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« | Home | »

Randy Couture comments on why he wanted Lyoto Machida as his final opponent

By Zach Arnold | April 23, 2011

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KENNY RICE: “I think this is different, though, than any other time we’ve had you on because going into this fight now we might actually be talking about, is this going to be your last fight win, lose, or draw?”

RANDY COUTURE: “I think it is. I think it’s time, you know, I kind of want to go out on my own terms, don’t want to wait until there’s an injury that forces me out or you lose two or three fights and everybody’s thinking you should retire. I’ve been on a good run, I’ve probably pushed it further than anybody’s going to push it in a long while and I’ve got a lot of other things that I’m working on that I want to focus on and I think it’s time.”

KENNY RICE: “You know, we’ve talked about this before, several times it’s been bounced around for the last year or so. Was there a particular moment where you said, this is it, I’ve decided that the (Lyoto) Machida fight is it. Is it just something that’s progressed, Randy?”

RANDY COUTURE: “It’s more something that’s kind of progressed, you know, there’s kind of been a transition. I’ve been getting more, more and more acting jobs and betting acting jobs, and obviously all the other businesses that I’m involved in are doing very well, the gym is great and the clothing line and all those things are doing fantastic. So, I really want to focus on those things and, to be frank, I want to enjoy life a little bit. I don’t want to grind out another camp, I’m not interested in making a run at the title or any of those things. Regardless of the win record is right now, it’s been about fighting. It’s been about going out and doing what I have a passion to do and what I love to do and I’ve wanted this fight for a long time and this seems like, it’s my 30th fight, it’s a great fight to finish on.”

TITO ORTIZ: “So, Randy, what do you think are some of the key elements for you to win this fight?”

RANDY COUTURE: “Well, I think everybody who’s faced Machida has to pressure him. I think he doesn’t do well backing up, he’s not a big fan of standing and banging, he doesn’t really like to get hit or trade that way and so I think using the cage effectively, using footwork to cut him off, we saw that with Shogun, we saw that with Rampage. Try to keep him off-balance and not walk into any of those things. If you play around and stay out of his distance, he’s got some pretty sharp kicks, he’s got a great straight left hand. He’s a very elusive guy, so sometimes during camp I felt like I’ve been in a track meet rather than a fight. But, it’s been a fun and interesting camp to train and get ready for.”

TITO ORTIZ: “Sounds like you’ve done homework because those are the mistakes I made when I competed against Machida, so I wish you a lot of luck.”

RANDY COUTURE: “Thanks, I appreciate it, Tito.”

KENNY RICE: “And you’ve learned from that?”

TITO ORTIZ: “Yes.”

KENNY RICE: “And Randy watched your tape. Has he thrown something at you, Machida, that, you know, you talk about the track meet and the speed and all that that he brings into it. Has he been somewhat different than anybody else you’ve faced in your distinguished career?”

RANDY COUTURE: “You know, he has been different. He’s got a very complex and very unique style, I think based on his Kyokushin Karate background. The footwork that he uses, his stance, the way he moves and sets up things, even the feints that he uses, the little hip movement and moving his feet the way he does are all different and not used to seeing a lot of that, it’s not grounded in boxing or Western kickboxing. It takes you some time to try to get used to seeing what you’re seeing and until you get used to it, you get hit with a lot of different things, things that you don’t expect that come from weird places. So, it’s been a little frustrating at the beginning but, you know, no different than having 280-290 pound guys on top of you for the first three weeks of camp and having that frustration, so it’s been frustrating but in a different way.”

Topics: Canada, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 12 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

12 Responses to “Randy Couture comments on why he wanted Lyoto Machida as his final opponent”

  1. 45 Huddle says:

    I hope Lyoto Machida wins. As much as it’s nice to see a legend go out with a win, it is better for the strength of the LHW Division if Machida gets the win. There is zero upside with Couture winning this fight.

    *************

    On a side note…. I noticed at BE that Snowden is doing a fake World Cup with a lot of articles about potential fights in this fake “tournament”. I always said once the competition was gone that MMA writers would be struggling for things to talk about.

    Making up fake ideas just to publish a bunch of articles on it is about the best proof of it so far. There is so little real news now outside of announcing who is fighting that even guys like Snowden are out of topics to complain about….

    But the reason I bring this is up is that it shows that the MMA Media is not adapting properly. They always had the promotional feuds to talk about. That is gone. What should be talked about is the quality of the fighters. Discussing which fights SHOULD be made in the future. Which fighters should be a few fights away from a title shot and how the UFC should matchmake in order to achieve this.

    That’s just one idea. There are many more. Basically…. The writers should be doing what they never have done from the beginning…. And that’s disect on a better level the fighting itself.

    • fd says:

      Snowden writing worthless articles that aren’t relevant to anything in the real world isn’t exactly a new development.

    • Jonathan says:

      I agree with you 100% 45 Huddle, and I said for the longest time that when the UFC was the only promotion left that writers would have little to write about.

      The times, they are changing, and the MMA media will have to change with them.

  2. Stel says:

    What I found rather shocking in this interview, was Tito’s extremely large head.

  3. David m says:

    Randy has a 0% chance of winning this fight.

  4. 45 Huddle says:

    Interesting comment of the month from mmalogic over at BE…. Some people say he is full of it, but he knew SF was selling before it was really made public. The guy is in the know….

    And from what he says, it doesn’t sound like the UFC will be on SpikeTV in the future. This will either open up a spot for Bellator or they will just abandon MMA…. Unless the UFC works something out to keep some programming on SpikeTV which will still be more valuable then anything Bellator has to offer….

    ****************

    Commenting on this quote from another poster: “something is going on with the UFC relationship with Spike TV.”

    mmalogic’s response:

    Viacom has been airing streaming image spots for bellator on saturdays on spike TV. Streaming text that essentially says flip the channel from spike to mtv2…. what the fuck do you think the relationship is like?

    This is essentially the North American TV landscape for a UFC type product:

    Viacom (spike)

    Comcast (versus, USA network, NBC)

    Time Warner (HBO, TNT, TBS)

    News corp: (FX, Fox)

    Disney: (ESPN, ABC)

    CBS corp: (showtime, CBS sports, CBS)

    To ascertain who the real players are and who’s currently setting the price you only need ask and answer 2 questions:

    1) Who needs the programming most?

    2) And who can make most of said programming?

    If you only ask the first question the asnwer would be viacom as the UFC is the entire life force of one of their properties. However their leverage dies beyond spike.

    Once you realize comcast is second most in need of the programming and that they just inked a 10 year 2 billion dollar deal with the NHL indicating they are going to pushing NBC sports (versus). You’ll also realize with the distribution comcast controls (USA, Versus/NBC sports, and NBC major) it can also leverage the UFC product more than viacom can.

    Comcast has decided it wants the UFC and is currently the one setting the price for it. I do not believe Viacom will be able to match it.

    The most likely scenario for Zuffa to stay with Viacom is if another piece of the puzzle is included or down the road like a showtime, CBS deal which compliments spike.

    HBO/TNT have the capabilities to match the offer but they dont need the programming. TNT has basketball and HBO invests heavily in boxing.

    FX/Fox can use the programming but I dont think their need will ever exceed comcasts or even CBS as fox is already doing very well with the target demos.

    espn/abc has little need for the programming. Zuffa has a very good relationship with espn because of the UK deal but other than ESPN’s motivation for jacking the price up for comcast there is no dire need.

    Zuffa will either be with Comcast or Viacom/CBS corp.

    CBS corp does not have the properties for Zuffa. Showtime has a ceiling on viewership and tuf does not fit on cbs sports or CBS. without spike being included I dont see it happening…. Conversely, unless CBS corp gets involved I dont see Viacom being able to afford to keep the UFC.

    ***********

    If the UFC does end up getting in with NBC…. It’s a dangerous game for the first year. Versus is not in every house…. But will likely be soon due to NBC’s muscle. If 4 to 6 live NBC primetime shows are included in the package it can do great stuff…. But SpikeTV being so dependent on the UFC has helped them for years. It’s a risk to leave…

    • EJ says:

      Yeah I don’t buy that mostly because it makes several leaps that I think are reaching. One Spike already found out what happens when 1 big brand leaves your station and you miss out on millions of viewers (WWE). They also found out that you can’t make a b league org (TNA)even come close to matching the superior brand even if you put money and backing behind. Spike got lucky that UFC helped to minimize the loss of the WWE programming but in the end they still missed out on what would be 2 huge brands on that channel making it what USA is right now.

      Also I don’t buy that Viacom can’t afford the UFC and Comcast can that doesn’t add up considering that losing the UFC will leave them with TNA alone and that would basically drown the network.

      Spike TV likes drawing the eyeballs it draws the idea that they would just take their ball home and be ok with not having the high ratings the UFC draws is ridiculous. It’s in theirs and the UFC benefit to continue a deal that has been very beneficial for both. History speaks as to why this would be a debacle for them to lose the UFC and unless the channel is going to become the home for women I don’t see it happening at all.

      • 45 Huddle says:

        In terms of total assets, Comcast is about 5.5 times the size of Viacom. Comcast makes over $3.5 Billion in net income. Viacom makes about $850 Million. So it is very logical that Comcast would have much more money to throw around then Viacom. Comcast has $6 Billion in cash. Viacom has about $900 Million.

        Comcast is a total giant compared to Viacom. If they wanted specific program more, they could easily outbit for it.

        The UFC 129 Countdown show is also being shown at midnight on Tuesday. That means all 3 Primetime shows and a countdown show…. All for a major UFC show, are debuting at midnight. A Primetime shows can typically get 1 Million viewers.

        What logical reason would SpikeTV have for canabalizing their own ratings like that?

        Something is up….

        • EJ says:

          The could in theory outbid them, but they would have to give out an incredibly sweet deal more than money total control to the UFC. That’s a big question mark also, like I said this isn’t a one way street Spike has alot to gain from keeping the UFC where else are they going to get that audience to tune into their crappy shows.

          I also don’t buy that Spike is somehow sabotaging their own network to send some sort of message to the UFC that’s a mega reach. Just like their decision to put on the latest season of TUF without a Fight Night lead in sometimes networks make mistakes as to when and where they slot things. It benefits nobody for Spike to not draw the most eyeballs it can on shows they are paying alot of money for. This is where the tin foil hat committee kinda loses their argument when they go that far to try and make their points.

        • Joe says:

          Comcast has more money, but unless the UFC wants to start its own network it is better off with the demographics and brand-familiarity offered by Spike and Viacom. The UFC needs a platform to sell PPV’s first and foremost. Spike, unlike versus and the comcast sports nets, actually gets real viewers and not just cable-flippers. Comcast can offer advertsing, but the UFC needs a platform that makes fans excited about their product and they get that with Spike. Either way, unless the UFC has something big planned like its own network or a partnership with Disney, it’s better off not risking a lateral move.

    • The Gaijin says:

      “…. Some people say he is full of it, but he knew SF was selling before it was really made public. The guy is in the know….”

      No he’s not – the guy is totally full of s**t. He’s made dozens of vague predictions, a number of which were proven to be completely false or just way off the mark. Not to mention any of his big “scoops” are just recyled versions of already circulated rumors or common knowledge (e.g. WEC merging into the UFC – yeah, (a) that one wasn’t in doubt and (b) a number of people were talking about that).

      Your scoop you’re attributing to him? MMASupremacy was reporting that rumor at least two weeks before he tried to “drop [that] knowledge”.

  5. 45 Huddle says:

    Interesting observation about the UFC website and the fighter’s records on them.

    Under detailed lists of fighters records they only use to include UFC & WEC wins.

    Now it looks like if they own the rights to the events, they have the fight listed on their website.

    For example, Jake Shields’ Shooto fights are not listed but his Rumble on the Rock, EliteXC, & Strikeforce fights are.

    I wonder if they are laying the ground work for a more detailed website. If they own the footage, they can link to all of the fights they have on the fighters profile….

    Just an interesting change for a company who has typically been “UFC only” for so long. The purchase of Strikeforce has certainly changed that in some ways.

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