Randy Couture
Encyclopedia
Randy Duane Couture is a retired American mixed martial artist, Greco-Roman wrestler
, actor
, a three-time former heavyweight champion, two-time former light-heavyweight champion, former interim light heavyweight champion and UFC 13 tournament winner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Couture is the first fighter to hold two UFC championship titles in two different divisions (heavyweight
and light heavyweight
). Couture has competed in a record 15 title fights. He holds the most title reigns in the UFC with five. His last fight with Lyoto Machida
marked his 24th fight in the UFC, the second most amount of fights in the UFC (Matt Hughes and Tito Ortiz are tied with the most at 25). Couture is one of the first members of the UFC Hall of Fame and many consider him to be one of the most popular fighters in the UFC.
Couture was an Olympic wrestling alternate and has lived in Corvallis, Oregon
, throughout much of his career, where he served as an assistant wrestling coach and a strength and conditioning coach for Oregon State University
. He established Team Quest
with Matt Lindland
and Dan Henderson
, a training camp for fighters, based out of Gresham, Oregon
, and headed by coach Robert Folis. In 2005, Couture moved to Las Vegas
, where he opened his own extensive chain of gyms under the name Xtreme Couture. He currently trains at his Las Vegas-based gym. Couture partnered with Bas Rutten
in the opening of Legends Gym in Hollywood, California.
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 displayed a variety of skills in Boxing
, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
; submitting
three opponents using different chokeholds. Couture is 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). Along with Chuck Liddell
, Couture is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts into the mainstream of American sports
and pop culture.
in Lynnwood, Washington
, then moved on to Lynnwood High School
, where he won a State Championship during his senior year. Couture served in the U.S. Army from 1982–1988, attaining the rank of Sergeant in the 101st Airborne
, where he "wrestled and did a little boxing." He coached at Oregon State University.
Upon discharge, he became 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. In 1992, he was the Division-I runner up at 190 pounds, coming in second after Mark Kerr. Couture was settling into life as a wrestling coach, until he saw a video of a UFC event and decided to pursue a career in mixed martial arts.
in May 1997. He entered the four-man Heavyweight
tournament, his first opponent being Tony Halme
, who fought as WWF
wrestler Ludvig Borga. Outweighed by nearly 100 lbs, Couture scored a double-leg takedown right off the bat. After working some ground and pound, he got a back mount and secured a rear naked choke win in just less than a minute. His second fight that night was in the tournament finals against Steven Graham, yet another larger opponent at 290 lbs. Again Couture took the fight to the ground, scoring a TKO win at 3:13 minutes of the first round.
His next UFC appearance was on October 17, 1997, at UFC 15
. He fought Vitor Belfort
to determine the number 1 challenger of the Heavyweight belt. Couture was a massive underdog
in that fight, as the 19-year-old Belfort was the UFC 12
Heavyweight Tournament winner, winning all of his matches via devastating knockouts. At that time, Belfort seemed to represent the future of MMA, as he was not only a Carlson Gracie
blackbelt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but had extremely fast hands and punching power, and was even scheduled to compete for the Olympic trials in boxing for Brazil
.
Couture put on a display that began to earn him the reputation of a master strategist in the sport. After circling away from Belfort's powerful left hand, Couture got the clinch, but was unable to score a takedown. The fighters broke up, and when Belfort attempted a flurry of punches, Couture changed levels and took the fight to the ground. He immediately gained side control and landed strikes, and as Vitor scrambled to his feet, he scored with knee strikes. Back on the feet, Couture clinched again and wore Belfort out with dirty boxing. Around the 7-minute mark, Vitor was exhausted. Couture yet again took the fight to the ground, and finished with punches from back mount in what was one of the biggest upsets in early MMA history.
His next fight took place on December 21, 1997, at UFC Japan
. He fought the then Heavyweight champion, Maurice Smith, who was making his second title defense after winning the belt from Mark Coleman
earlier that year. In a slow-paced, calculated fight, neither fighter was able to damage the other, but Couture scored several takedowns and had the positional control throughout the fight. After 21 minutes, he won a majority decision
and became the new UFC heavyweight champion.
In 1998, the UFC wanted Couture to defend his belt against Bas Rutten
, former King of Pancrase
. Randy instead signed with Vale Tudo Japan
and was stripped of the heavyweight belt. In Japan, he was matched up against Enson Inoue
. After taking the fight to the ground, he was forced to tap out to an armbar just more than 90 seconds into the first round. His next fight was on March 20, 1999, for the Japanese Rings promotion. There he suffered a very controversial loss to Mikhail Illoukhine
via Kimura, one which many fans blamed on a mistake by the referee. After that loss, Couture took a break from MMA to focus on his amateur wrestling career, with the 2000 Summer Olympics in sight.
He returned to MMA in October 2000 for the Rings King of Kings 2000 Tournament, where he defeated UFC veteran Jeremy Horn
by unanimous decision in his first fight and defeated Pancrase veteran Ryushi Yanagisawa, by unanimous decision, in the second fight. These two wins qualified him for the finals of the tournament, which would take place in early 2001. Before that, he was offered a shot at the UFC heavyweight title against Kevin Randleman
on Nov. 17, 2000. Couture was taken down in the first two rounds, but he showed very good defense from his back, frustrating most of Kevin's ground and pound attempts. In the third round, he tripped Randleman to the mat and landed several strikes from the full mount, winning by referee stoppage. Couture had won the UFC heavyweight belt for the second time.
In March 2001, he fought for the finals of the Rings King of Kings 2000 tournament. After dominating UFC veteran Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in the first fight, he fought the semifinals against Valentijn Overeem
, and was caught in a guillotine choke early in the fight. The tournament was eventually won by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
, and Couture went back to the UFC after that.
His first title defense was against Brazilian kickboxer Pedro Rizzo
at UFC 31
. This was the first UFC event under the Zuffa management, with Dana White
as the new president. In one of the best and most brutal fights in MMA history, both fighters inflicted a lot of damage on each other. After five 5-minute rounds, Couture was declared the winner by unanimous decision, which generated a lot of controversy as many fans felt Rizzo had won the fight. This prompted the UFC to set up an immediate rematch between the two, which took place at UFC 34
, in November 2001. This time, Couture did not have many problems, as he had adjusted to Rizzo's style and won a TKO stoppage in the third round. His third title defense was in March 2002, against up-and-comer Josh Barnett
. In the second round, Josh got on top of Couture and landed several strikes, winning by TKO. After the fight, it was revealed that Josh had tested positive for anabolic steroids; he was subsequently stripped of his title and left the UFC. Couture was then matched up against Ricco Rodriguez
for the vacant UFC heavyweight belt at UFC 39
, in late 2002. After dominating the first three rounds, the 39-year-old Couture began to show signs of fatigue. In the fifth round, Ricco took him down and landed an elbow strike to the eye, breaking Couture's orbital bone, forcing him to submit. This fight marked the first time a UFC fight was ended via KO, TKO or submission in the fifth round.
for the interim light heavyweight championship. Couture was again the underdog, but after outstriking Chuck for three rounds, he took the fight to the ground, winning by TKO via strikes from the mount position. Couture became the only UFC competitor to win championship titles in two weight classes, earning Couture his nickname "Captain America". 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. Couture won a unanimous decision and became the undisputed UFC light heavyweight champion at age 40.
Couture's first title defense at Light Heavyweight
was against Vitor Belfort, whom he had defeated in 1997 at UFC 15
. In the first round, as Couture closed the distance to attempt a clinch, Belfort threw a left hook that grazed his right eye. A piece of Belfort's glove caused serious damage, and Vitor was declared the winner by medical stoppage. The rematch took place later that year, with Randy dominating all 3 rounds before winning by medical stoppage due to a cut. This made him a 2-time Light Heavyweight champion, as well as 2-time Heavyweight champion.
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 to a second round knockout. Immediately after the match, he announced his retirement from the sport.
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
.
. He appeared in the Rob Schneider
comedy Big Stan
, along with fellow mixed martial artists Don Frye
and Bob Sapp
.
On Nov. 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.
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 José 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 had a brief cameo appearance on the season finale of the CBS
show The Unit
as a military guard and on the film Redbelt
as fight commentator, Terry Flynn. Couture appeared on an episode of The History Channel
's "Human Weapon
" on September 27, 2007, and starred in the 2008 film, "The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior." In 2010, Couture starred in the action movie, The Expendables as Toll Road and is reprising the part in the film's sequel.
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 the age of 43, Couture defeated then-champion Tim Sylvia at UFC 68
by unanimous decision to claim his third UFC heavyweight title. Couture's first punch, at :08 of the first round, sent the (2.03 m) Sylvia reeling to the mat. Couture controlled the pace of the fight for five rounds, smothering Sylvia with effective striking and numerous takedowns. All three judges' scored the bout 50–45 for Couture, making him the first fighter in UFC history to become a three-time champion.
On August 25, 2007, at UFC 74
at the Mandalay Bay Events Center
in Las Vegas, Couture defended his title against Gabriel Gonzaga
, who previously defeated Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović
at UFC 70
to become the number one contender. In the fight, Couture defeated Gonzaga by TKO (strikes) to retain the title. Couture suffered a broken left arm from blocking one of Gonzaga's kicks during the course of the fight. The kick cleanly separated the ulna
bone. The injury placed the UFC heavyweight champion's arm in a splint for six weeks.
, as well as disputes with UFC management.
UFC president Dana White
said on October 18, 2007, that Couture remains the promotion's heavyweight champion despite his announced plans to quit. White reiterated he would not release Couture from the final two fights on his UFC contract. Couture held a press conference on October 25, 2007, in which he denied his leaving of the UFC was a "retirement", set forth his grievances over the pay he received for his fights against Tim Sylvia and Gabriel Gonzaga, and reiterated his belief that he would be free from any contractual obligations to the UFC after nine months. On October 30, 2007, White and UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta held another press conference. There White reiterated the UFC's position that Couture remains the promotion's heavyweight champion despite his tendered resignation, and that Couture would remain obligated under his UFC contract well beyond nine months. White released documents at the press conference to refute Couture's claims about the pay he received.
Sherdog
.com analyzed language reportedly found in the UFC's standard contracts relating to fighter retirement which Sherdog believes clarifies the dispute over Couture's contractual status.
In another chapter to the Couture/UFC saga, White and Randy Couture met and had a "good" conversation at UFC 78. However, White met with Couture during the Thanksgiving holiday to discuss a possible return to the Octagon, where Couture said he had no desire to return to the UFC at that time.
Cornering some of his fighters from Xtreme Couture at HDNet Fights
on December 15, 2007, in Dallas, Texas, Couture answered questions about Fedor, stating that he would like to fight him in October once his employment contract with the UFC has expired, if the UFC cannot come to some kind of co-promotion agreement with M-1 Global
before that time.
On January 15, 2008, Zuffa—the UFC's parent company—filed a lawsuit in Clark County District Court
in Nevada, citing breach of contract and irreparable damage. Zuffa is seeking over $10,000 in damages. This suit concerns only Couture's employment contract and not his promotional contract. On February 28, 2008, Judge Jennifer Togliatti handed down the first ruling in the case of Zuffa v. Randy Couture, issuing a preliminary injunction
barring Couture's participation in an IFL event to be held the following day.
On August 2, 2008, a Texas appeals court granted Zuffa LLC's request for a stay against a motion for a declaratory judgment in a suit filed by HDNet regarding Randy Couture's contractual status with the UFC. The stay effectively ends the dispute in the state of Texas and Zuffa will be allowed to move forward with the Nevada suit.
on November 15, 2008, in Las Vegas, Nevada where he lost his UFC Heavyweight Championship to Brock Lesnar
. It was at first a closely contested match; however, later in the fight Lesnar knocked Couture down and finished him with hammer fists for a TKO victory at 3:07 of the second round. In the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Couture declared his desire to keep fighting. He stated that he felt like he was still becoming a better fighter and blamed his loss on a bad performance, not his age.
On February 26, 2009, it was reported that Couture had agreed to a bout with former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion and former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
at UFC 102
in Portland, Oregon. In that fight, on August 29, 2009, Couture lost a relatively one-sided bout via unanimous decision. After the bout, Couture stated he felt like he was in the best shape of his life, and that he will wait and see what the UFC has in store for him in the future. The fight received the "Fight of the Night" award.
After the Nogueira match, Dana White announced Couture had signed a new 6 fight deal, effectively replacing his previous contract.
On November 14, 2009, at UFC 105
, Couture fought Brandon Vera
in a somewhat uneventful fight. Although Vera landed effective strikes and scored a knockdown, Couture would win the bout via unanimous decision. Whilst the outcome sparked controversy amongst some fans, the victory marked his first at Light Heavyweight since his loss to Chuck Liddell in 2006. At age 46, Couture became the oldest fighter to ever win a fight in the UFC.
Couture fought fellow Hall of Famer Mark Coleman
at UFC 109
. The bout marked the first time that UFC Hall of Famers fought against each other in the Octagon. The pair were scheduled to meet at UFC 17
in 1998, but a Couture injury forced the cancellation of the bout. The legendary pair wrestled one another in a freestyle match at the 1989 Olympic Festival at Oklahoma State where Coleman won the match by one point. Couture modified his training for this bout focusing on catch wrestling
and refining his boxing under coach Gil Martinez. This fight marked the oldest combined age of fighters to go head to head in the UFC. The fight took place at UFC 109: Relentless
. Couture defeated Coleman via technical submission (rear naked choke) in the second round, which marked the first time in over 4 years that Couture had won via submission.
A bout between Couture and Rich Franklin
was reported to take place at UFC 115
, but Franklin instead fought Chuck Liddell
, when Franklin replaced Tito Ortiz
in his what-was-supposed-to-be fight against Liddell. Dana White
later confirmed that multiple time boxing world champion James Toney
would fight Couture at UFC 118
. Couture dominated the fight, taking down and mounting Toney within seconds of the start of the fight and soon after submitted Toney with an arm triangle choke making his third victory in a row after Vera and Coleman and his fifth win out of his last seven UFC fights.
Couture had stated that he was interested in a fight with either Lyoto Machida
or Maurício Rua
in a non-title bout. The UFC decided to pair him up with Machida, due to Rua having an upcoming fight with Jon Jones
. The two fought on April 30, 2011, at UFC 129
before 55,000 fans in Toronto. Couture had stated that this would be his final mixed martial arts fight. Couture lost the fight in the second round via a Crane Kick knockout.
After the fight with Machida, Couture announced that he was "finally done fighting" at the age of 47.
(née
Borrego). Couture, and Kim and filed for divorce in May 2009, with Couture continuing to coach and support Kim's MMA career. He has three children, sons Ryan
and Caden, and daughter Aimee. Couture lives in Las Vegas.
Greco-Roman Wrestling
Collegiate wrestling
Mixed martial arts
| Loss
|align=center| 19–11
| Lyoto Machida
| KO (jumping front kick)
| UFC 129
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 1:02
| Toronto, Ontario, Canada
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 19–10
| James Toney
| Submission (arm triangle choke)
| UFC 118
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 3:19
| Boston, Massachusetts, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 18–10
| Mark Coleman
| Submission (rear naked choke)
| UFC 109
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 1:09
| Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 17–10
| Brandon Vera
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 105
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Manchester
, England
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 16–10
| Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 102
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Portland, Oregon
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 16–9
| Brock Lesnar
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 91
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 3:07
| Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 16–8
| Gabriel Gonzaga
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 74
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 1:37
| Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 15–8
| Tim Sylvia
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 68
|
|align=center| 5
|align=center| 5:00
| Columbus, Ohio
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 14–8
| Chuck Liddell
| KO (punches)
| UFC 57
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 1:28
| Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 14–7
| Mike Van Arsdale
| Submission (anaconda choke)
| UFC 54
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 0:52
| Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 13–7
| Chuck Liddell
| KO (punches)
| UFC 52
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 2:06
| Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 13–6
| Vitor Belfort
| TKO (doctor stoppage)
| UFC 49
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 12–6
| Vitor Belfort
| TKO (cut)
| UFC 46
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:49
| Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 12–5
| Tito Ortiz
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 44
|
|align=center| 5
|align=center| 5:00
| Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 11–5
| Chuck Liddell
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 43
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 2:40
| Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 10–5
| Ricco Rodriguez
| Submission (elbow)
| UFC 39
|
|align=center| 5
|align=center| 3:04
| Montville, Connecticut
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 10–4
| Josh Barnett
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 36
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 4:35
| Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 10–3
| Pedro Rizzo
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 34
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 1:38
| Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 9–3
| Pedro Rizzo
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 31
|
|align=center| 5
|align=center| 5:00
| Atlantic City, New Jersey
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 8–3
| Valentijn Overeem
| Submission (guillotine choke)
| Rings: King of Kings 2000 Final
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:56
| Tokyo
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 8–2
| Tsuyoshi Kohsaka
| Decision (unanimous)
| Rings: King of Kings 2000 Final
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 5:00
| Tokyo
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 7–2
| Kevin Randleman
| TKO (strikes)
| UFC 28
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 4:13
| Atlantic City, New Jersey
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 6–2
| Ryushi Yanagisawa
| Decision (majority)
| Rings: King of Kings 2000 Block A
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 5:00
| Tokyo
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 5–2
| Jeremy Horn
| Decision (unanimous)
| Rings: King of Kings 2000 Block A
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Tokyo
, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 4–2
| Mikhail Illoukhine
| Submission (kimura)
| Rings: Rise 1st
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 7:43
| Japan
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 4–1
| Enson Inoue
| Submission (armbar)
| Vale Tudo Japan 1998
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:39
| Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 4–0
| Maurice Smith
| Decision (majority)
| UFC Japan
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 21:00
| Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 3–0
| Vitor Belfort
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 15
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 8:17
| Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 2–0
| Steven Graham
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 13
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 3:13
| Augusta, Georgia
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 1–0
| Tony Halme
| Submission (rear naked choke)
| UFC 13
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:00
| Augusta, Georgia
, United States
|
Greco-Roman wrestling
Greco-Roman wrestling is a style of wrestling that is practised worldwide. It was contested at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been included in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1908. Two wrestlers are scored for their performance in three two-minute periods, which can...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, a three-time former heavyweight champion, two-time former light-heavyweight champion, former interim light heavyweight champion and UFC 13 tournament winner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Couture is the first fighter to hold two UFC championship titles in two different divisions (heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
and light heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
). Couture has competed in a record 15 title fights. He holds the most title reigns in the UFC with five. His last fight with Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Carvalho Machida is a Japanese-Brazilian mixed martial artist from Belém, Brazil who fights as a light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
marked his 24th fight in the UFC, the second most amount of fights in the UFC (Matt Hughes and Tito Ortiz are tied with the most at 25). Couture is one of the first members of the UFC Hall of Fame and many consider him to be one of the most popular fighters in the UFC.
Couture was an Olympic wrestling alternate and has lived in Corvallis, Oregon
Corvallis, Oregon
Corvallis is a city located in central western Oregon, United States. It is the county seat of Benton County and the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 54,462....
, throughout much of his career, where he served as an assistant wrestling coach and a strength and conditioning coach for Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
. He established Team Quest
Team Quest
Team Quest is a mixed martial arts training camp founded by Randy Couture, Matt "The Law" Lindland, and Dan Henderson with six facilities located in Gresham, Oregon, Tualatin, Oregon, Murrieta, California, West Linn, Oregon, Oceanside, California, Redding, California and Chiang Mai, Thailand...
with Matt Lindland
Matt Lindland
Matthew James Lindland is an American mixed martial artist, Olympic wrestler and politician. He won the Oregon Republican Party's nomination for the Oregon House of Representatives, District 52 seat on May 20, 2008....
and Dan Henderson
Dan Henderson
Daniel Jeffery Henderson, is an American mixed martial artist and former Olympic wrestler, who competes as a middleweight and light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion and was the last Welterweight and Middleweight champion...
, a training camp for fighters, based out of Gresham, Oregon
Gresham, Oregon
- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there were 90,205 people, 33,327 households, and 22,695 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,071.6 people per square mile . There were 35,309 housing units at an average density of 1,593.8 per square mile...
, and headed by coach Robert Folis. In 2005, Couture moved to Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, where he opened his own extensive chain of gyms under the name Xtreme Couture. He currently trains at his Las Vegas-based gym. Couture partnered with Bas Rutten
Bas Rutten
Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist, Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt, and kickboxer. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak...
in the opening of Legends Gym in Hollywood, California.
Couture is generally recognized as a clinch and ground-and-pound fighter who uses his wrestling ability to execute take downs
Takedown (grappling)
A takedown is a martial arts and combat sports term for a technique that involves off-balancing an opponent and bringing him or her to the ground, typically with the combatant performing the takedown landing on top. The process of quickly advancing on an opponent and attempting a takedown is known...
, establish top position
Grappling position
A grappling position refers to the positioning and holds of combatants engaged in grappling. Combatants are said to be in a neutral position if neither is in a more favourable position. If one party has a clear advantage such as in the mount they are said to be in a "dominant position"...
and successively strike the opponent on the bottom. Couture has displayed a variety of skills in Boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...
; submitting
Submission (combat sport term)
A submission is a combat sports term for yielding to the opponent, and hence resulting in an immediate defeat...
three opponents using different chokeholds. Couture is 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). Along with Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
, Couture is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts into the mainstream of American sports
Sports in the United States
Sports in the United States is an important part of American culture. The four most popular team sports are ones that developed in North America: American football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey...
and pop culture.
Early life
Couture was born in Everett, Washington, the son of Ed and Sharan Couture. He wrestled at Alderwood Middle SchoolAlderwood Middle School
Alderwood Middle School is a middle school in Lynnwood, Washington that serves students in grades 7 & 8. It is the largest middle school in the Edmonds School District. The current principal is Erin Murphy. After middle school, students will move on to Lynnwood High School or Mountlake Terrace High...
in Lynnwood, Washington
Lynnwood, Washington
Lynnwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 35,836 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest in Snohomish County and twenty-ninth largest in Washington State. The city is a mix of urban, suburban, small city, crossroads and bedroom community to many...
, then moved on to Lynnwood High School
Lynnwood High School
Lynnwood High School is a high school in the Edmonds School District, located in Bothell, Washington. The school has approximately 1600 students enrolled for grades 9-12 as of the 2010-2011 school year.- School information :...
, where he won a State Championship during his senior year. Couture served in the U.S. Army from 1982–1988, attaining the rank of Sergeant in the 101st Airborne
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
, where he "wrestled and did a little boxing." He coached at Oregon State University.
Upon discharge, he became a three-time Olympic team alternate (1988, 1992 and 1996), a semifinalist at the 2000 Olympic Trials, a three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) Division-I All-American and a two-time NCAA Division-I runner-up at Oklahoma State University. In 1992, he was the Division-I runner up at 190 pounds, coming in second after Mark Kerr. Couture was settling into life as a wrestling coach, until he saw a video of a UFC event and decided to pursue a career in mixed martial arts.
UFC, RINGS, and Heavyweight championship(s)
Couture made his MMA debut at UFC 13UFC 13
-External links:***...
in May 1997. He entered the four-man Heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
tournament, his first opponent being Tony Halme
Tony Halme
Tony Christian Halme was a member of the Finnish Parliament, representing the True Finns party. He was also known by the pseudonym Viikinki he used while appearing in the Finnish version of the TV game show Gladiators in the 1990s...
, who fought as WWF
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
wrestler Ludvig Borga. Outweighed by nearly 100 lbs, Couture scored a double-leg takedown right off the bat. After working some ground and pound, he got a back mount and secured a rear naked choke win in just less than a minute. His second fight that night was in the tournament finals against Steven Graham, yet another larger opponent at 290 lbs. Again Couture took the fight to the ground, scoring a TKO win at 3:13 minutes of the first round.
His next UFC appearance was on October 17, 1997, at UFC 15
UFC 15
UFC 15: Collision Course was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 17, 1997, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:...
. He fought Vitor Belfort
Vitor Belfort
Vítor Vieira Belfort is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Belfort was born in Rio de Janeiro and studied jiu-jitsu with the Gracie family, namely Carlson Gracie. He received a black belt under Carlson and currently trains with Xtreme Couture, fighting in...
to determine the number 1 challenger of the Heavyweight belt. Couture was a massive underdog
Underdog (competition)
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, frequently in electoral politics, sports and creative works, who is popularly expected to lose. The party, team or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the rare case where an underdog wins, the outcome is an upset. These...
in that fight, as the 19-year-old Belfort was the UFC 12
UFC 12
UFC 12: Judgement Day was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 7, 1997 at the Dothan Civic Center in Dothan, Alabama...
Heavyweight Tournament winner, winning all of his matches via devastating knockouts. At that time, Belfort seemed to represent the future of MMA, as he was not only a Carlson Gracie
Carlson Gracie
Carlson Gracie, Sr. was a practitioner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He was the eldest son of Carlos Gracie, founder of the system with his uncle Hélio Gracie, and learned the art from his uncle and his father. He was a member of the legendary Gracie family.- Biography :Carlson Gracie would later split...
blackbelt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but had extremely fast hands and punching power, and was even scheduled to compete for the Olympic trials in boxing for Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
Couture put on a display that began to earn him the reputation of a master strategist in the sport. After circling away from Belfort's powerful left hand, Couture got the clinch, but was unable to score a takedown. The fighters broke up, and when Belfort attempted a flurry of punches, Couture changed levels and took the fight to the ground. He immediately gained side control and landed strikes, and as Vitor scrambled to his feet, he scored with knee strikes. Back on the feet, Couture clinched again and wore Belfort out with dirty boxing. Around the 7-minute mark, Vitor was exhausted. Couture yet again took the fight to the ground, and finished with punches from back mount in what was one of the biggest upsets in early MMA history.
His next fight took place on December 21, 1997, at UFC Japan
UFC Japan
UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 21, 1997, in Yokohama, Japan...
. He fought the then Heavyweight champion, Maurice Smith, who was making his second title defense after winning the belt from Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. In MMA, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, and the Pride Fighting...
earlier that year. In a slow-paced, calculated fight, neither fighter was able to damage the other, but Couture scored several takedowns and had the positional control throughout the fight. After 21 minutes, he won a majority decision
Majority decision
A majority decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking...
and became the new UFC heavyweight champion.
In 1998, the UFC wanted Couture to defend his belt against Bas Rutten
Bas Rutten
Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist, Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt, and kickboxer. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak...
, former King of Pancrase
Pancrase
Pancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...
. Randy instead signed with Vale Tudo Japan
Vale Tudo Japan
Vale Tudo Japan was an annual mixed martial arts tournament held in Japan from 1994 to 1999 with a reunion event in 2009.-Vale Tudo Japan 1994:Vale Tudo Japan 1994 was held on July 29, 1994 at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Urayasu, Japan....
and was stripped of the heavyweight belt. In Japan, he was matched up against Enson Inoue
Enson Inoue
Enson Inoue is a Japanese American mixed martial artist. He has a professional MMA record of 12-8-0. He is a former Shooto Heavyweight Champion. He had also previously fought in Pride Fighting Championships, the biggest mixed martial arts organization at the time...
. After taking the fight to the ground, he was forced to tap out to an armbar just more than 90 seconds into the first round. His next fight was on March 20, 1999, for the Japanese Rings promotion. There he suffered a very controversial loss to Mikhail Illoukhine
Mikhail Illoukhine
Mikhail Illoukhine is a Russian former mixed martial artist who competed in the light heavyweight division. Mikhail Illoukhine holds notable wins over Igor Vovchanchyn, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, Volk Han, Masayuki Naruse and Randy Couture...
via Kimura, one which many fans blamed on a mistake by the referee. After that loss, Couture took a break from MMA to focus on his amateur wrestling career, with the 2000 Summer Olympics in sight.
He returned to MMA in October 2000 for the Rings King of Kings 2000 Tournament, where he defeated UFC veteran Jeremy Horn
Jeremy Horn
Jeremy Graham Horn is an American mixed martial artist. He is one of the most experienced fighters in the sport with a professional record of 88–21–5...
by unanimous decision in his first fight and defeated Pancrase veteran Ryushi Yanagisawa, by unanimous decision, in the second fight. These two wins qualified him for the finals of the tournament, which would take place in early 2001. Before that, he was offered a shot at the UFC heavyweight title against Kevin Randleman
Kevin Randleman
Kevin Christopher Randleman is a retired American mixed martial arts fighter and a former UFC heavyweight champion. Randleman's background is in Collegiate wrestling. Wrestling at 177 pounds, Randleman was a two time Division I NCAA Champion for The Ohio State University...
on Nov. 17, 2000. Couture was taken down in the first two rounds, but he showed very good defense from his back, frustrating most of Kevin's ground and pound attempts. In the third round, he tripped Randleman to the mat and landed several strikes from the full mount, winning by referee stoppage. Couture had won the UFC heavyweight belt for the second time.
In March 2001, he fought for the finals of the Rings King of Kings 2000 tournament. After dominating UFC veteran Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in the first fight, he fought the semifinals against Valentijn Overeem
Valentijn Overeem
Valentijn Overeem is a Dutch mixed martial artist who competes as a heavyweight. He has previously competed for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, RINGS and Strikeforce...
, and was caught in a guillotine choke early in the fight. The tournament was eventually won by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira is a Brazilian mixed martial artist known for his technical mastery of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a former UFCInterim Heavyweight Champion...
, and Couture went back to the UFC after that.
His first title defense was against Brazilian kickboxer Pedro Rizzo
Pedro Rizzo
Pedro Augusto Rizzo is an Brazilian mixed martial artist and Muay Thai fighter. He has a professional MMA record of 19–9–0 as of July 17, 2010. He holds notable victories over former UFC Champions Mark Coleman, Dan Severn, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Ricco Rodriguez and Ken Shamrock.-Mixed...
at UFC 31
UFC 31
UFC 31: Locked and Loaded was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey on May 4, 2001...
. This was the first UFC event under the Zuffa management, with Dana White
Dana White
Dana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
as the new president. In one of the best and most brutal fights in MMA history, both fighters inflicted a lot of damage on each other. After five 5-minute rounds, Couture was declared the winner by unanimous decision, which generated a lot of controversy as many fans felt Rizzo had won the fight. This prompted the UFC to set up an immediate rematch between the two, which took place at UFC 34
UFC 34
UFC 34: High Voltage was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the MGM Grand Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada on November 2, 2001...
, in November 2001. This time, Couture did not have many problems, as he had adjusted to Rizzo's style and won a TKO stoppage in the third round. His third title defense was in March 2002, against up-and-comer Josh Barnett
Josh Barnett
Joshua Lawrence Barnett is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who currently fights in the heavyweight division of Strikeforce. Barnett has been an accomplished fighter in mixed martial arts, winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship and the King of Pancrase Openweight...
. In the second round, Josh got on top of Couture and landed several strikes, winning by TKO. After the fight, it was revealed that Josh had tested positive for anabolic steroids; he was subsequently stripped of his title and left the UFC. Couture was then matched up against Ricco Rodriguez
Ricco Rodriguez
Ricco Rodriguez is an American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion. He has also competed in Pride Fighting Championship, EliteXC, International Fight League, BAMMA, World Extreme Cagefighting and King of the Cage.-Early life:Rodriguez grew up in the...
for the vacant UFC heavyweight belt at UFC 39
UFC 39
UFC 39: The Warriors Return was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 27, 2002, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut...
, in late 2002. After dominating the first three rounds, the 39-year-old Couture began to show signs of fatigue. In the fifth round, Ricco took him down and landed an elbow strike to the eye, breaking Couture's orbital bone, forcing him to submit. This fight marked the first time a UFC fight was ended via KO, TKO or submission in the fifth round.
Move to Light Heavyweight and trilogy with Chuck Liddell
After his two consecutive losses in the heavyweight division to larger opponents, Couture moved down a weight class to fight at 205 lbs in the UFC's light heavyweight division. In his light heavyweight debut, Couture took on long-time number one contender Chuck LiddellChuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
for the interim light heavyweight championship. Couture was again the underdog, but after outstriking Chuck for three rounds, he took the fight to the ground, winning by TKO via strikes from the mount position. Couture became the only UFC competitor to win championship titles in two weight classes, earning Couture his nickname "Captain America". 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
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
for the undisputed light heavyweight title. Couture won a unanimous decision and became the undisputed UFC light heavyweight champion at age 40.
Couture's first title defense at Light Heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
was against Vitor Belfort, whom he had defeated in 1997 at UFC 15
UFC 15
UFC 15: Collision Course was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 17, 1997, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:...
. In the first round, as Couture closed the distance to attempt a clinch, Belfort threw a left hook that grazed his right eye. A piece of Belfort's glove caused serious damage, and Vitor was declared the winner by medical stoppage. The rematch took place later that year, with Randy dominating all 3 rounds before winning by medical stoppage due to a cut. This made him a 2-time Light Heavyweight champion, as well as 2-time Heavyweight champion.
On April 16, 2005, Couture lost his title and suffered the first knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
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
UFC 57
UFC 57: Liddell vs. Couture 3 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 4, 2006. It was held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, and broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States.Headlining the card was an anticipated...
. He did not succeed, falling to a second round knockout. Immediately after the match, he announced his retirement from the sport.
The Ultimate Fighter 3
The Ultimate Fighter 3 was the third season of the mixed martial arts reality television series The Ultimate Fighter. It premiered on April 6, 2006, immediately after the conclusion of Ultimate Fight Night 4. The season featured sixteen fighters with still-feuding former champion Tito Ortiz and...
finale, which was broadcast live on Spike TV
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
, Couture became the fourth fighter to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, joining Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
, Dan Severn
Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, notable for his success in the early years of Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments. Severn has fought and wrestled for many mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions, including King of the...
, and Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
.
Retirement
After retiring from the professional fighting circuit, Couture began appearing at UFC events as a regular broadcast commentator and as co-host of "Before/After The Bell" on The Fight NetworkThe Fight Network
Fight Network is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel devoted to airing programming related to wrestling, boxing, mixed martial arts, and other combatant styles...
. He appeared in the Rob Schneider
Rob Schneider
Robert Michael "Rob" Schneider is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and director. A stand-up comic and veteran of the NBC sketch-comedy series Saturday Night Live, Schneider has gone on to a successful career in feature films, including starring roles in the comedy films Deuce Bigalow:...
comedy Big Stan
Big Stan
Big Stan is a 2007 American comedy film produced, directed by and starring Rob Schneider. It is his directorial debut. Although released in some overseas markets during the fall of 2008, it was released straight to DVD in the U.S. on March 24, 2009. It debuted at number 17 on the DVD rental charts...
, along with fellow mixed martial artists Don Frye
Don Frye
Donald Frye is a retired American mixed martial artist, actor, and professional wrestler. Frye rose to fame fighting in early Ultimate Fighting Championship events, winning the UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournaments...
and Bob Sapp
Bob Sapp
Robert Malcolm "Bob" Sapp is an American kickboxer, mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, actor, comedian and former professional American football player. Sapp currently has a combined fight record of 21–21–0, mostly fighting in Japan...
.
On Nov. 17, 2006, Couture decided to compete athletically again, facing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...
champion Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza
Ronaldo de Souza
Ronaldo Souza dos Santos , nicknamed Jacaré, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, submission grappler and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. Souza is the former Strikeforce middleweight champion and currently ranked as the #4 middleweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly...
in a submission wrestling match. The bout ended in a draw.
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
Michael Irvin
Michael Jerome Irvin is a former American football player for the Dallas Cowboys, and actor. He is also a former broadcaster for ESPN's NFL Countdown and currently an analyst for NFL Network. Irvin was self-nicknamed "The Playmaker" due to his penchant for making big plays in big games during his...
, Kevin Willis
Kevin Willis
Kevin Alvin Willis is a former American professional basketball player who last played for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA. He is a 7-foot power forward/center...
, and José Canseco
José Canseco
José Canseco Capas, Jr. is a Cuban-American professional baseball manager, outfielder, and designated hitter for the Yuma Scorpions of the North American League and former Major League Baseball player. He is the identical twin brother of former major league player and current teammate Ozzie Canseco...
. He returned for the finale, where he even took part in a football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
based round. His teammates were Willis, Randall Cunningham
Randall Cunningham
Randall W. Cunningham is a former American football quarterback.After playing college football at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he was selected in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, with whom he remained through the 1995 season...
, Bruce Smith, Roy Jones Jr.
Roy Jones Jr.
Roy Jones, Jr. is an American boxer. As a professional he has captured numerous world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight divisions...
and Tim Hardaway
Tim Hardaway
Timothy Duane "Tim" Hardaway is a retired American basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association and who in his prime was one of the league's best point guards...
. Couture had a brief cameo appearance on the season finale of the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
show The Unit
The Unit
The Unit is an American action-drama television series that focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled after the real-life U.S. Army special operations unit commonly known as Delta Force...
as a military guard and on the film Redbelt
Redbelt
Redbelt is a 2008 martial arts film written and directed by David Mamet and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor. The film opened in wide release in the United States and Canada on May 9, 2008.-Plot:...
as fight commentator, Terry Flynn. Couture appeared on an episode of The History Channel
The History Channel
History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
's "Human Weapon
Human Weapon
Human Weapon was a weekly television show on The History Channel that premiered on July 20, 2007. The hosts, Jason Chambers and Bill Duff, travel across the world studying the unique martial arts, or styles of fighting, that have origins in the region....
" on September 27, 2007, and starred in the 2008 film, "The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior." In 2010, Couture starred in the action movie, The Expendables as Toll Road and is reprising the part in the film's sequel.
Reclaiming the heavyweight title
Joe Rogan
Joseph James "Joe" Rogan is an American comedian, video blogger, actor, writer, podcaster, and martial artist. He is best known for his work on NewsRadio, his work as color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and his hosting work on Fear Factor.-Acting:In 1994, Rogan co-starred on...
, Couture confirmed that he would be facing Tim Sylvia
Tim Sylvia
Timothy Deane Sylvia is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter, professional wrestler, and former Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight Champion. He trains as a member of the Miletich Fighting Systems camp and is part of their MFSE group...
for the UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 68
UFC 68
UFC 68: The Uprising was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 3, 2007 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. UFC 68 was the first UFC event held in the state of Ohio, and coincided with the 2007 Arnold Sports Festival...
on March 3, 2007, and revealed that he had signed a four-fight, two-year deal with the company.
At the age of 43, Couture defeated then-champion Tim Sylvia at UFC 68
UFC 68
UFC 68: The Uprising was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 3, 2007 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. UFC 68 was the first UFC event held in the state of Ohio, and coincided with the 2007 Arnold Sports Festival...
by unanimous decision to claim his third UFC heavyweight title. Couture's first punch, at :08 of the first round, sent the (2.03 m) Sylvia reeling to the mat. Couture controlled the pace of the fight for five rounds, smothering Sylvia with effective striking and numerous takedowns. All three judges' scored the bout 50–45 for Couture, making him the first fighter in UFC history to become a three-time champion.
On August 25, 2007, at UFC 74
UFC 74
UFC 74: Respect was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship . The event took place on August 25, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
at the Mandalay Bay Events Center
Mandalay Bay Events Center
Mandalay Bay Events Center is a 12,000 seat indoor arena, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, on the Las Vegas Strip, in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by MGM Resorts International.It has hosted many music, boxing and mixed martial arts events....
in Las Vegas, Couture defended his title against Gabriel Gonzaga
Gabriel Gonzaga
Gabriel Gonzaga , is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is a former member of Chute Boxe Academy and now fights out of Ludlow, Massachusetts as a part of Team Link...
, who previously defeated Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović
Mirko Filipovic
Mirko Filipović is a former Croatian heavyweight kickboxer, mixed martial artist, politician, and law enforcement officer. Filipović was a member of the Croatian Parliament from 2003 through 2007...
at UFC 70
UFC 70
UFC 70: Nations Collide was the second UFC event held in the United Kingdom, and the first in Manchester on Saturday, April 21, 2007. The first UFC event in the UK was UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall on July 13, 2002. UFC 70 was also only the seventh UFC event held outside the United States, and the...
to become the number one contender. In the fight, Couture defeated Gonzaga by TKO (strikes) to retain the title. Couture suffered a broken left arm from blocking one of Gonzaga's kicks during the course of the fight. The kick cleanly separated the ulna
Ulna
The ulna is one of the two long bones in the forearm, the other being the radius. It is prismatic in form and runs parallel to the radius, which is shorter and smaller. In anatomical position The ulna is one of the two long bones in the forearm, the other being the radius. It is prismatic in form...
bone. The injury placed the UFC heavyweight champion's arm in a splint for six weeks.
Resignation and dispute with the UFC
On October 11, 2007, Couture announced that he was severing all ties with the UFC, leaving two contracted fights, a position as an on-air analyst, and his heavyweight championship behind. He reportedly received $250,000, plus $936,000 of PPV revenue, for his comeback against Tim Sylvia. He reportedly received a $250,000 purse for defeating Gabriel Gonzaga, as well as a $35,000 bonus for "Fight of the Night" and $787,000 in PPV revenue. This became a sticking point since Chuck Liddell lost his two previous fights yet was being paid more, according to Couture. Couture cited the UFC's failure to sign #1 ranked heavyweight fighter Fedor EmelianenkoFedor Emelianenko
Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko) is a Russian heavyweight mixed martial artist. He has won numerous tournaments and accolades in multiple sports, most notably the Pride 2004 Grand Prix and the World Combat Sambo championship on four occasions, as well as medaling in the Russian national Judo...
, as well as disputes with UFC management.
UFC president Dana White
Dana White
Dana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
said on October 18, 2007, that Couture remains the promotion's heavyweight champion despite his announced plans to quit. White reiterated he would not release Couture from the final two fights on his UFC contract. Couture held a press conference on October 25, 2007, in which he denied his leaving of the UFC was a "retirement", set forth his grievances over the pay he received for his fights against Tim Sylvia and Gabriel Gonzaga, and reiterated his belief that he would be free from any contractual obligations to the UFC after nine months. On October 30, 2007, White and UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta held another press conference. There White reiterated the UFC's position that Couture remains the promotion's heavyweight champion despite his tendered resignation, and that Couture would remain obligated under his UFC contract well beyond nine months. White released documents at the press conference to refute Couture's claims about the pay he received.
Sherdog
Sherdog
Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts . The site is a member of the Crave Online network and provides MMA related content for ESPN.com.- History :...
.com analyzed language reportedly found in the UFC's standard contracts relating to fighter retirement which Sherdog believes clarifies the dispute over Couture's contractual status.
In another chapter to the Couture/UFC saga, White and Randy Couture met and had a "good" conversation at UFC 78. However, White met with Couture during the Thanksgiving holiday to discuss a possible return to the Octagon, where Couture said he had no desire to return to the UFC at that time.
Cornering some of his fighters from Xtreme Couture at HDNet Fights
HDNet Fights
HDNet Fights is a US based mixed martial arts promotion and a television outlet for various other MMA and combat sports promotions. Its broadcast lineup included DREAM, Sengoku, K-1 and K-1 Max, Strikeforce, Adrenaline MMA, SportFight, Ring of Fire, Ring of Combat, M-1 Global, Ring of Honor,...
on December 15, 2007, in Dallas, Texas, Couture answered questions about Fedor, stating that he would like to fight him in October once his employment contract with the UFC has expired, if the UFC cannot come to some kind of co-promotion agreement with M-1 Global
M-1 Global
M-1 Global is the mixed martial arts promotion based in Russia - The Netherlands which organizes between 40 and 50 competitions per year...
before that time.
On January 15, 2008, Zuffa—the UFC's parent company—filed a lawsuit in Clark County District Court
Nevada District Courts
The Nevada District Courts are the trial courts of general jurisdiction in the Nevada state court system.In the District Courts "criminal, civil, family, and juvenile matters are generally resolved through arbitration, mediation, and bench or jury trials."...
in Nevada, citing breach of contract and irreparable damage. Zuffa is seeking over $10,000 in damages. This suit concerns only Couture's employment contract and not his promotional contract. On February 28, 2008, Judge Jennifer Togliatti handed down the first ruling in the case of Zuffa v. Randy Couture, issuing a preliminary injunction
Preliminary injunction
A preliminary injunction, in equity, is an injunction entered by a court prior to a final determination of the merits of a legal case, in order to restrain a party from going forward with a course of conduct or compelling a party to continue with a course of conduct until the case has been decided...
barring Couture's participation in an IFL event to be held the following day.
On August 2, 2008, a Texas appeals court granted Zuffa LLC's request for a stay against a motion for a declaratory judgment in a suit filed by HDNet regarding Randy Couture's contractual status with the UFC. The stay effectively ends the dispute in the state of Texas and Zuffa will be allowed to move forward with the Nevada suit.
Return to the UFC
On September 2, 2008, the UFC announced a three-fight deal with the 45-year-old Randy Couture to return to active competition for the UFC. His first fight back was at UFC 91UFC 91
UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 15, 2008 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event featured the return of UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture versus Brock Lesnar in a title...
on November 15, 2008, in Las Vegas, Nevada where he lost his UFC Heavyweight Championship to Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar
Brock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the No.5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog...
. It was at first a closely contested match; however, later in the fight Lesnar knocked Couture down and finished him with hammer fists for a TKO victory at 3:07 of the second round. In the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Couture declared his desire to keep fighting. He stated that he felt like he was still becoming a better fighter and blamed his loss on a bad performance, not his age.
On February 26, 2009, it was reported that Couture had agreed to a bout with former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion and former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira is a Brazilian mixed martial artist known for his technical mastery of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a former UFCInterim Heavyweight Champion...
at UFC 102
UFC 102
UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 29, 2009 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon...
in Portland, Oregon. In that fight, on August 29, 2009, Couture lost a relatively one-sided bout via unanimous decision. After the bout, Couture stated he felt like he was in the best shape of his life, and that he will wait and see what the UFC has in store for him in the future. The fight received the "Fight of the Night" award.
Return to Light Heavyweight and retirement
Randy Couture won his first Heavyweight title in just his fourth professional fight, barely beating Maurice Smith, in a very close Majority decision victory. Following his title win, he lost two straight fights by first round submission to Enson Inoue and Mikhail Illoukhine, who were both coming off losses leading into their fights with Couture. Three years later, with a 2-2 record after winning the title, Couture returned to the UFC, getting an immediate title shot against Kevin Randleman. Three months after winning the title, Couture fought outside the UFC, getting submitted by Valentijn Overeem in less than one minute of the first round. Returning to the UFC, Couture’s first Heavyweight title defense was against Pedro Rizzo, which he clearly won via Unanimous decision. After successfully defending his title against Pedro Rizzo, he got to fight Pedro Rizzo again in his next fight, this time winning via tko. After defeating Pedro Rizzo for a second time in a row, a third and fourth and even talks of a fifth fight between the two were in the works, but were later cancelled because Rizzo's manager made him turn the fights down. Couture next fought Josh Barnett, losing the fight and his Heavyweight title via tko in the second round. Barnett was later stripped of the title, which immediately led to Couture receiving a shot at Vacant Heavyweight Title against Ricco Rodriguez. Despite losing to Ricco Rodriguez via submission due to strikes, and riding a two fight losing streak, Couture got a shot at the Interim Light Heavyweight Title against Chuck Liddell, followed by the Light Heavyweight Title itself, which he won against Tito Ortiz. Immediately after winning the title, Couture was tko’d by Vitor Belfort in under one minute of the first round. After losing the title he was granted an immediate rematch for the title against Vitor Belfort. Immediately after winning the title he fought Chuck Liddell in a rematch, which he lost via Knock Out in just over two minutes of the first round. After losing the title, Couture fought Mike Van Arsdale who holds a record of 0-4 since fighting Couture and has now retired. After that one win, Couture got another shot at the Title, meeting Chuck Liddell once again, and getting Knocked Out once again. Immediately after losing his Title shot against Chuck Liddell, Couture was granted an immidiate Heavyweight Title shot against Tim Sylvia. One year after winning the Heavyweight Title and defending it once, Couture lost the Title to Brock Lesnar via tko, and then losing again in his next fight against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Following two straight losses Couture was matched up with Brandon Vera. Despite Vera dropping Couture, defending all of his takedowns, getting a takedown of his own, and inflicting all around more damage to Couture, Couture was able to win a controversial decision victory by showcasing wonderful cage stalling techniques. His next fight would be against 45 year old Mark Coleman. After beating Coleman, Couture got to face James Toney, who had no MMA bouts under his belt, no ground game whatsoever and probably couldn’t even spell “submission” if fried chicken was at stake. Somehow Couture defied all odds and submitted Toney in the first round, and it only made sense to reward him a black belt in jiu-jitsu for his efforts. It was with these three solid wins under his belt that Couture was said to have one more fight until another title shot, however, when he met Lyoto Machida who was 0-2 in his last two fights, Couture was Knocked Out in highlight reel fashion. Couture announced his retirement after the fight, which was a mistake because, it only made sense that his next fight would have been for the Heavyweight Championship Title. This concluded the history of the Legend and one of the greatest fighters in history, Randy Couture (19-11).After the Nogueira match, Dana White announced Couture had signed a new 6 fight deal, effectively replacing his previous contract.
On November 14, 2009, at UFC 105
UFC 105
UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 14, 2009 in Manchester, England at the Manchester Evening News Arena...
, Couture fought Brandon Vera
Brandon Vera
Brandon Michael Vera is an American mixed martial artist. He competes as a light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the winner of the WEC 13 Heavyweight Tournament and currently resides in San Diego, California. He holds notable victories over Frank Mir, Assuerio Silva,...
in a somewhat uneventful fight. Although Vera landed effective strikes and scored a knockdown, Couture would win the bout via unanimous decision. Whilst the outcome sparked controversy amongst some fans, the victory marked his first at Light Heavyweight since his loss to Chuck Liddell in 2006. At age 46, Couture became the oldest fighter to ever win a fight in the UFC.
Couture fought fellow Hall of Famer Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. In MMA, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, and the Pride Fighting...
at UFC 109
UFC 109
UFC 109: Relentless was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 6, 2010 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
. The bout marked the first time that UFC Hall of Famers fought against each other in the Octagon. The pair were scheduled to meet at UFC 17
UFC 17
-External links:**...
in 1998, but a Couture injury forced the cancellation of the bout. The legendary pair wrestled one another in a freestyle match at the 1989 Olympic Festival at Oklahoma State where Coleman won the match by one point. Couture modified his training for this bout focusing on catch wrestling
Catch wrestling
Catch wrestling is a style of folk wrestling that was developed and popularised in the late 19th century by the wrestlers of traveling carnivals who incorporated submission holds, or "hooks", into their wrestling to increase their effectiveness against their opponents...
and refining his boxing under coach Gil Martinez. This fight marked the oldest combined age of fighters to go head to head in the UFC. The fight took place at UFC 109: Relentless
UFC 109
UFC 109: Relentless was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 6, 2010 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
. Couture defeated Coleman via technical submission (rear naked choke) in the second round, which marked the first time in over 4 years that Couture had won via submission.
A bout between Couture and Rich Franklin
Rich Franklin
Rich Jay Franklin II is an American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion.-Background:...
was reported to take place at UFC 115
UFC 115
UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 12, 2010 at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.-Background:...
, but Franklin instead fought Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
, when Franklin replaced Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
in his what-was-supposed-to-be fight against Liddell. Dana White
Dana White
Dana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
later confirmed that multiple time boxing world champion James Toney
James Toney
James Nathanial Toney is an American professional boxer who has held world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, and cruiserweight divisions. Toney currently fights in the heavyweight division in boxing and also now competes in mixed martial arts.-Boxing career:Toney's amateur boxing...
would fight Couture at UFC 118
UFC 118
UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 28, 2010 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The third UFC Fan Expo coincided with the event...
. Couture dominated the fight, taking down and mounting Toney within seconds of the start of the fight and soon after submitted Toney with an arm triangle choke making his third victory in a row after Vera and Coleman and his fifth win out of his last seven UFC fights.
Couture had stated that he was interested in a fight with either Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Carvalho Machida is a Japanese-Brazilian mixed martial artist from Belém, Brazil who fights as a light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
or Maurício Rua
Mauricio Rua
Maurício Milani Rua is a Brazilian mixed martial artist fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion...
in a non-title bout. The UFC decided to pair him up with Machida, due to Rua having an upcoming fight with Jon Jones
Jon Jones
Jon Jones is a British television director and screenwriter whose works include the ITV drama series Cold Feet, the Channel 4 drama A Very Social Secretary and the 2007 ITV adaptation of Northanger Abbey. His work on Cold Feet led to a nomination for New Director at the BAFTA Television Craft...
. The two fought on April 30, 2011, at UFC 129
UFC 129
UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, April 30, 2011 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario.-Background:...
before 55,000 fans in Toronto. Couture had stated that this would be his final mixed martial arts fight. Couture lost the fight in the second round via a Crane Kick knockout.
After the fight with Machida, Couture announced that he was "finally done fighting" at the age of 47.
Personal life
Couture was previously married to Sharon, Tricia, and Kim CoutureKim Couture
Kimberly Joy Couture is a professional mixed martial artist. She has fought for and was formerly signed to the Strikeforce promotion. She's the ex-wife of MMA fighter Randy Couture.-Early life:...
(née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Borrego). Couture, and Kim and filed for divorce in May 2009, with Couture continuing to coach and support Kim's MMA career. He has three children, sons Ryan
Ryan Couture
Ryan Couture is an American professional mixed martial artist, currently signed to the Strikeforce promotion. He is the son of UFC Hall of Fame fighter Randy Couture.-Biography:...
and Caden, and daughter Aimee. Couture lives in Las Vegas.
Championships and accomplishments
Greco-Roman WrestlingGreco-Roman wrestlingGreco-Roman wrestling is a style of wrestling that is practised worldwide. It was contested at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been included in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1908. Two wrestlers are scored for their performance in three two-minute periods, which can...
- Pan American GamesPan American GamesThe Pan-American or Pan American Games are a major event in the Americas featuring summer and formerly winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Pan American Games are the second largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics...
- 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, 1991)
- FILA Wrestling World ChampionshipsFILA Wrestling World ChampionshipsFILA Wrestling World Championships is the Amateur Wrestling World Championship organized by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles . The men's Greco-Roman tournament began in 1904...
- FILA test tournament Greco-Roman Seniors 97 kg – third place (March 14, 1998)
- FILA World Cup Greco-Roman Seniors 90 kg – third place (November 9, 1991)
- FILA World Cup Greco-Roman Seniors 90 kg – third place (November 21, 1992)
Collegiate wrestlingCollegiate wrestlingCollegiate wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the collegiate and university level in the United States. Collegiate wrestling emerged from the folk wrestling styles practised in the early history of the United States...
- National Collegiate Athletic AssociationNational Collegiate Athletic AssociationThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
- NCAA Division I All-American (1990, 1991, 1992)
- NCAA Division I 190 lb/86.4 kg - 6th place out of Oklahoma State University (1990)
- NCAA Division I 190 lb/86.4 kg - Runner-up out of Oklahoma State University (1991)
- NCAA Division I 190 lb/86.4 kg - Runner-up out of Oklahoma State University (1992)
Mixed martial artsMixed martial artsMixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
- Black Belt MagazineBlack Belt MagazineBlack Belt is an American magazine covering martial arts and combat sports founded in 1961 by Mitoshi Uyehara. During the early years of the publication, Uyehara was a hands-on owner and publisher...
- 1997 Full-Contact Competitor of the Year
- Fighting Network RINGSFighting Network RINGSFighting Network Rings, trademarked as RINGS, is a Japanese combat sport promotion that has lived three distinct periods; puroresu promotion from its inauguration to 1995, mixed martial arts promotion from 1995 to its 2002 disestablishment, and the revived mixed martial arts promotion from 2008 to...
- RINGS King of Kings 2000 Tournament Semifinalist
- Inside Fights
- 2009 Fight of the Year - vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on August 29
- Ultimate Fighting ChampionshipUltimate Fighting ChampionshipThe Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
- UFC Heavyweight Championship (Three times)
- UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (Two times)
- Interim UFC Light Heavyweight championship (One time)
- UFC 13 Heavyweight Tournament Winner
- Fight of the NightBonus Awards-Background:UFC Bonus Awards are three different kinds of awards usually given to four fighters after a UFC event.Fight of the Night - Award given to the two fighters that fought each other and delivered the "most impressive" fight on the card....
(Two TimesBonus Awards-Background:UFC Bonus Awards are three different kinds of awards usually given to four fighters after a UFC event.Fight of the Night - Award given to the two fighters that fought each other and delivered the "most impressive" fight on the card....
) - UFC Hall of Fame
- UFC Viewer's Choice AwardUFC 45UFC 45: Revolution was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on 21 November 2003, at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut...
- Most Championship reigns in UFC history (Five times)
- Most Championship fights in UFC history (Fifteen times)
- Oldest fighter to win a title in UFC history (43 years, 255 days)
- First fighter to hold Championship titles in two weight classes
- Tied (Tim SylviaTim SylviaTimothy Deane Sylvia is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter, professional wrestler, and former Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight Champion. He trains as a member of the Miletich Fighting Systems camp and is part of their MFSE group...
) for most successful Heavyweight title defenses (Three) - Tied (Tim SylviaTim SylviaTimothy Deane Sylvia is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter, professional wrestler, and former Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight Champion. He trains as a member of the Miletich Fighting Systems camp and is part of their MFSE group...
; Brock LesnarBrock LesnarBrock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the No.5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog...
) for most consecutive heavyweight title defenses (Two)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- 2003 Most Outstanding Fighter
- MMA Most Valuable Fighter (2007)
- MMA Most Valuable Fighter of the Decade (2000–2009)
- 2001 Fight of the Year vs. Pedro Rizzo on May 4
- 2007 Fight of the Year vs. Tim Sylvia on March 3
- World MMA Awards
- Outstanding Contribution to MMA
- ESPY Award
- Best Fighter ESPY AwardBest Fighter ESPY AwardThe Best Fighter ESPY Award has been presented annually since 2007 to the professional or amateur boxer or mixed martial arts fighter, irrespective of nationality, gender, weight class, or sanctioning body or league, adjudged to be the best in a given calendar year...
- Nomination (2007)
- Best Fighter ESPY Award
Mixed martial arts record
|-| Loss
|align=center| 19–11
| Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Carvalho Machida is a Japanese-Brazilian mixed martial artist from Belém, Brazil who fights as a light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
| KO (jumping front kick)
| UFC 129
UFC 129
UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, April 30, 2011 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario.-Background:...
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 1:02
| Toronto, Ontario, Canada
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 19–10
| James Toney
James Toney
James Nathanial Toney is an American professional boxer who has held world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, and cruiserweight divisions. Toney currently fights in the heavyweight division in boxing and also now competes in mixed martial arts.-Boxing career:Toney's amateur boxing...
| Submission (arm triangle choke)
| UFC 118
UFC 118
UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 28, 2010 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The third UFC Fan Expo coincided with the event...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 3:19
| Boston, Massachusetts, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 18–10
| Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. In MMA, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, and the Pride Fighting...
| Submission (rear naked choke)
| UFC 109
UFC 109
UFC 109: Relentless was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 6, 2010 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 1:09
| Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 17–10
| Brandon Vera
Brandon Vera
Brandon Michael Vera is an American mixed martial artist. He competes as a light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the winner of the WEC 13 Heavyweight Tournament and currently resides in San Diego, California. He holds notable victories over Frank Mir, Assuerio Silva,...
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 105
UFC 105
UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 14, 2009 in Manchester, England at the Manchester Evening News Arena...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 16–10
| Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira is a Brazilian mixed martial artist known for his technical mastery of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a former UFCInterim Heavyweight Champion...
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 102
UFC 102
UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 29, 2009 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 16–9
| Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar
Brock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the No.5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog...
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 91
UFC 91
UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 15, 2008 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event featured the return of UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture versus Brock Lesnar in a title...
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 3:07
| Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 16–8
| Gabriel Gonzaga
Gabriel Gonzaga
Gabriel Gonzaga , is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is a former member of Chute Boxe Academy and now fights out of Ludlow, Massachusetts as a part of Team Link...
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 74
UFC 74
UFC 74: Respect was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship . The event took place on August 25, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 1:37
| Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 15–8
| Tim Sylvia
Tim Sylvia
Timothy Deane Sylvia is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter, professional wrestler, and former Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight Champion. He trains as a member of the Miletich Fighting Systems camp and is part of their MFSE group...
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 68
UFC 68
UFC 68: The Uprising was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 3, 2007 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. UFC 68 was the first UFC event held in the state of Ohio, and coincided with the 2007 Arnold Sports Festival...
|
|align=center| 5
|align=center| 5:00
| Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 14–8
| Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
| KO (punches)
| UFC 57
UFC 57
UFC 57: Liddell vs. Couture 3 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 4, 2006. It was held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, and broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States.Headlining the card was an anticipated...
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 1:28
| Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 14–7
| Mike Van Arsdale
Mike van Arsdale
Mike van Arsdale is an American mixed martial artist who has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
| Submission (anaconda choke)
| UFC 54
UFC 54
UFC 54: Boiling Point was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 20, 2005, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 0:52
| Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 13–7
| Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
| KO (punches)
| UFC 52
UFC 52
UFC 52: Couture vs. Liddell 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 16, 2005, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States and Canada, and later released on DVD.-History:Headlining the...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 2:06
| Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 13–6
| Vitor Belfort
Vitor Belfort
Vítor Vieira Belfort is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Belfort was born in Rio de Janeiro and studied jiu-jitsu with the Gracie family, namely Carlson Gracie. He received a black belt under Carlson and currently trains with Xtreme Couture, fighting in...
| TKO (doctor stoppage)
| UFC 49
UFC 49
UFC 49: Unfinished Business was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 21, 2004, at the MGM Grand Arena in Paradise, Nevada...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 12–6
| Vitor Belfort
Vitor Belfort
Vítor Vieira Belfort is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Belfort was born in Rio de Janeiro and studied jiu-jitsu with the Gracie family, namely Carlson Gracie. He received a black belt under Carlson and currently trains with Xtreme Couture, fighting in...
| TKO (cut)
| UFC 46
UFC 46
UFC 46: Supernatural was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 31, 2004, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later released on DVD.-History:Headlining the card was a...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:49
| Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 12–5
| Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 44
UFC 44
UFC 44: Undisputed was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 26, 2003, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada...
|
|align=center| 5
|align=center| 5:00
| Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 11–5
| Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 43
UFC 43
UFC 43: Meltdown was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 6, 2003, at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 2:40
| Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 10–5
| Ricco Rodriguez
Ricco Rodriguez
Ricco Rodriguez is an American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion. He has also competed in Pride Fighting Championship, EliteXC, International Fight League, BAMMA, World Extreme Cagefighting and King of the Cage.-Early life:Rodriguez grew up in the...
| Submission (elbow)
| UFC 39
UFC 39
UFC 39: The Warriors Return was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 27, 2002, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut...
|
|align=center| 5
|align=center| 3:04
| Montville, Connecticut
Montville, Connecticut
Montville is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 18,546 at the 2000 census and 19,571 at the 2010 census....
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 10–4
| Josh Barnett
Josh Barnett
Joshua Lawrence Barnett is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who currently fights in the heavyweight division of Strikeforce. Barnett has been an accomplished fighter in mixed martial arts, winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship and the King of Pancrase Openweight...
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 36
UFC 36
UFC 36: Worlds Collide was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the MGM Grand Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada on March 22, 2002...
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 4:35
| Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 10–3
| Pedro Rizzo
Pedro Rizzo
Pedro Augusto Rizzo is an Brazilian mixed martial artist and Muay Thai fighter. He has a professional MMA record of 19–9–0 as of July 17, 2010. He holds notable victories over former UFC Champions Mark Coleman, Dan Severn, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Ricco Rodriguez and Ken Shamrock.-Mixed...
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 34
UFC 34
UFC 34: High Voltage was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the MGM Grand Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada on November 2, 2001...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 1:38
| Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 9–3
| Pedro Rizzo
Pedro Rizzo
Pedro Augusto Rizzo is an Brazilian mixed martial artist and Muay Thai fighter. He has a professional MMA record of 19–9–0 as of July 17, 2010. He holds notable victories over former UFC Champions Mark Coleman, Dan Severn, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Ricco Rodriguez and Ken Shamrock.-Mixed...
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 31
UFC 31
UFC 31: Locked and Loaded was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey on May 4, 2001...
|
|align=center| 5
|align=center| 5:00
| Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 8–3
| Valentijn Overeem
Valentijn Overeem
Valentijn Overeem is a Dutch mixed martial artist who competes as a heavyweight. He has previously competed for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, RINGS and Strikeforce...
| Submission (guillotine choke)
| Rings: King of Kings 2000 Final
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:56
| Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 8–2
| Tsuyoshi Kohsaka
| Decision (unanimous)
| Rings: King of Kings 2000 Final
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 5:00
| Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 7–2
| Kevin Randleman
Kevin Randleman
Kevin Christopher Randleman is a retired American mixed martial arts fighter and a former UFC heavyweight champion. Randleman's background is in Collegiate wrestling. Wrestling at 177 pounds, Randleman was a two time Division I NCAA Champion for The Ohio State University...
| TKO (strikes)
| UFC 28
UFC 28
UFC 28: High Stakes was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 17, 2000 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey.-History:...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 4:13
| Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 6–2
| Ryushi Yanagisawa
Ryūshi Yanagisawa
Ryūshi Yanagisawa is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and kickboxer. His real name is Atsushi Yanagisawa . As a martial artist, he competed in K-1, Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling and Fighting Network RINGS and holds victories over Oleg Taktarov, Paul Varelans, Vernon White, Jason...
| Decision (majority)
| Rings: King of Kings 2000 Block A
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 5:00
| Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 5–2
| Jeremy Horn
Jeremy Horn
Jeremy Graham Horn is an American mixed martial artist. He is one of the most experienced fighters in the sport with a professional record of 88–21–5...
| Decision (unanimous)
| Rings: King of Kings 2000 Block A
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 4–2
| Mikhail Illoukhine
Mikhail Illoukhine
Mikhail Illoukhine is a Russian former mixed martial artist who competed in the light heavyweight division. Mikhail Illoukhine holds notable wins over Igor Vovchanchyn, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, Volk Han, Masayuki Naruse and Randy Couture...
| Submission (kimura)
| Rings: Rise 1st
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 7:43
| Japan
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 4–1
| Enson Inoue
Enson Inoue
Enson Inoue is a Japanese American mixed martial artist. He has a professional MMA record of 12-8-0. He is a former Shooto Heavyweight Champion. He had also previously fought in Pride Fighting Championships, the biggest mixed martial arts organization at the time...
| Submission (armbar)
| Vale Tudo Japan 1998
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:39
| Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 4–0
| Maurice Smith
| Decision (majority)
| UFC Japan
UFC Japan
UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 21, 1997, in Yokohama, Japan...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 21:00
| Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 3–0
| Vitor Belfort
Vitor Belfort
Vítor Vieira Belfort is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Belfort was born in Rio de Janeiro and studied jiu-jitsu with the Gracie family, namely Carlson Gracie. He received a black belt under Carlson and currently trains with Xtreme Couture, fighting in...
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 15
UFC 15
UFC 15: Collision Course was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 17, 1997, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 8:17
| Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Bay Saint Louis is a city located in Hancock County, Mississippi. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 8,209. It is the county seat of Hancock County...
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 2–0
| Steven Graham
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 13
UFC 13
-External links:***...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 3:13
| Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 1–0
| Tony Halme
Tony Halme
Tony Christian Halme was a member of the Finnish Parliament, representing the True Finns party. He was also known by the pseudonym Viikinki he used while appearing in the Finnish version of the TV game show Gladiators in the 1990s...
| Submission (rear naked choke)
| UFC 13
UFC 13
-External links:***...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:00
| Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
, United States
|
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Cradle 2 the Grave Cradle 2 the Grave Cradle 2 the Grave is a 2003 American action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak featuring martial artist Jet Li and rapper DMX.-Plot:... |
Fighter #8 | Major Film |
| 2005 | No Rules No Rules (film) No Rules is a 2005 action movie directed by Gerry Anderson. It follows a small-town man, haunted by his parents murder, who wants to become a mixed martial artist.-Cast:* David Dunn as Diamond* Randy Couture as Mason* Tom Sizemore as Kain Diamond... |
Mason | Film |
| 2005 | Today You Die Today You Die Today You Die is a 2005 action film starring Steven Seagal and Treach, with appearances by Kevin Tighe, Sarah G. Buxton, Lesley-Anne Down, and Nick Mancuso. It has been rated R by the MPAA. The film was released direct-to-video. It was directed by Don E... |
Vincent's Bodyguard | Direct-to-Video |
| 2005 | Beyond The Glory | Himself | TV Series Documentary Documentary A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:... (Episode: "The Ultimate Fighting Championship") |
| 2005 | Fighter | Himself | Film Documentary Documentary A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:... |
| 2005 | The Ultimate Fighter The Ultimate Fighter The Ultimate Fighter is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts competition produced by Spike TV and the Ultimate Fighting Championship , and soon to be shown on FX. The show features unknown, professional MMA fighters living together in Las Vegas, Nevada, and follows them as... |
Himself (Team Captain) | TV Series |
| 2006 | The King of Queens The King of Queens The King of Queens is an American sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.This show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions , CBS Paramount Television ,and CBS Television Studios in association with Columbia TriStar Television , and Sony Pictures... |
Priority Plus Driver | TV Series (Episode: "Fight Schlub") |
| 2006 | Invincible Invincible (2006 film) Invincible is a 2006 family film directed by Ericson Core set in 1976. It is based on the true story of Vince Papale, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1976–78. Mark Wahlberg portrays Papale and Greg Kinnear plays Papale's coach, Dick Vermeil... |
'Toruci' Player #1 | Major Film |
| 2007 | The Unit The Unit The Unit is an American action-drama television series that focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled after the real-life U.S. Army special operations unit commonly known as Delta Force... |
Sgt. Strickland | TV Series (Episodes: "M.P.'s", "Paradise Lost") |
| 2007 | Human Weapon Human Weapon Human Weapon was a weekly television show on The History Channel that premiered on July 20, 2007. The hosts, Jason Chambers and Bill Duff, travel across the world studying the unique martial arts, or styles of fighting, that have origins in the region.... |
Himself | TV Series (Episode: "Mixed Martial Arts") |
| 2007 | Fight Science Fight Science Fight Science is a television program shown on the National Geographic Channel in which scientists and martial arts masters work together to analyze the world's fighting techniques, to compare the disciplines and to find out which one has the strongest hits, kicks and deadliest weapons... |
Himself | TV Series |
| 2007 | Big Stan Big Stan Big Stan is a 2007 American comedy film produced, directed by and starring Rob Schneider. It is his directorial debut. Although released in some overseas markets during the fall of 2008, it was released straight to DVD in the U.S. on March 24, 2009. It debuted at number 17 on the DVD rental charts... |
Carnahan | Major Film |
| 2008 | Redbelt Redbelt Redbelt is a 2008 martial arts film written and directed by David Mamet and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor. The film opened in wide release in the United States and Canada on May 9, 2008.-Plot:... |
Dylan Flynn | Major Film |
| 2008 | The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior | Sargon | Direct-to-Video Direct-to-video Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television... |
| 2008 | Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 is a 2008 real-time strategy video game developed by EA Los Angeles and published by Electronic Arts. Announced on February 14, 2008, it was released on October 28, 2008 in the United States for Microsoft Windows-based PCs and three days later in Europe. A version for... |
Cmdr. Warren Fuller | Video Game |
| 2009 | How Bruce Lee Changed The World | Himself | TV Documentary Documentary A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:... |
| 2010 | The Expendables The Expendables (2010 film) The Expendables is a 2010 American ensemble action film written by David Callaham and Sylvester Stallone, and directed by Stallone. Filming began on March 28, 2009, in Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, and the film was released in theaters on August 13, 2010 in North America.The film is... |
Toll Road | Major Film |
| 2011 | Once I Was a Champion | Himself | Film Documentary Documentary A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:... (post-production) |
| 2011 | Set Up | Petey | Major Film (post-production) |
| 2012 | Geezers! | Randy | Major Film (post-production) |
| 2012 | The Expendables 2 The Expendables 2 The Expendables 2 is an upcoming ensemble action film directed by Simon West and written by David Agosto and Ken Kaufman based on a story by Sylvester Stallone... |
Toll Road | Major Film (announced) |