White also met with Randy during the Thanksgiving holiday to discuss a possible return to the octagon. Couture said he had no desire to return to the UFC at that time.
Cornering some of his fighters from Xtreme Couture at HDNet Fights on December 15, 2007 in Dallas, Texas. Randy Couture answered questions about Fedor stating that he would like to fight him in October once his employment contract with the UFC has expired, if the UFC cannot come to some kind of co-promotion agreement with M-1 global before that time.
On January 15, 2008 Zuffa filed a lawsuit in Clark County District Court in Nevada citing breach of contract and irreparable damage. Zuffa is seeking over $10,000 in damages. This suit concerns only Couture's employment contract and not his promotional contract. On February 28, 2008 Judge Jennifer Togliatti handed down the first ruling in the case of Zuffa v. Randy Couture issuing a preliminary injunction barring Couture's participation in an IFL event to be held the following day.
On August 02, 2008 a Texas appeals court granted Zuffa LLC's (the UFC's parent company) request for a stay against a motion for a declaratory judgment in a suit filed by HDNet regarding Randy Couture's contractual status with the UFC. The stay effectively ends the dispute in the state of Texas and Zuffa will be allowed to move forward with the Nevada suit.
In the midst of the drama, the UFC named an Interim Heavyweight Champion, with Couture out of the picture for a while. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira gained the honors by defeating Tim Sylvia on February 2, 2008 at UFC 81: Breaking Point.
Honors
- Amateur
- Pan American Championship Greco-Roman Seniors 90 kg - second place (June 13, 1990)
- Pan American Championship Greco-Roman Seniors 90 kg - winner (January 1, 1991)
- Pan American Championship Greco-Roman Seniors 90 kg - second place (January 1, 1992)
- Pan American Championship Greco-Roman Seniors 97 kg - third place (May 21, 1997)
- Pan American Championship Greco-Roman Seniors 97 kg - second place (March 24, 1998)
- Pan American Games Greco-Roman Seniors 90 kg - winner (August 6, 1991)
- FILA test tournament Greco-Roman Seniors 97 kg - third place (March 14, 1998)
- FILA World Cup Greco-Roman Seniors 90 kg - third place (November 9, 1991)
- FILA World Cup Greco-Roman Seniors 90 kg - third place (November 21, 1992)
- Professional
- UFC 13 heavyweight tournament winner
- Two-time UFC light heavyweight champion
- Interim UFC light heavyweight champion
- Three-time UFC heavyweight champion
- Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Fame
- First six-time champion in UFC history
- First fighter in UFC history to hold titles at both light heavyweight and heavyweight
- First fighter in UFC history to become a champion after being inducted into the Hall of Fame
Filmography
- "Big Stan" as Carnahan.
- "Redbelt" as Dylan Flynn.
- "Invincible" as 'Toruci' Player #1
- "The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior" as Sargon.
- "Cradle 2 the Grave" as Fighter #8.
- "Today You Die" as Vincent's Bodyguard.
- "Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3" as Commander Warren Fuller.
Personal Life
Couture was previously married to Sharon and Tricia, and he is now married to Kim Couture (née Holderman). He has three children, sons Ryan and Caden and daughter Aimee, in addition to a stepson.
Interesting Facts
The following facts were taken from the pre-fight information given to the viewers at UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar:
- 14 of his 18 UFC fights have been for a title
- 54% Takedown success rate at Heavyweight
