Well, Randy Couture was supposed to get knocked out by Vitor Belfort back at UFC 15 The Natural was supposed to get outwrestled by Kevin Randleman at UFC 28 ; many thought that Pedro Rizzo would defeat Captain America - that's right, another nickname - in their rematch at UFC 34 ; Couture was supposed to get dropped by Chuck Liddell in their first encounter at UFC 43 ; Tito Ortiz was supposed to give him some of his own medicine at UFC 44 ; and, of course, Tim Sylvia was supposed to dominate the Greco Roman standout at UFC 68. Interestingly, none of that happened.

And that's why there's no one on the MMA planet more deserving of a spot in Submit To MMA's pages than Randy "The Natural" Couture.

Randy Couture and Wrestling

Randy Duane Couture was born on June 22, 1963 in Lynnwood, Washington. We're not sure if he came out fighting or not, but later in life he sure didn't back down from a fight.

Randy Couture served in the United States Army from 1982-1988 after high school. During his time in the service, he took up boxing. Afterwards, he joined up with the Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling team where he was a three time NCAA Division- I All American and two time NCAA Division- I runner up. Interestingly, in 1992 Couture came in second to Mark Kerr in wrestling, another rather famous MMA fighter.

Beyond the aforementioned, Couture was a three-time Olympic team alternate (1988, 1992 and 1996) and a semifinalist at the 2000 Olympic Trials. In other words, he's one helluva wrestler with over 25 years of freestyle and Greco Roman style training to date.

Still, if he had achieved his wrestling goals in that elusive championship in the Olympics or college that competitive fire might not have compelled him toward the sport of mixed martial arts.

Everything happens for a reason, folks.

Randy Couture and his MMA Beginnings

Randy Couture made his MMA debut on May 30, 1997 at UFC 13 in a four man heavyweight tournament. In sum, he stopped Tony Halme and Steven Graham in a little over four minutes combined to take home the tournament victory.

But his next fight would hold much more meaning.

On October 17, 1997 at UFC 15: Collision Course Randy Couture came face to face with Vitor Belfort. Up to that point, Belfort had looked near unbeatable. After all, his hands were fast as lightning and he was deemed a serious Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner.

In other words, people believed that he could hit like a professional boxer and grapple like a Gracie.

So when Couture dominated Belfort by getting inside on him (clinching with him, if you will) the MMA world was shocked. And in less than nine minutes, Couture managed a TKO victory over a man that had knocked out his previous four opponents in a total of three minutes and four seconds combined.

It was after this bout that Couture received his nickname, The Natural.

Next he took the UFC Heavyweight Championship after defeating Maurice Smith, a man with a big time kickboxing pedigree. During this fight, Couture did what he'd eventually become known for. He closed the distance. There was some clinch work. And then he took Smith down.

Ground and pound, people.

What was next? How about some contract trouble and time away from the UFC?

Randy Couture and his First MMA Losing Streak

Enson Inoue and Mikhail Illoukhine are MMA fighters. What else do they have in common?

They both defeated Randy Couture after he left the UFC due to contract negotiation issues. In fact, both fighters defeated him by submission, something that The Natural still didn't have the firmest base in yet. But then in true championship fashion, Couture took down two fighters in a row ( one by the name of Jeremy Horn ) before coming back to fight Kevin Randleman for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Randleman, another MMA fighter with an awesome wrestling pedigree, looked good early on. But then Couture's clinch work and cardio started to take over.

Soon after came a TKO victory in round three.

The Natural then went on to defeat big time fighters like Pedro Rizzo (twice) and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka with a loss in the now defunct RINGS organization to Valentijn Overeem sandwiched in between.

Randy Couture vs. Josh Barnett and Randy Couture vs. Ricco Rodriguez : Bigger Fighters, Bad News

Randy Couture had always been a rather small heavyweight fighter ( 225 pounds or so ). Unfortunately, his comparatively diminutive size hurt him in two consecutive fights after defeating Pedro Rizzo. In both of these losses- one to Josh Barnett and the other to Ricco Rodriguez- Couture was able to control the initial stages of the fight in his customary ground and pound fashion before getting turned over later. The problem? Fatigue, due to the difficulty he had controlling fighters that were so much bigger than him. The writing was on the wall. Couture was getting older. The other fighters were just too big. Time to retire, right?

Wrong.

Randy Couture Moves to Light Heavyweight and Defeats Chuck Liddell

Chuck Liddell had been waiting to finally get his shot at UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz. Finally, his shot was within striking distance. All he had to do was defeat Randy Couture, a former heavyweight hoping that a drop in weight would help him get off of a two fight- losing streak.

However, it was not to be for Liddell.

On June 6, 2003 at UFC 43, Couture took Liddell down at will and ground and pounded his way to a TKO victory. In fact, the victory was so lopsided that The Natural even managed to out strike his opponent.

In case you didn't know, Chuck Liddell is not the kind of guy that gets beat in a stand up fight very often.

So that meant Couture was getting the shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, not Tito Ortiz.

Randy Couture vs. Tito Ortiz at UFC 44

Tito Ortiz was the UFC's big ticket item back when UFC 44 rolled into town. He had a flashy nickname ( the Huntington Beach Bad Boy ), possessed ridiculous cardio and power, and was a ground and pound nightmare. Oh yeah, and he also liked to wear shirts after defeating his opponents that degraded them.

Here's a hint; he didn't wear a shirt after UFC 44.

In the end, Couture proved to be the better wrestler; thus, he was the better ground and pound guy. That meant he was the winner over the Huntington Beach Bad Boy and the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell as TUF 1 Coaches and the Trilogy

After Couture lost a fight to Vitor Belfort at UFC 46 due to a freak cut caused by a thumb to the eye and then defeated him at UFC 49 in a rematch, the UFC started a reality television series called The Ultimate Fighter Reality Television show or TUF. The premise of the series was simple: put a bunch of up and coming fighters in a house together and have them fight for their survival until only one in each of two divisions was left standing. The winners would get a six- figure UFC contract.

Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell were picked to coach in TUF 1 against one another. Liddell's bunch did better than Couture's. Still, many believed that in their upcoming rematch, Couture would once again prove to be the better fighter.

Oh, how wrong they were.

Chuck Liddell avenged his loss to Couture at UFC 43 with a first round knockout at UFC 52. Then Liddell followed that up with another first round knockout victory of Couture at UFC 57. After that UFC 57 loss, Randy Couture had the following to say:

"This is the last time you're going to see these gloves and these shorts in this octagon. I'm retiring tonight."

Don't get all misty- eyed, though. Couture's retirement would be short lived.

Randy Couture vs. Tim Sylvia for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 68

Wouldn't logic indicate that if you lost to a UFC Light Heavyweight Champion with knockout power and excellent takedown defense you shouldn't then try and fight a much bigger man with the same skillset? Not according to Randy Couture. You see, Couture felt that Tim Sylvia wasn't fighting to win anymore; the UFC Heavyweight Championship belt had become so important to him that he was simply fighting not to lose it.

And The Natural felt that he could take advantage.

The fight started in front of an amazingly loud Ohio crowd. Couture then, in rather uncustomary fashion, landed a big right that floored his opponent out of the gate. Though Sylvia escaped an early submission attempt, the damage had already been done.

Sylvia never really got his feet under him, and Couture dominated the rest of the fight in customary ground and pound style.

When the bell finally sounded, he said, "not bad for an old man." He was right.

He was also the new UFC Heavyweight Champion. In his next fight, Couture defeated Gabriel Gonzaga, a man that had just demolished Mirko Cro Cop, by TKO.

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Randy Couture and UFC Trouble

Here's the bottom line. Randy Couture is a five- time UFC champion ( the only five time UFC Champion ever ). That said, he defeated Tim Sylvia at the amazing age of 43. In other words, he can't have many fights left in him and wants to only take on opponents that are a challenge, people that he can gain something from beating.

So when the UFC was unable to sign Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture got mad. That fight was the one he wanted. What's more, he began talking of problems he felt that he was experiencing with the UFC management.

And now, as is widely documented, they're in court over his contract.

Hopefully, that Fedor Emelianenko vs. Randy Couture fight happens someday.

Randy Couture on A&E's Biography Channel

Randy Couture will soon be featured on A&E's Biography Channel.

Training Camps and Randy Couture

Any Randy Couture biography would be remiss if it didn't mention the training camps he'd helped to form throughout his legendary MMA career.

For most of Couture's MMA career, he resided in Corvallis, Oregon and fought out of Team Quest of Gresham, Oregon. In fact, Team Quest was actually formed and built by him in conjunction with Dan Henderson and Matt Lindland. However, recently Couture decided to part ways with Team Quest and build his own MMA gym, Xtreme Couture, in Las Vegas, Nevada. In accordance with this, Couture now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada himself.

Randy Couture and his Personal Life

Randy Couture was formerly married to Tricia and Sharon, and is now married to Kim Holderman (Kim Couture). Along with this, he has four children and a stepson.

References

Randy Couture's Official Website

Sherdog

Wikipedia