Randy Couture
Randy Duane Couture (born June 22, 1963, Lynnwood, Washington, U.S.) is a former Greco-Roman wrestler and mixed martial arts practitioner. He was a champion in both the Heavyweight and Light-Heavyweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, earning him the nicknames "The Natural" and, later, "Captain America". Couture headed Team Quest, a stable of fighters in Portland and Las Vegas.
Couture's preferred method of offense in mixed martial arts competition was what is commonly referred to as 'Ground and Pound', in which a fighter takes his opponent down to the mat, establishes top position, and launches a series of blows upon his opponent. However, in addition to his wrestling background, Couture has displayed a variety of skills in both boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and has submitted two opponents using different chokeholds.
He based his training in Corvallis, Oregon, and later from Las Vegas, Nevada, where he currently resides.
Biography
Before entering the UFC, Randy Couture 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 D-I All-American; and a two-time NCAA finalist.[1]
Randy Couture debuted in the UFC on May 30th, 1997 as part of UFC 13: The Ultimate Force. At the time, the event consisted of two four-man tournaments: one in the lightweight (under 200lbs) division and one in the heavyweight (200lbs and over) division. Couture fought in the heavyweight tournament and defeated Tony Halme and Steven Graham. His next match was an elimination bout for the heavyweight title against the young Brazilian "Phenom", Vitor Belfort. Couture defeated Belfort by TKO.
He won his first Heavyweight title against kickboxer Maurice Smith, which Couture won by decision, in 1997. Couture was afterwards stripped of the title when he could not come to contractual terms with the UFC and its parent company at the time, Semaphore Entertainment Group. He returned to the UFC in 2000 where he captured the Heavyweight title again from Kevin Randleman on November 17, 2000.
After two consecutive losses in the heavyweight division to larger opponents, including a title loss to Josh Barnett, Couture moved down a weight class and has since fought at 205 lbs in the UFC's light-heavyweight division. In his light-heavyweight debut, Couture took on Chuck Liddell for the UFC's Interim Light-Heavyweight Title. Couture won by TKO in the third round. His next bout was against the five-time defending champion Tito Ortiz for the Undisputed Light-Heavyweight title. Couture controlled the younger Ortiz throughout the five rounds of the fight, scoring a unanimous decision and becoming UFC's Undisputed Light-Heavyweight Champion at age 40.
After moving to Las Vegas in 2005, Couture founded another branch of Team Quest in that city. 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 reestablish himself as the top contender. Couture finally faced Liddell for the Light-Heavyweight title for a third time on February 4, 2006 at UFC 57 in a highly anticipated rubber match, but he did not succeed as he loss by a TKO in the second round. Immediately after the match, he announced his retirement after the fight. At an age of 42, Couture at the time was older than the majority of fighters within the UFC and other MMA organizations; his fans admired him for remaining competitive. In 2003, Couture was elected as one of the top 10 Washington Wrestlers of All Time.
MMA Record
14 wins (6 TKOs, 2 submissions, 4 decisions), 8 losses (2 KO, 2 TKOs, 4 submissions), 0 draw.