Randy Couture’s kid offered up a performance that would make the old man proud on Saturday night, as Ryan Couture earned by far the biggest victory of his mixed martial arts career with a third-round technical knockout victory over Conor Heun at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey.
Couture controlled the pace of the fight for the first two rounds, and in the third he put on a clinic on the ground, transitioning into a dominant position and eventually getting on top of Heun in back mount and pounding away with punches, forcing the referee to stop the fight 2 minutes, 52 seconds into Round 3.
For Couture, who entered the fight with a 3-1 professional record, this is his first win over an experienced, well-rounded opponent and a big step forward in his career.
Couture appears to have improved as both a striker and a grappler: He was getting the better of the stand-up exchanges with Heun, and he also had some impressive submission attempts when the fight went to the ground.
It’s not realistic to expect Couture to have a career like his dad, but he deserves credit for a very good showing against Heun.