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Randy Couture defies the odds.
By Luke | March 4, 2007
Fourty three year old Randy Couture, the former two-time Light Heavyweight Champion, and two-time Heavyweight Champion, as well as UFC Hall of Famer, defeated Tim Sylvia to become UFC Heavyweight Champion for a THIRD TIME~!
It’s been an amazing week in Mixed Martial Arts, maybe one of the most amazing weeks in the history of any combat sport. Last Saturday, we had Dan Henderson make history by defeating Wanderlei Silva to become the first dual weight class champion in the history of the sport. And, now Randy Couture comes out of retirement at 43 years of age, and defeats Tim Sylvia, who had a fourteen inch reach advantage, and at least a 40 pound weight advantage to become UFC Heavyweight Champion for a third time. WOW. That’s a hell of week right there.
Randy Couture has always been doubted. The road that’s paved his entire career is lined with people who counted him out. People who said he couldn’t do it. He’s spent his career proving them wrong, and tonight was no different.
Since his second KO loss to Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture has been acting as an ambassador to UFC. Doing promotional work, and filling in for Joe Rogan on commentary every now and then. And, even being the third guy in the booth for most UFC main events. Its funny to look back at UFC 65, and listen to what Randy Couture said about Tim Sylvia after his boring, decision victory that left the Sacramento fans booing unmercifully. He felt Tim Sylvia fought not to lose. He felt that Tim’s overly conservative style would eventually cost him the belt. I didn’t think at that time that Randy Couture would be the person to expose Sylvia’s weaknesses in the octagon. I guess I was wrong.
I’ve grown up as a sports fan and a wrestling fan my entire life, and nothing I’ve witnessed matched up with a middle-aged, retired, former champion coming out of retirement to scratch an itch he couldn’t satisfy, while becoming UFC Heavyweight Champion for a third time. In wrestling, wrestlers talk about how great matches will tell a story. I think that in this fight, it was proven that sometimes a great story could make a great fight. The story of Randy Couture made this fight great.
Tim Sylvia is a talented fighter, who obviously underestimated Randy Couture and came into the fight expecting to win. When the fight didn’t go his way early on, he had no back up plan to turn things around. Randy Couture used side-to-side head movement, along with his amazing athleticism for a fourty three year old, to keep Sylvia from finding his range, yet still engaging enough to clinch, and take him down. Once Randy had him on the ground he had trouble inflicting damage, and the fight was stood up more than once because of in-action on the ground, but that didn’t matter. Randy Couture executed his amazing game plan almost flawlessly, and won every round of the five round championship fight. Not only did he win every round, he dominated nearly every minute of every round. It was astonishing.
I never saw the Couture/Liddell match from UFC 43, or Couture/Ortiz from UFC 44 live. I saw them much later on videotape, but this gave me flashbacks. And with the increased exposure and popularity of UFC, this story has the capability to catapult UFC into another stratosphere of popularity, just when everyone thought UFC had peaked. That 2006 was the big year, and this year, maybe they take a step back in terms of PPV buy rates and mainstream buzz…or…maybe not.
With Randy Couture’s victory, UFC has a marketable champion in four of five weight divisions, and for the first time that I can remember, a marketable heavyweight champion. At a time when UFC is signing expensive foreign talent like Mirko “Cro Cop†Filipovic, they have a homegrown real life hero as a world champion. Obviously Mirko will fight Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 70, but after that it’s probably on to fight Captain America. Mirko Cro Cop vs. Randy Couture will the first real mainstream heavyweight main event that UFC has had in a long, long, time, maybe ever.
And beyond Mirko Cro Cop, there is the possibility of a heavyweight showdown between Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell. Who would’ve believed that was a possibility following UFC 57? If Brandon Vera eventually signs a long-term deal with UFC, there’s another talented fighter that could challenge Couture – if he’s still champion when Vera comes to terms.
I thought UFC would have a hard time topping 2006, in terms of generating fan interest, and gaining popularity, but with the way 2007 has started, I could be wrong on that front too.
Topics: All Topics, Luke Nicholson, MMA, UFC | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Great article. Couture is a legend and I agree that this victory will vault the Crop Cop match into the stratosphere. Maybe even past Chuck and Tito if promoted right.
Cro Cop v Couture… if Randy uses the same technique against Mirko that he did against Tim, I think he will be in trouble. That space will allow some awfully nasty head kicks, and Mirko is a better puncher than Tim. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been a fan of Couture for many years. He is absolutely awesome. But Mirko could do some damage to him, and I don’t want to see that.
Oh, agreed, but I don’t think he’ll use the same game plan. That would be suicide, and I trust he knows it. Still, my pick is Filipovic over Coture if this is the way it pans out. Not the result I want, but the one I’d put money on…
Randy better not employ that strategy because it made the match against Silvia horribly boring. That main event was lame, and I hope if he tries to do it against Mirko he gets smashed.
Look lets face it the only people who have a chance to beat Cro Cop in the UFC are Randy,Arlovski, and Vera. Randy seems to have the most effective style and you’ve seen Cro cops fight with Fedor you know what I’m talking about. Yes Fedor is on a completey supreme level but if Couture can keep coming at Cro cop like Fedor did it doesn’t give him time to properly plan his lighting quick strikes. Cro cop needs room and if Couture gives him none it will be a damn good fight. I still am rooting for the Cro cop though cuz I love strikers!