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Randy Couture

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Randy Duane Couture (born June 22, 1963, Lynnwood, Washington, U.S.) is a retired Greco-Roman wrestler and mixed martial arts competitor. He is the only athlete to have held championship titles in both the Heavyweight and Light-Heavyweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, earning him the nicknames "The Natural" and, later, "Captain America". He, along with Robert Follis, also once headed Team Quest, a stable of fighters based out of Portland, Oregon. In 2005, Couture moved to Las Vegas, where he still resides.

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. 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 utilizes his wrestling ability by taking his opponent down to the mat, establishing top position, and launching down 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.

Biography

Before entering the UFC, Randy 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 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 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. Randy scored a TKO victory.

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. He returned to the UFC in 2000, where he recaptured the Heavyweight title from Kevin Randleman on November 17 of that year.

After two consecutive losses in the heavyweight division to larger opponents, including a title loss to Josh Barnett, Couture moved down a weight class to fight at 205 lb in the UFC's light-heavyweight division where he stayed for the remainder of his fighting career. In his light-heavyweight debut, Couture took on long-time number one contender Chuck Liddell for the Interim Light-Heavyweight Championship. Couture emerged victorious by TKO in the third round, and became the only competitor to win championship titles in two weight classes. His next bout 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 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.

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 title match on February 4, 2006 at UFC 57; he did not succeed, however, and once again suffered a knockout-loss. Immediately after the match, he announced his retirement from the sport.

On June 24, 2006, during the Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale broadcast on Spike TV, Couture became the fourth fighter to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, along side Royce Gracie, Dan Severn, and Ken Shamrock.

Record

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  • Professional MMA record: 22 fights, 14 wins (6 TKOs, 2 submissions, 4 decisions), 8 losses (2 KOs, 2 TKOs, 4 submissions).
Number Date Result Round Method Opponent Nationality Note
1 May 30, 1997 Win
Submission Tony Halme USA UFC 13 (Debut as a professional MMA fighter, Entry to UFC Heavyweight tournament)
2 May 30, 1997 Win
TKO Steven Graham USA UFC 13 (Winning UFC Heavyweight tournament)
3 October 17, 1997 Win
TKO Vitor Belfort Brazil UFC 15
4 December 21, 1997 Win
Decision Maurice Smith USA UFC Japan 1 (Winning UFC Heavyweight championship)
5 October 25, 1998 Loss 1R 1:39 Submission Enson Inoue USA Vale Tudo Japan’98
6 March 20, 1999 Loss 7:43 Submission Mikhail Illoukhine Russia Rings-Rise 1st
7 October 9, 2000 Win Ex 1R Decision 3-0 Jeremy Horn USA Rings-King of Kings 2000 Block A 1st match
8 October 9, 2000 Win 2R Decision 2-0 Ryushi Yanagisawa Japan Rings-King of Kings 2000 Block A 2nd match
9 November 17, 2001 Win 3R 4:13 TKO Kevin Randleman USA UFC 28 (UFC Heavyweight championship)
10 February 24, 2001 Win 2R Decision Tsuyoshi Kohsaka Japan Rings-King of Kings 2000 Final
11 February 24, 2001 Loss 1R 0:56 Submission Valentijn Overeem Netherland Rings-King of Kings 2000 Final
12 May 4, 2001 Win 5R Decision Pedro Rizzo Brazil UFC 31 (UFC Heavyweight championship)
13 November 2, 2001 Win 3R 1:38 TKO Pedro Rizzo Brazil UFC 34 (UFC Heavyweight championship)
14 March 22, 2002 Loss 2R 4:35 TKO Josh Barnett USA UFC 36 (UFC Heavyweight championship)
15 September 27, 2002 Loss 5R 3:04 TKO Ricco Rodriguez USA UFC 39 (UFC Heavyweight championship)
16 June 6, 2003 Win 3R 2:40 TKO Chuck Liddell USA UFC 43 (UFC Light heavyweight interim championship)
17 September 26, 2003 Win 5R Decision Tito Ortiz USA UFC 44 (UFC Light heavyweight unifying championship)
18 January 31, 2004 Loss 1R 0:49 TKO Vitor Belfort Brazil UFC 46 (UFC Light heavyweight championship)
19 August 21, 2004 Win 3R TKO Vitor Belfort Brazil UFC 49 (UFC Light heavyweight championship)
20 April 16, 2005 Loss 1R 2: 06 KO Chuck Liddell USA UFC 52 (UFC Light heavyweight championship)
21 August 20, 2005 Win 3R 0:52 Submission Mike Van Arsdale USA UFC 54
22 February 4, 2006 Loss 2R 1:28 TKO Chuck Liddell USA UFC 57 (UFC Light heavyweight championship)
Couture announces retirement after this match.

Career

  • Amateur
    • Pan American Championship Greco-Roman Seniors 90kg 2nd place (June 13, 1990)
    • Pan American Championship Greco-Roman Seniors 90kg winner (January 1, 1991)
    • Pan American Championship Greco-Roman Seniors 90kg 2nd place (January 1, 1992)
    • Pan American Championship Greco-Roman Seniors 97kg 3rd place (May 21, 1997)
    • Pan American Championship Greco-Roman Seniors 97kg 2nd place (March 24, 1998)
    • Pan American Games Greco-Roman Seniors 90kg winner (August 6, 1991)
    • FILA test tournament Greco-Roman Seniors 97kg 3rd place (March 14, 1998)
    • FILA World Cup Greco-Roman Seniors 90kg 5th place (November 24, 1990)
    • FILA World Cup Greco-Roman Seniors 90kg 3rd place (November 9, 1991)
    • FILA World Cup Greco-Roman Seniors 90kg 3rd palce (November 21, 1992)
    • FILA World Cup Greco-Roman Seniors 100kg 4th place (November 21, 1992)
    • FILA World Cup Greco-Roman Seniors 90kg 5th place (November 1, 1995)
    • FILA World Championship Greco-Roman Seniors 16th place (October 1, 1995)
    • FILA World Championship Greco-Roman Seniors 9th place (September 10, 1997)
  • Professional
    • UFC13 Heavyweight tournament winner
    • UFC Light heavyweight inerim 3rd champion
    • UFC Light heavyweight 4th champion
    • UFC Light heavyweight 6th champion
    • UFC Light heavyweight champion
    • UFC Heavyweight 3rd champion
    • UFC Heavyweight 6th champion
  • Retirement
    • As of June 25, 2006, Randy Couture was inducted into the Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Fame, granted to him at the season finale of the Ultimate Fighter, Season Three.

See also

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