Posts tagged mixed martial artist

Randy Duane Couture, born June 22, 1963, is an American actor and mixed martial artist, Greco-Roman wrestler, and former collegiate wrestler, and the former heavyweight champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.  Couture is one of only two UFC fighters to have held a championship title in two different divisions (heavyweight and light heavyweight) while in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (the other fighter being BJ Penn), as well as the only five-time champion in UFC history.  Couture is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame, and many consider him to be the most popular fighter in MMA history.  Couture is generally recognized as a clinch and ground-and-pound fighter who uses his wrestling ability to execute take-downs, establish top position, and successively strike the opponent on the bottom.  Couture has also displayed a variety of skills in boxing, Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, submitting two opponents using different chokeholds.  Couture is also the only athlete in UFC history to win a championship after becoming a Hall of Fame member and is the oldest title holder ever (in the UFC and MMA in general).  Along with Chuck Liddell, Couture is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts into the mainstream of American pop culture and sports.

Couture first appeared in the UFC on May 30, 1997 as part of UFC 13: The Ultimate Force.  Couture fought in the heavyweight tournament, and won it, defeating Tony Halme and Steven Graham in the process.  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 kick boxer Maurice Smith.  Couture didn’t keep the belt for long.  Soon after, he was 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.  In 2000, Couture returned to the UFC to recapture the heavyweight title from Kevin Randleman at UFC 28 on November 17 of that year.

                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 Couture his nickname “Captain America”.  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.