Randy Couture has long let Dana White’s words about him slide off his back.
The UFC Hall of Famer and five-time champion is known almost as much for his up-and-down relationship with his former boss as he is for his exploits in the cage.
So when White verbally tees off on Couture, as he did back in December, when Couture left his UFC commentating gig to co-star in Spike TV’s “Fight Master” reality series, he doesn’t let it get to him.
“I don’t take any of that personal,” Couture said. “I don’t really tune into The Underground and all that other stuff. People come to me and they say, ‘Oh, he said this and he said that.’ I don’t care; I know what the truth is. I know how I have treated people, how I tried to treat them. And yeah, fighting with them to get a fair shake and be told the truth and, it’s been a struggle all along, from ancillary rights down the line. I don’t take any of that personal. I don’t really tune into it.”
However, there’s one area that gets under Couture’s skin. As Couture explained on a recent edition of The MMA Hour, the fact he’s banned from cornering his son, Ryan, during his UFC fights is taking things a step too far.
“With Ryan competing and not allowing me to continue to progress and work with my son in his fight career is ridiculous,” Couture said. “And that bothers me.”
Ryan Couture was among the many fighters who transferred over from Strikeforce to the UFC when parent company Zuffa shut down the fight promotion it acquired in 2011. Randy Couture had been a fixture in his son’s corner during his Strikeforce fights, as Ryan ran his MMA record to 6-1.
But Couture the elder wasn’t in Ryan’s corner during his UFC debut on April 6, as he lost a second-round TKO to Ross Pearson in Sweden.
Whether Randy Couture’s presence would have affected the outcome against the hard-hitting, more experienced Pearson is up for debate, but it’s the principle of the matter which most bothers Couture.
“With Ryan competing and not allowing me to continue to progress and work with my son in his fight career, it’s ridiculous and that bothers me,” Couture said. “It bothers me that he could affect my son’s livelihood. My son has earned his spot. Ryan has done the work, he has the passion for the sport and he’s doing all of the right things. So for him to be hindered and hampered by Dana and Dana’s feelings towards me, it isn’t fair and that bothers me.”
Ryan Couture, for his part, has been diplomatic when asked about the situation. Randy Couture has no such need for diplomacy. He turns the situation on his head and asks how White would like it if he meddled in the life of White’s family.
“When you start talking about somebody’s kids and their family, yeah, you’re crossing the line,” he said. “I don’t think he would like it if I did those sorts of things to him. I know his wife, I know his kids. He’s got my sons fate in his hands in some way here.”