العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
EspañolRANDY COUTURE
'Randy Duane Couture' (born June 22, 1963) is a Greco-Roman wrestler, folkstyle wrestler, and professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. He is the current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Champion and a member of the UFC Hall of Fame. He is the only athlete to have held championship titles in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions of the UFC, as well as the only five-time champion in UFC history, earning him the nicknames "''The Natural''" and, later, "''Captain America''".
He, along with Robert Follis, once headed Team Quest, a camp of fighters based out of Gresham, Oregon. In 2005, Couture moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he currently resides. He moved out of Team Quest recently and opened new gyms called Xtreme Couture, located in Las Vegas, Vancouver, Washington, and Wellington, Florida. He trains at his Las Vegas gym.
Couture lived in Corvallis, Oregon throughout most of his professional career. He also served as an assistant wrestling coach and strength and conditioning coach for Oregon State University. Although he is more generally recognized as a clinch-fighter, Couture's preferred method of offense in mixed martial arts competition is what is commonly referred to as 'ground and pound', in which a fighter uses his wrestling ability to take his opponent down to the mat, establishing top position, and successively striking the opponent. In addition to his wrestling background, Couture spent six years boxing in the Army[1]. He has displayed a variety of skills in both Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and has submitted two opponents using different chokeholds. He holds notable wins over Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Vitor Belfort, Pedro Rizzo, Kevin Randleman, Jeremy Horn, Gabriel Gonzaga and Tim Sylvia.
He is also the only athlete in UFC history to win a championship after becoming a Hall of Fame member.
| Contents |
| Early years |
| UFC career |
| Heavyweight title |
| Trilogy with Liddell |
| Retirement |
| Reclaiming the title |
| Personal life |
| Mixed martial arts record |
| Honors |
| References |
| External links |
Early years
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.[2]
UFC career
Heavyweight title
Couture debuted in the UFC on May 30, 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 200 lb) division and one in the heavyweight (200 lb and over) division. Couture fought in the heavyweight tournament, defeating Tony Halme and Steven Graham to win it. His next match was an elimination bout for the heavyweight title against the young Brazilian "Phenom", Vitor Belfort. Couture scored a TKO victory in what UFC announcer Bruce Beck described as "a stunning upset."
Couture won his first heavyweight title via decision in a 1997 match against kickboxer Maurice Smith. 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. After leaving the UFC, Couture signed with the RINGS organization, a fightsport promotion primarily based out of Japan. His tenure with RINGS would prove to be short-lived. He returned to the UFC in 2000, where he recaptured the heavyweight title from Kevin Randleman at ''UFC 28'' on November 17 of that year. He went on to lose the UFC Heavy Weight title in a fight with Josh Barnett via TKO in the 2nd round at UFC 36 in 2002.
Trilogy with Liddell
After two consecutive losses in the heavyweight division to larger opponents (Ricco Rodriguez and a title loss to Josh Barnett), Couture moved down a weight class to fight at 205 lb 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. 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. He scored 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 reestablish 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.
Couture in 2005.
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 will also appear in the upcoming 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.[3]
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 Jose 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.
Reclaiming the title
Couture now trains out of his own gym, Xtreme Couture.
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 ''UFC 68'' Couture defeated then-champion Tim Sylvia by unanimous decision to claim his third UFC heavyweight title, at the age of 43. Couture's first punch, at :08 of the first round, sent the 6 ft 8 in Sylvia to the mat. Couture controlled the pace of the fight for the remainder of the five rounds with effective striking and numerous takedowns. His performance earned him a 50-45 score on all of the judges' scorecards, making him the first five-time champion in UFC history.[4]
Couture defended his title on August 25, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, against Gabriel Gonzaga, who defeated Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović at ''UFC 70'' to earn number one contendership, at ''UFC 74''. At ''UFC 74'' Couture defeated Gabriel Gonzaga by TKO (strikes) to retain his championship. Randy suffered a broken left arm from blocking one of Gonzaga's kicks during the course of the fight. Randy's ulna is not displaced and will be in a sling for 6 weeks, and he should recover completely, though it is doubtful he will be medically cleared to compete before January 2008.[5]
Personal life
Randy Couture is a Christian.[6] Couture was previously married to Tricia and Sharon,[7][8] and he is now married to Kim Holderman.[9] He has four children: Ryan, Aimee, Tricia and Caden.[10] He also has an 11-year-old stepson named Oakley.[11]
Mixed martial arts record
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,
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
