Compiled by Thomas Gerbasi | UFC Betting Sites

BJ Penn – In His Own Words

For over a decade, few have captured the imagination of fight fans quite like the pride of Hilo, Hawaii, BJ Penn. One of only two fighters in UFC history to win titles in two weight classes, he has built a loyal fanbase due not only to his fighting skill and willingness to take on anyone in a fight, but also his no holds barred approach to life, where he will always say what’s on his mind and then worry about the consequences later. Subsequently, he’s the most quotable MMA fighter this side of Chael Sonnen, and here’s just a taste of some of the things Penn has revealed over the years as we get ready for another round of “The Prodigy” in the lead up to his UFC 137 bout against Nick Diaz on October 29th.

On fighting in different weight classes
“It’s been talked to death, me fighting at different weights and doing other things, but right now, I guess I’m just going to be the best I can be right now. Who knows how many fights I’ve got left in me, so right now I’m just gonna do my thing and be happy with who I am.”

On living up to expectations
“At first it was real tough, but now I just want to prove all those people right. If they’re gonna go out on a limb and say I can do all these things, then I’m happy they say that stuff and I want to go out and do it for them. If they went out and told their friends I’m the best, then I want to make sure they can go back and say ‘I told you so.’”

Fighter vs Athlete
“I gotta not like the person that’s standing on the other side of the ring and that’s why I consider myself in different aspects as not just an athlete, but a fighter. When people fight in the normal, everyday world, it’s not because of being an athlete, it’s because something pissed them off. When man raises his fists, he has run out of ideas, and that’s what ends up happening. Those are the natural instincts I have, and if I want someone to fight with me, I better piss them off. So he gets pissed off, and then he pisses me off, and then we can fight. I kinda look for that sometimes.”

On his fighting style
Maybe because I’m not on the mainland and not cross training with everybody all the time, my style is kinda different. It’s not like I’m going to a gym with 50 other mixed martial arts fighters who are all trading techniques and sharing stuff. I have a few people come down here and there and I work with people, but in a gym you kinda all become the same in certain ways because you’re training with each other every day. I’m out in Hawaii, and even better than that, I’m not even on the main island, where there are a bunch of other fighters, so I’m not mixing with anybody. So maybe when I do something it comes out looking a bit different.

On training
“I’m training a lot harder. Back in the day I used to pride myself on how little I could do and get away with it; now I try to pride myself on how much I do. I try to work real hard, train as much as I can, eat healthy food, and I want to see how far I can take it.”

The wakeup call
“I guess the wakeup call was December 13, 2006, when I turned 28. I said ‘what am I doing, why am I messing around? This is the biggest sport in the world, it’s gonna overtake everything, I’m at the forefront. Why am I playing games?’”

In a league of his own
“You want to be categorized in a league of your own, like Randy (Couture) is,” he said. “You don’t want to be in the mix with everybody else. When they talk about you, you want them to say something special, like a Joe Frazier or (Muhammad) Ali, those kinds of people. You want to be extraordinary. You want to shoot for greatness and I think every fighter should.”

On pressure
“When it comes to the pressure, I used to hate it and that’s what used to burn me out. I used to hate fighting for everybody else, answering to everybody else. I just wanted to do it for myself. Now, I think that’s another thing that changed in me. Now I love doing it for everybody. I love when the people come up to me around town and say something to me. I love it – come, come support me, come believe I can do all these things, and I will do all these things. I think that was the biggest thing that changed. I never used to be happy with the idea of all these people putting all this pressure on me, but now I know why they do it, and I love it.”

A new start
“Something just awoke inside of me where I said ‘what are you doing? You can beat every one of these people. You’ve been doing it half-assed all this time and it’s time to finally step up and let’s see it.’ If you can’t, you can’t, but at least you know you tried. Words can’t explain how pumped I am about fighting right now. It’s what I am, it’s who I am, and it’s what I want to be.”

Early days
“The Din Thomas fight and the Caol Uno fight, those were probably two of the best things for my career, to blow me up and to get me a bigger fanbase, but they were also the worst things for my career as far as getting me experience to get ready for that title fight. And I was scared going out there and being the main event. I think I was more afraid of everything else – I was afraid to have that lightweight title, I was afraid to be the main event – but don’t do something great if you can’t take the congratulations, and I wasn’t ready to get congratulated. I was just a kid.”

Money Player
“I never took it serious. But I started taking it serious right before the finals of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu world championships. I was in the finals, and I remember me and Charuto (Verissimo) were going to eat lunch, and I just sat there and thought to myself ‘I’ll never be in this position ever again. Go out there and do whatever it takes. Whether your arm gets broken, you get choked unconscious, anything that happens, win this match, do it now, no matter what.’ And that’s why I think I’m good when the pressure’s on. I’m a clutch player when the pressure’s on and that’s when I perform at my best. That’s who I am.”

On his cardio
“I think people will always bring up my cardio. Everybody wants an idea of ‘how can we beat him?’ And they’re not thinking, ‘oh, I‘m gonna submit him’ or ‘I’m gonna knock him out.’ They’re looking for anything they can, so they bring up the cardio issue. These guys got to remember that I fought Sean Sherk and he’s supposed to be a cardio machine. I fought Kenny Florian and he doesn’t get tired. I fought Caol Uno and he doesn’t get tired. I fought so many people over the years, but they just pick that one thing. Nobody wants anybody to be perfect and they want to look for something to talk about. I’m in great shape, but even after this fight, I’m sure the next guy who fights me, that will be his way to beat me too.”

On the mental game
“You see these great guys come out and then they try something for one or two minutes, they find out their technique’s not working and then they give up. The mental side is everything. The techniques have to be flawless, but the mind has to be tough. It has to be more flawless and you can never give up. I would even sit here and say that I’m in the entertainment business and the fight game business, but I’m also in the making you quit business. That’s what it’s all about.”

Lightweight champion of the world
“Just talking to you right now, thinking about how it was a 21-year old kid’s dream to be the lightweight champion of the world, that just got me pumped up. I just remembered how I used to sit and think about how I wanted to be the lightweight champ. But then sometimes you get there and you take it for granted.”

All about the fight
“When I first got into the game of fighting, it was all about the fight. Then came promoting the fight and trying to get the fight bigger, but I’m back to the mindset that it’s just about fighting again.”

On success
“Over time you realize that you can’t judge success by championships. One day you’re at the top of the world and the next day you’re at the bottom, and you’ve got to keep pushing through and keep moving forward no matter happens. And I’m kinda in that mindset. I’ve got a lot of wins and I’ve got a few losses, and I realize that anything can happen when you step in the ring and give it your all against someone else who’s giving their all. So I’m in the mindset that I’m just trying to go out and do my best and let the cards fall where they may, and we’ll see what happens at the end of the night. It definitely took a long time to get that point though. Before I was always about ‘I gotta win, I gotta win, I gotta win,’ and a lot of times when you have that attitude, you end up doing less than your best. Now all I gotta do is go out there and do my best and everything will happen the way it should.”

On legacy
“Before I used to sit there and think about all these things all the time, but now I’m just trying to stay around. It’s amazing and it’s the kinda thing where I don’t want to talk too soon. I’d rather talk about all this when I’m fat, I’m hanging out, and not fighting anymore, and then I’ll tell everybody how great I was.”

Legacy vs. Burnout
“I’m constantly stuck between the two. I’ve seen a lot of Rampage’s interviews lately, and that’s exactly where he is. I guess people do get burned out over time. When you first start this whole journey of being a mixed martial artist, you’re here to beat everybody up, and I guess after a while it does turn into a job. Some people get burned out, some people don’t, and it’s a strange thing. I come out here and destroy Matt Hughes on the 20th and maybe you’ll hear the same things coming out of my mouth again – that I’m going back for my legacy and all that stuff.”

Life after retirement?
“I’ve asked myself that question a thousand times, and I look at everything else there is in the world to do, besides retirement, and I looked at all my other options, and I like this one a lot more.”

On leaving the Octagon immediately after the third Hughes bout
“I’ve been trying to do a fight like the (first) Uno fight for the last nine years and it just never came out that way. So when this fight (with Hughes) ended up ending very quick with a knockout, I was pumped up, I started screaming in the ring for a little bit and I was like ‘here it is, here’s my chance. I’m gonna get out there and I’m gonna do it – Elvis is gonna leave the building.’”

On the loyalty of his fans
“I think they buy the Pay-Per-View when I fight and I think they’re constantly looking for that same kid that got them excited about the sport, who came out and said all these things, and maybe it didn’t go his way every time, but he tried as hard as he could to back up what he said. They see they guy who knocked out Din Thomas and knocked out Caol Uno and that’s their guy, that’s their favorite fighter, and maybe they see some of him in their lives or maybe he’s someone that inspires them. I’ve just been so blessed with these fans that always have my back. When I’ve lost and I’ve come back, I think they know my story so well and they relate to it in their lives. Nobody’s on top always. We’re up one day, we’re down one day, and that’s just the nature of life. And when they see me, they can really relate. People like to follow that storyline and sometimes they like to see people fall but climb back up again.”

On his relationships with past opponents
“I could see it surprising a lot of people, but honestly, I consider myself a people person. (Laughs) One minute I could be pissing you off, the next minute you could be hugging me, and that’s me and part of why people love me or hate me. I’m just blessed to get to run into these people later on and really get to apologize for some of the things that I’ve done. And I’m lucky that these people have welcomed me with open arms.”

On being “The Target”
“If I’m not in that position, I’ll be bummed out. If someone says ‘you know what, I don’t care about fighting BJ Penn,’ that would hurt my feelings.”

On BJ Penn
“There’s just something about BJ Penn that gets people amped up. You don’t know what’s gonna happen, but something’s gonna happen though. He might disappoint you, he might make you happy, he might make you cry, he might make you jump out of your chair, but he’ll do something to you.”

Quinton’s Quotables

He’s always been a walking soundbite, and thankfully, while former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has gotten older, he is far from mellow, both in and out of the Octagon. As we approach his UFC 130 main event against Matt Hamill on May 28th, here’s just a sampling of some of the compelling comments unleashed on the world by Mr. Jackson.

On his less than ideal formative years, growing up in Memphis (2003)
“It’s not an excuse. My family is from the country and they grew up poor on a farm, but a lot of my uncles have their own businesses, are airplane pilots, and they did something with their lives. My mom was poor and I didn’t have everything I wanted. And I want to have things. I want to do things. So if I had the chance to make money fighting I’m going to do it and be the best so I can make some money and take care of my family. I’m going to give back to my mom and help them out so my little brother and sister can have things that I had to do without. One of the problems with me why I didn’t do so good in school is that I was surrounded by the wrong people and I was kinda poor, so the kids would make fun of me because I didn’t have the clothes that they had. So I really couldn’t concentrate on getting my lessons. I always had to fight and talk s**t to my classmates so they would leave me alone. I don’t want my little sister and brother to have to go through that. I fight now, save some money and send it back home so they can just worry about getting their education. They can wear nice clothes and do nice things. My mom don’t have to worry about how she’s going to feed them and pay her bills and everything.”

On his introduction to wrestling (2003)
“One of my uncles once sat me down and told me that if I didn’t change the way I was living and the way I was acting, I wasn’t going to live long. I saw a lot of my friends disappearing, either going to prison or getting killed, and I didn’t want that type of life. Strangely, something changed when we moved out of the neighborhood and we moved to a place where they had better things. They had wrestling in school and a lot of other things. Normally I was going to an all-black school, but there I went to a mixed school and got surrounded by a mixture of people. It was more positive for me and I felt how good I could be. My grades got better and I stopped doing the hustling I was doing. I got a job and I changed. And I kinda liked it. It was cool to try and do something positive. Sometimes it was hard for me to be totally good. I still went back to my roots when I had to, but I liked the change. I was wrestling and I wasn’t fighting as much on the streets.”

On his first exposure to mixed martial arts (2003)
“I went off to college to wrestle and when I got back he (friend and former wrestling rival Dave Roberts) took me to one of these fights. “These wrestlers were fighting and kicking everybody’s ass. I was like, ‘damn.’ I grew up fighting all the time, but I always got in trouble for it. I was thinking, ‘damn, I can fight without getting in trouble.’ That’s all I was thinking about. I started doing it, and I got pretty good at it, I guess.”

On getting acclimated to mixed martial arts, conducted before his fight with Kevin Randleman (2003)
“Nothing’s ever been given to me, so I’m used to it. Most fighters have a real strong background. Take Kevin Randleman for instance. He’s got a real strong wrestling background. You take other fighters; one may have a strong kickboxing background while another has a strong jiu-jitsu background. I didn’t have that in anything. I just grew up fighting on the street all my life. I just knew how to fight.”

On his early days as a pro fighter (2005)
“I was living in an RV when I first started fighting in Pride. I was kinda homeless. I moved from my family in Memphis to California and started training. And some things didn’t work out. But I didn’t want to give up, so I had to live where I had to live. I lived in worse places before, so I did that and God pulled me through. He got me where I am right now.”

On fighting in Japan (2008)
“My family wasn’t surprised that I was gonna be a fighter because growing up, I was just natural at fighting. I just told them I was fighting over in Japan and they couldn’t understand why I chose Japan. I told them I didn’t choose Japan; Japan chose me. But they knew I was happy and I was loving it, and I was doing pretty well – I was making a living.”

Before his first fight with Chuck Liddell (2003)
“Any fighter can beat any other fighter on any given day. Randy Couture beat Chuck (Liddell) that one day; maybe if they fought the next day Chuck could have beaten him. You never know. I try to keep a positive mentality at all times but I don’t want to be a cocky fighter. It’s not my style. I talk s**t, but that’s just me. If you pay attention, I really don’t talk s**t about my opponents unless they did something wrong to me. And when I talk about people’s mamas, even they laugh about it.”

On Liddell before their first fight (2003)
“I don’t like to watch a lot of tape on my opponents. I watch to see what I need to know and that’s it. I don’t want to watch too much tape and then you go out there worried about what they’re gonna do. Liddell’s a tough fighter but he makes some mistakes in there. Everybody makes mistakes; I’m just gonna try and capitalize on the ones he makes.”

On competing in the Pride Grand Prix tournament, where he would eventually face Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva in the same night (2003)
“I’ve got the least experience of everybody in this tournament. I’ve just been fighting on the street all my life. That’s what I bring to the table. Even though these guys may have more professional fights than I have, I’ve got more fights. And when I fight, I’m fighting for my life. Maybe that will help me out a little bit.”

On dealing with the fans during his stint in Pride (2003)
“It’s cool but I don’t fight to be a famous guy or anything. I started fighting to pay the bills. I like the fans and everything, and they’re cool, but what heterosexual guy wants to get their rocks off by a bunch of guys knowing them? If I was a movie star or something, it would be different, because girls would know who I was too. But in America, only guys know who I am, so it’s not a big deal to me. In Japan, girls come up to me too and ask for autographs and stuff like that too. But in America, girls rarely know who I am. This is not a sport that girls watch. If I was acting in a soap opera, it would be different. Girls would come up to me and then it would be worth it. Girls going crazy over you, yeah, but a bunch of guys, come on. It’s nice and cool and everything, but it’s not something that floats my boat.”

On his decision to become a born again Christian (2005)
“I was just messing up. But it wasn’t me who decided it was enough; God was the one who did all this. Because I was still out there partying and a couple of days before I was born again. My friends thought I was going crazy. My family was very religious, I grew up in the church, and at first my mom thought I had did some drugs or something like that. So I broke it down to her. My mom was born again when I was younger, and I said, ‘well if you don’t think I can be born again just like you was, then you need to check your own faith.’ Then she understood and now we have a better relationship.”

On his pre-fight fast before the rematch with Silva in 2004 (2005)
“When you’re born again, it’s like the most confused thing you could ever do. It’s the most confusing thing that can ever happen to you. After you’re born again you know that Jesus really exists, but then you have even more questions and you get really confused. It was my first time fighting born again, and I didn’t want to have any evil ties. The devil tries to come at you hard when you try to do right and he was after me, real, real bad. I just wanted to be as close to Jesus as I could. I happened to be reading some stuff on the Internet and I started reading about holidays and how fasting brings you closer to God, and I was like ‘that would be cool for me.’ And I just did it at the wrong time. I shouldn’t have done it that close to my fight. I should have done it after my fight or at some other time, but I was just so confused.”

On the “new” Rampage (2005)
“You’re not supposed to look back. In the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, God destroyed the city and told them not to look back. The lady looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. I’m still the same person; I just don’t do or say the same things no more. My mom always wanted to show her church friends and work friends my fights and all this type of stuff, but she never could because of my interviews, and then I’d read the magazines and I couldn’t believe I said those things.”

On how religion affected (or didn’t affect) his fighting performances (2005)
“When I get in the ring, it’s still the same guy that was there before. A lot of times when I was fighting I would do well, and other times I wouldn’t, but it had nothing to do with my religion. Religion’s probably the last thing you think about in that ring. I’m thinking about surviving and trying not to get hurt.”

On dealing with superstardom in Japan (2005)
“I don’t wear my chain around and I don’t walk around like I’m a big fighter all the time with my fighter shirt on. I try to blend in because everybody and their mama has cameras out there. If one person starts taking pictures then the whole street starts taking pictures. I’ll be there for hours signing autographs and taking pictures. My friends will leave me – they always do – and I’ll be there by myself.”

On getting some ‘get back’ (2005)
“I want to beat everybody who beat me. (Wanderlei) Silva beat me twice, and he’s the only person who did that, so I guess I want to beat him twice as bad as I want to beat everybody else who beat me. Even though I fight for money, I don’t want to lose, and I do want to be the best.”

On winning the UFC light heavyweight title (2007)
“The best thing that’s come out of me being champ is I got a chance to meet Beyonce, so I’m happy about that. That was my lucky day, 7/7/07.”

On his fighting philosophy (2007)
“I’m the type of fighter that wants to please the crowd. Win, lose, or draw, I want to put on a good show. That’s what I do. I want everybody to be amused from the moment I walk out to the moment I leave. That’s me in a nutshell and that’s what I get paid for. I’m an entertainer and I’m gonna entertain everyone.”

On life in the UFC (2008)
“This is the thing about the UFC that a lot of people don’t know – it’s not only made me more successful, but it’s also bringing my family together. My Mom is more active in what’s going on with me, my Dad has been to every one of my UFC fights, even in London. He never came to my PRIDE fights. My cousins, aunts, and uncles saw me on The Ultimate Fighter show, people I don’t even get to talk to that often, they all want to come to my fights. The UFC is not only doing great things for me financially, but for my family as well, and I can never repay those guys. They treat me so good. I fought for PRIDE for years and I still felt like the red-headed stepchild there. But the UFC, I beat their posterboy, Chuck, and I’m sure they didn’t like that but they still accepted me and treated me better than PRIDE ever did.”

On his fighting style (2008)
“I always try to learn new stuff. I’m really a brawler, and a lot of times brawlers don’t know much – they just brawl – but I want to transform into a technical brawler. I want to get better on the ground and get my wrestling better. But things have suffered – I don’t slam people as much because I’m concentrating on other stuff. So it’s good and bad, because I like slamming people.”

On the interviewing process (2008)
“It is hard, because a lot of fighting is mental, and those are the questions that I really don’t like to hear. So if I don’t want to talk about something, I just won’t talk about it. I’m a mentally strong person, and I have to be, especially with all this stuff going on in my life. But I’ve always been known to put stuff to rest when it’s time for me to fight – I get tunnel vision.”

On training in England (2008)
“I need trainers around me that aren’t just there for themselves and saying ‘look at me, look at me.’ I need trainers who want to put the hard work into me and who aren’t out for themselves. Plus, I always had a problem having sparring partners and stuff like that. The Wolfslair allows me to have good sparring partners and trainers, and it makes you hungry training in another country where it’s cold and where the people are just hard workers. That’s what I need right now.”

Before his third fight with Wanderlei Silva (2008)
“I don’t pick and choose my opponents like some fighters. I don’t think Silva has my number; I changed my number a long time ago. I got a new phone, homey. (Laughs) He beat me when I was young. I think Silva used to be one of the luckiest fighters on the planet, and his luck ran out. I think I did make a lot of excuses for those losses that I had with him, but I know why I lost, and I know why I’m gonna win this time.”

On beating Silva (2009)
“It felt really good taking down Wanderlei. He’s a guy I’ve been wanting to beat for years because he’s just one of those guys you know you can beat. He’s tough, but I just knew I could beat him. It would have been nice to beat him when he was champion and on top of his game, but a win is a win.”

On fighting Rashad Evans (2010)
“That’s the craziest thing – I’ve never been so motivated in my fight career. This time I actually do extra rounds and if I’m not happy with the last round I did, I’m doing more. I’ve never been like that before in my life and it’s shocking my coaches and my managers and it’s shocking me. I’m very motivated.”

On the trash talk war with Evans (2010)
“When I do it, I just do it for the entertainment value. I don’t do it to attack people personally about their losses and what they do. He (Evans) tries to bring up the Shogun (Rua) fight (which Jackson lost via TKO in 2005), saying that I’m a quitter, and anybody that has really followed my career knows that I have a huge heart and I’m not known for quitting. So he’s saying little things here and there and trying to find something to pick at, like talking about my loss to Forrest (Griffin in 2008), and those are real personal things. So I’ve been talking about how he lost to (Lyoto) Machida (in 2009), and he don’t want to hear that because that was one of the most terrible losses in MMA history. That’s like the biggest egg that’s ever been laid that I’ve ever seen.”

On Rampage (2005)
“I’ve been fighting all my life. It (success) surprises me sometimes. But I try not to let stuff go to my head and I try to be the same person I was before I even started fighting and just live my life.”

Quinton’s Quotables

Randy Couture – A Fighters’ Tribute

When UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture announced his retirement, effective after his UFC 129 bout against Lyoto Machida, the tributes came pouring in, and rightfully so. But while fans and media obviously have their own view of “The Natural”, hearing…

So here is a collection of thoughts from the men who have walked the same road he has…

ALAN BELCHER – middleweight contender
Randy Couture is like a super hero to me. He’s a man that just keeps going and never gets slowed down by any elements. My perspective is different than someone who trains with Randy on a weekly basis or personally knows him though. I don’t know his personality, I just know the icon. I would be star struck to meet him, and although I have trained at his gym on several occasions hoping to meet him, I still have not. I believe Randy is driven by competition and passion for combat and I hope that I can leave a fraction of the legacy he is leaving.

TIM CREDEUR – middleweight prospect
After TUF 7 I moved to Vegas to train with Forrest Griffin, and he took me to Xtreme Couture to train. During my time at Randy’s Academy I sparred, drilled, wrestled, laughed and talked fighting with Randy many times. He was a multiple-time world champion and I was a nobody, but he treated me like an equal and changed my entire outlook on the sport and on what it is to be a legend. I consider myself blessed to have experienced a true legend of our sport in such an amazing capacity.

EVAN DUNHAM – lightweight contender
Randy has always been and will always be an inspiration to myself and all fighters who strive to be the best. Randy has achieved so much in his career, and he more than deserves his place as a legend and pioneer of the sport.

FRANKIE EDGAR – UFC lightweight champion
Randy has been someone for fighters like myself and others to look up to for such a long time, and he will be greatly missed in the Octagon. He set the bar high for future fighters, not only in the way he competed, but in the way he carried himself. I wish Randy the best in his retirement.

YVES EDWARDS – lightweight pioneer
To say Randy is inspirational would be an understatement to me. You hear the phrase “before his time” so much in this world, but Randy was well past his prime like the third or fourth time that he became a world champion. I could only imagine how dominant he would have been if he was the same age as everyone else. There should be a special place in the Hall of Fame for a guy like that.

JAKE ELLENBERGER – welterweight contender
Randy Couture is not a mixed martial artist; Randy Couture IS mixed martial arts. He is not only an extraordinary leader and role model, but he is a pioneer and a founding father of our sport. It was a pleasure and an honor to have worked with such a classy guy.

JON FITCH – former world title challenger
Randy’s career has taught me that hard work and game planning are more important than talent and athleticism. Seeing him compete at a high level for so long gives me the hope that I will be competing when I am close to 50 as well.

BRIAN FOSTER – welterweight prospect
I think of that dude and only one word comes to mind: “Superman”. He has done what every athlete dreams of, and he is undoubtedly the toughest man I have ever seen at his age by far. If I can do half of what Randy has done in this sport then I’d be making a lot of people proud. My words to Randy: way to stick it out and hang on for as long as you did. I hope to do the same if possible. Fighting is something that we are passionate about and it just comes “Natural”. You’re the man.

LEONARD GARCIA – featherweight contender
Randy was and always will be the man in the UFC. He was someone who, no matter how many times he would fall, he would get back up and reach the top of the mountain again and again.

TJ GRANT – welterweight prospect
Randy was the ultimate underdog. His wins over Chuck (Liddell) and Tito (Ortiz) gave me goosebumps. No one gave him a shot and he pulled it off. Everyone thought it was his time to hang it up four years ago but he proved us all wrong. He was a competitor, a role model and one of the greatest all-time fighters.

FORREST GRIFFIN – Former UFC light heavyweight champion
I’ve heard this fella Randy Couture’s a pretty good fighter. Well, I suppose that’s true. But Randy’s also one of the nicest people in the sport, and I have proof. We were sharing a hotel room one time, strictly platonic, two beds and everything, I swear. Randy had a 6am flight because he’s crazy like that – seize the day and all that s**t. I, of course, opted for the more sensible noonish flight. I woke to see Randy sneaking around the room using his cell phone as a light to pack his bags. That’s right, Randy didn’t want to wake sleeping beauty up. Think about how nice you have to be to not turn the lights on to make sure you got all your s**t. But that’s just Randy – considerate and always with a smile and a kind word. As far as him retiring goes, good, I was getting tired of getting beat up by a guy that was old enough to be my dad.

KENDALL GROVE – The Ultimate Fighter season three winner
All I can say is that Randy was an inspiration. The man redefined the sport in so many ways and I’m so happy I had the chance to train with him and be a part of his team. Thank you Captain for always putting on a show.

CLAY GUIDA – lightweight contender
Randy Couture is the definition of a true champion. He made fans out of just about anyone that ever watched him compete and he showed what heart and sheer determination can accomplish in the cage. Randy is also a huge supporter of the armed forces, as he served in the military out of college, and he was a dominant wrestler who transferred it to MMA and revolutionized the sport. He will be talked about in a positive light for years. Randy Couture is my HERO.

ED HERMAN – middleweight prospect and former training partner
Randy was a huge inspiration, and getting the opportunity to be around him and train with him for the first five years of my career was huge in my growth in the sport. He took the extra time to work with me during and after practices, and that was a big confidence boost because if he believed I had potential, then I knew I could make it happen. I was really lucky to get that opportunity because I was just a punk kid coming off the streets. All I had was toughness, the kind you can’t teach, and I think I learned more from Randy than from anyone I’ve ever known. He made me see that anything you believe in and work hard enough for is possible.

MATT HUGHES – UFC Hall of Famer and two-time welterweight champion
I’ve always modeled myself after Randy. He always came in ready and with a game plan. But probably the biggest thing is what he said and how he talked. He always had good answers, and if it came out of Randy’s mouth then I would allow myself to say something close to that.

ANTHONY JOHNSON – welterweight contender
Randy is the Legend of Legends. No one will ever be able to do what Randy has done for the MMA community. He put smiles on the fans’ faces with his incredible heart and never say die attitude.

DEMETRIOUS JOHNSON – bantamweight contender
I think Randy Couture is an awesome martial artist. He has shown the great things that can be done in this sport and I hope I can still be fighting at the age that he was. I will miss him fighting.

KYLE KINGSBURY – light heavyweight prospect
The thing I respect most about Randy was his ability to come back time and time again and win whether he was the underdog, coming out of retirement, or fighting against a bigger opponent. The guy seemed like he didn’t age and it was a pleasure to watch him.

DUANE “BANG” LUDWIG – welterweight veteran
Randy has raised the bar in so many areas that he has to be the all-time greatest mixed martial artist.

CHRIS LYTLE – welterweight veteran
Randy has truly been the greatest fighter in the UFC. I really saw when he coached on TUF 4 that he had been the first person to truly incorporate wrestling and boxing and jiu-jitsu and had merged them into an entirely new discipline. He took things to the next level. Before him, people were very good at one aspect and just tried to get by with the others. He helped change that. And his ability to defeat great fighters after I thought his best days were behind him still baffles me. I don’t care if he came back in five years, I would never count him out. He’s very inspirational and I know he will do the same in whatever he does next. Thanks Randy.

DEMIAN MAIA – middleweight contender
For me, Randy is the most inspirational fighter in the UFC. He has proved that will is much bigger than age when we talk about achieving our dreans. He is a inspiration not just for me and the MMA world, but also to everyone. Great dicipline, hard-worker and also a very kind person – Randy is bigger than the sport because he is an example for everybody.

CODY McKENZIE – lightweight prospect
Randy is the man, he seems like a myth, and will always be a legend.

IGOR POKRAJAC – light heavyweight veteran
Randy gave us many great fights and many good moments to remember. I’m honored to be one of the fighters that Randy has cornered. It was in San Diego on Versus against James Irvin and I won it in style. After the fight, Randy told me “Good fight, stud,” and for me that was a moment to remember. I think that it is a big decision in the life of a fighter to retire after a great career and he has the support and love of all MMA fans all over the world. Randy is the UFC and an icon to admire.

JORGE RIVERA – middleweight veteran
Like just about everyone, I have a deep admiration for Randy and all that he’s accomplished both in and out of the cage. He’s a true warrior and champion as well as a spokesman and ambassador for all of MMA, and I’m grateful to have met him, learned from him and to have have watched him fight. Thank you Randy, you are the man.

DANIEL ROBERTS – welterweight prospect
Randy Couture always put everything he had into all his fights, and when you do that, no matter what his record says, he never lost a fight.

AMIR SADOLLAH – welterweight prospect
Randy Couture is the type of fighter even champions seek to emulate, and I’m glad I have the opportunity to learn from him.

BRENDAN SCHAUB – heavyweight contender
Randy is a guy I think every professional fighter looks up to. He’s best described as a pro’s pro and he does everything and anything to win. The first thing I learned in this game is to never count Randy out, no matter who he’s fighting. And when someone asks why? Because it’s RANDY! He’s showed what mental toughness is all about. He’s one of the greats.

AARON SIMPSON – middleweight prospect
As a college wrestler, I remember Randy from his days of coaching at Oregon State University and his days on the Greco-Roman National Team, so when we all heard he was fighting in the UFC back then, it was big news. We all gathered around and had a party to view “one of ours” showcase our sport as a fighter. We all were proud to say we were wrestlers, basically because Randy dominated so easily. As his career grew and I moved into mixed martial arts, I had one of the best role models out there to look up to. His ability to keep fighting well into his 40’s is an inspiration to us guys who are getting close to that number. I am and always have been and always will be a fan of Randy Couture. He is the best.

RICK STORY – welterweight prospect
I just would like to show my appreciation to Randy Couture by saying thank you for your commitment to the sport, paving a path for all others to follow. People with the excuse that they are too old I just mention Randy Couture’s name to them.

BRAD TAVARES – middleweight prospect
Randy has helped the sport become what it is today. I can remember growing up watching his fights, and he is a great fighter, role model and person

MATT WIMAN – lightweight contender
I am a huge fan of Randy as a fighter and as a person. He is a great competitor and spokesman for the sport, though I didn’t like that he was better looking and had a more youthful body than me even being twice my age. I was sad to hear of his retirement, but I’m sure he has bigger fish to fry. Randy will always be the man and I hope I’m as bad of a dude when I’m 47.

EDDIE WINELAND – former WEC bantamweight champion
Randy Couture is “the man”. To be in your mid-forties and in that kind of shape, fighting men half your age, is absolutely amazing. He’s a super nice guy and he deserves everything he gets because he worked so hard for it. I wish Randy all the best in the future and I hope it continues to go up for him.

RANI YAHYA – featherweight contender
Randy was the most spectacular fighter in MMA history.