THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — The numbers were all against Randy (The Natural) Couture when he faced heavyweight champion Tim (The Maine-iac) Sylva at UFC 68.
Couture was 43 and had spent the last 13 months in retirement. And he was giving up 13 years, six inches in height, 11.5 in reach and more than 40 pounds to the six-foot-eight, 263-pound Sylvia.
But after touching gloves at Columbus’ Nationwide Arena, Couture launched a left inside leg kick and then put the big man down with a right to the head.
Five lopsided rounds later, Couture was heavyweight champion. Again.
"Wow," UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta said as he congratulated Couture in the cage afterwards.
"Not bad for an old man," said Couture, who dedicated the March 2007 win to Jesus and the American GI.
Four years, another retirement and six fights later, the 47-year-old Couture (19-10) is preparing for one final hurrah. The UFC Hall of Famer takes on former light-heavyweight champion Lyoto (The Dragon) Machida at UFC 129 on Saturday at Toronto’s Rogers Centre.
Machida (16-2) is 15 years younger and comes in a 4-1 favourite.
Should this retirement stick (this is his third farewell), Couture will leave the cage knowing he helped put mixed martial arts on the map. His trilogy of fights with light-heavyweight legend Chuck (The Iceman) Liddell attracted a legion of new fans to the sport and he became one of MMA’s first crossover stars, with a blossoming movie career.
As a fighter, his legacy is that of a multiple champion in two weight classes — a master tactician with a body that would put many athletes two decades younger to shame.
| UFC 129 Sportsnet/sportsnet.ca schedule | |||
| What? | When? | Where? | |
| Pre-fight press conference | Wednesday (watch replay) | Live stream | |
| Skype chat (Jason MacDonald) | Thursday, 4 p.m. ET | Live stream/chat | |
| ‘Super 7’ special presentation | Friday, 3 p.m. ET | UFC live stream | |
| UFC 129 weigh-ins | Friday, 4 p.m. ET | Live stream/chat | |
| UFC 129 live results | Saturday, 6 p.m. ET | Fight card | |
| Prelims on Facebook | Saturday, 6-8 p.m. ET | ||
| UFC Connected pre-fight special | Saturday, 7-8 p.m. ET | Sportsnet | |
| Prelims on Sportsnet | Saturday, 8-9 p.m. ET | Sportsnet | |
| UFC 129 main card (PPV) | Saturday, 9 p.m. ET | Pay-per-view | |
| UFC Connected post-fight special | Saturday, 12-12:30 a.m. ET | Sportsnet | |
| Post-fight press conference | Saturday, 1:15 a.m. ET (approx.) | UFC live stream | |
And the three-time heavyweight champion and two-time light-heavyweight title-holder remains one of the sport’s nice guys.
"I think the biggest appeal is the fact that Randy’s the type of guy you’d love to be your dad," said Canadian middleweight Jason (The Athlete) MacDonald who has trained with Couture.
"He’s well-spoken, he makes everybody feel comfortable around him. He represents himself and the sport well, he speaks well. If you’ve ever had a chance to even spend a few seconds with Randy, he makes you feel comfortable, he makes you feel important, he always has time for you… . And then just the fact that the man’s 47 years old and is still at the top of the division. You have to admire that."
Couture, who turns 48 in June, has known for some time the clock is ticking and has wasted little of that time. Machida marks his fifth fight in 20 months.
He has two movies to shoot later this year — "Hijacked" with Vinnie Jones and Dominic Purcell, and the sequel to "The Expendables."
There’s also his clothing line, supplements brand, the Xtreme Couture gyms and Round 5 MMA action figures.
Ironically Couture says he has more time to himself when he is fighting.
"It gets overwhelming at times and I think it’s really one of the reasons why I’ve enjoyed (training) camp so much, is because a lot of the other stuff goes away," he said in an interview. "My staff does a great job of kind of insulating me and taking a bunch of the other stuff off my plate when I’m in training camp and getting ready for a fight."
Still Couture says the time is right to quit.
"I’ve pushed it pretty far," he told a media conference call. "I don’t think anybody is going to probably push it as far as I had the last 14 years."
Saturday’s result won’t affect his decision, he insists.
"It’s about where I am in my life, I’ve been doing this for a long time," he said. "It’s about the journey, it’s about the performance. As long as I go in there and have a good performance, I will be satisfied."
Couture’s MMA journey began at UFC 13 in May 1997. An alternate for the U.S. wrestling team for the Atlanta Olympics, the former army veteran was invited to take part in UFC 13 as a late injury replacement.
"I think maybe 2,000 people were there at the Civic Centre in Augusta and they were pretty rabid, pretty crazy," he recalled. "I think there were more fights in the stands than there were in the cage that night."
His first opponent was big Finnish boxer Tony Halme.
"You’re not sure whether you want to pee yourself and climb the fence and get out of there or stay in there and fight," Couture recalled his debut with a laugh.
In a taped promo for the heavyweight tournament that night, Halme promised to rip off his arm. Couture’s mother cried when she watched it on the pay-per-view broadcast.
But Couture finished off the Finn in 56 seconds and then stopped Steven Graham in just over three minutes. His purse was some US$20,000.
Less than five months later he upset Brazilian Vitor (The Phenom) Belfort before beating Maurice Smith by decision in December 1997 to claim the UFC heavyweight title in only his fourth fight.
Ups and downs followed. An injured Couture almost retired after UFC 39 in September 2002, following losses to Josh Barnett and then Ricco Rodriguez.
Eye surgery ensued.
"It took me about a good six months before I got my vision back to where it should be," he said. "I thought I might be done then."
His family was encouraging him to quit and he contemplated returning to Team Quest in Oregon settle down and coach.
"Obviously it didn’t work out that way," he said. "They threw the Chuck fight at me and the career took off on kind of a second burst. It happened to coincide with the sport exploding the way it has since ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ (reality TV show)."
Couture beat Liddell at UFC 43 but lost his title to Belfort after suffering a nasty cut on the eyelid. He avenged that defeat but was beaten twice by Liddell, electing to retire after UFC 57 in February 2006.
He returned to beat Sylvia, only to retire in October 2007, citing issues with UFC management. The two sides eventually made up — with Couture having little choice if he wanted to fight again — and he was beaten by Brock Lesnar in his comeback at UFC 91 in November 2008.
He lost again to heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 102 but has won his last three light-heavyweight fights, defeating Brandon (The Truth) Vera, Mark (The Hammer) Coleman and former boxing star Andrew Toney.
To this day, the Sylvia showdown remains one of his favourites.
"Probably the pinnacle fight of my career," he said. "I think that the very first Vitor Belfort fight kind of set the (underdog) tone for those types of fights for me.
"And I found myself in that situation several other times, certainly with Chuck and then again with Tito (Ortiz) and it kind of culminated in mind of being that huge underdog in that fight against Tim."
Couture has made millions from the sport and, several divorces notwithstanding, appears to be set for life with more than a few career options still open.
He leaves a rare fighting legacy.
Couture holds wins over nine former UFC champions –Coleman, Belfort, Smith, Kevin Randleman, Barnett, Rodriguez, Liddell, Ortiz, and Sylvia.
He is 7-3 as a light-heavyweight — his true weight class — and 12-7 as a heavyweight.
"Hall of Famer, legend, (has) won more titles than anybody. The guy, it just never ends," White said.
On Saturday it will all end, however.
White, who says he’ll wait and see on the retirement front, says Couture will deliver what he always does when the cage door closes Saturday.
"I expect fireworks," he said.
