UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture believes we aren’t that far away from seeing some form of mixed martial arts in the Olympic Games.
Speaking briefly with TMZ Sports, The Natural explained that somewhere between 34 and 39 countries have signed a pe…
UFC Hall of FamerRandy Couture believes we aren’t that far away from seeing some form of mixed martial arts in the Olympic Games.
Speaking briefly with TMZ Sports, The Natural explained that somewhere between 34 and 39 countries have signed a petition to include a new combat sport in the Olympics.
Couture was leaving an event in L.A. this weekend when he said, “I think there’s 34 or 39 countries that have signed petitions” for a sport called pankration … an ancient form of MMA … FYI — pankration was an olympic sport in ancient Greece. The only rules were no biting or eye-gouging … So, when should we expect to see MMA fighters competing for the gold? Probably not any time soon … in fact, a UFC exec recently said he thinks it’s still 20 years away.
The UFC’s current set of rules do not allow groin strikes, biting, eye-gouging, or elbows thrown in a “12-to-6” motion and knee strikes to a grounded opponent, among other things.
Worth noting is that the now-defunct Pride brand didn’t allow elbows on the ground but made up for it by allowing soccer kicks.
Couture, one of only two UFC fighters to hold world titles in two weight classes (the other being BJ Penn), has been retired since a devastating knockout loss to LyotoMachida at UFC 129 in April 2011.
The 50-year-old largely took a step back from the sport after that, landing some acting roles, most notably appearing in the summer action flicks The Expendables and The Expendables 2.
He will reprise his role as Toll Road, the team’s demolition expert, in The Expendables 3, which hits theaters in August.
He recently returned on the MMA scene to coach Season 1 of Fight Master: Bellator MMA, serving as one of the four head coaches on the show.
Should Couture’s figures be accurate, is it possible MMA could make its way to the Olympics within the next decade?
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
One of Dana White’s greatesttalents is burying fighters. When old, broke war dogs speak out against the UFC, White cuts them down with assertions that he “makes millionaires” and labels detractors as “goofs” and “dummies.”
But can White do that to Georges St-Pierre, who recently called out the UFC for their drug testing policies. Well, we’ve already had a small taste of White’s verbal stylings. He questioned GSP’s manhood, implying that GSP airing his grievances with the media was somehow cowardly. He also said GSP’s actions were “kooky,” and that his claims were ridiculous.
That was just the opening salvo. What’ll Dana White say about his former meal ticket six months from now, a year from now, two years from now, when GSP’s relevance fades and insulting him carries less risk?
One of Dana White’s greatesttalents is burying fighters. When old, broke war dogs speak out against the UFC, White cuts them down with assertions that he “makes millionaires” and labels detractors as “goofs” and “dummies.”
But can White do that to Georges St-Pierre, who recently called out the UFC for their drug testing policies. Well, we’ve already had a small taste of White’s verbal stylings. He questioned GSP’s manhood, implying that GSP airing his grievances with the media was somehow cowardly. He also said GSP’s actions were “kooky,” and that his claims were ridiculous.
That was just the opening salvo. What’ll Dana White say about his former meal ticket six months from now, a year from now, two years from now, when GSP’s relevance fades and insulting him carries less risk?
1. Dana will insult GSP’s character.
Bringing up a former fighter’s character flaws is a fantastic way to defuse any criticism against the UFC. The UFC is bad? Well the guy who said that is a horrible person, so their points, no matter how valid, don’t stand in light of their moral turpitude.
GSP—the greatest welterweight of all time—wasn’t that good, or at least that’s what Dana White might eventually argue. He’ll say that GSP was the champ during an era where the welterweight division was less-developed and lacked depth. [Insert champ at the time of this hypothetical conversation] is better than GSP because the division is stacked now. Back when GSP had the belt, it was older guys like Matt Hughes and BJ Penn, and non-factors like Dan Hardy and Thiago Alves. The “great” GSP was only great at stalling his way to decision victory after decision victory.
3. Dana will shut GSP out of the UFC Hall of Fame (and erase him from UFC history if things get bad enough).
Also known as the Frank Shamrock treatment. If Dana White doesn’t like you enough and you say enough bad things about the company, Zuffa will make sure you don’t exist, at least not in their “official” version of history.
Imagining a hypothetical future interview with Dana White about GSP.
Let’s imagine what White would say about GSP in the future, if the drug testing situation devolves and GSP becomes an enemy of the Zuffa state [Note: Dana white didn’t actually say any of this; it’s all hypothetical and just for fun]:
“GSP has this clean image and stuff like that, but he is not a good guy. He has never been a good guy. He is a greedy, sleazy guy. That bozo will put his name on anything for a few bucks. And he’s just a headache. All that legal bullshit he’s going through, it’s because he’s greedy and he’s not a good guy. I’m just happy that I never have to deal with GSP ever again.
And let’s talk about his fuckin’ “legacy” for a second. The guy beat an ancient Matt Hughes—who was the greatest welterweight ever but old by then—for the title. Then he fuckin’ loses it to MATT SERRA. Goofs on these fuckin’ message boards and on the Internet are always bitching about GSP and how we don’t honor him enough and how we don’t put him in our hall of fame. Guess what? GSP wasn’t that fuckin’ good. He never killed people like Jon Jones and Anderson Silva did. The only guys GSP killed were guys like Jon Fitch who couldn’t make it in the UFC. When GSP fought a real guy, he clinched them for five rounds because he was scared for his life. And that’s what GSP is, scared. He was too scared to fight real guys, he was too scared to go up in weight and fight Anderson Silva, and he was too scared to be a man and settle his problems with us like a man. He’s a coward, he’s not one of the greats. Yet all these “fans” on the fuckin’ Internet go on about it, bunch of fucking clowns. Next question…”
Media shills will agree, and if they don’t, their disagreement will only be tepid, and they’ll still praise White for “being real.” Fans who remember or who don’t listen to Zuffa will argue for GSP, but will be drowned out by “GSP sucks lol.”
Hopefully, this isn’t what’s in store for GSP and his legacy.
Although Rogan is often known for his hyperbole, he might have been dead-on that night. Was “Bones” vs. “The Mauler” really the greatest 205-pound title fight in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship? To determine the veracity of that statement, I went back and watched the best light heavyweight fights ever held inside the Octagon, and after countless hours of tape study, I feel as though I’ve come up with a very fair list.
Below I’ve listed what in my opinion are the top 10 light heavyweight fights in UFC history based on a mixed criteria of competitiveness, excitement level, hype, how the fight played out in comparison to its expectations, and how it ended. So without any further ado, let’s get started…
Machida had just knocked out Rashad Evans at UFC 98 and, in the fateful words of Joe Rogan, the “Machida Era” had commenced. However, “Shogun” had a thing or two to say about that as the former PRIDE star was coming off of two TKO wins over Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Mark Coleman, and he wanted to prove to everyone it was he, not Machida, who was the best light heavyweight in the world at the time.
For five rounds, Machida and “Shogun” went toe-to-toe in the Octagon and although Machida definitely had his moments in the match, it appeared to most observers that there would be a new light heavyweight champion crowned, as Rua landed a ton of brutal leg kicks to Machida that left the champ’s torso and thighs looking like a bruised peach.
But while “Shogun” arguably won every round of the fight, the judges somehow saw the fight in favor of Machida, with all three scoring the bout 48-47 in favor of “The Dragon” despite the volume of leg kicks thrown by Rua, leading judge Cecil People to idiotically declare that leg kicks don’t finish fights. UFC president Dana White saw things differently, however, and set up an immediate rematch at UFC 113 where Rua KO’d Machida into oblivion — a happy ending to an infamous screwjob.
Although Rogan is often known for his hyperbole, he might have been dead-on that night. Was “Bones” vs. “The Mauler” really the greatest 205-pound title fight in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship? To determine the veracity of that statement, I went back and watched the best light heavyweight fights ever held inside the Octagon, and after countless hours of tape study, I feel as though I’ve come up with a very fair list.
Below I’ve listed what in my opinion are the top 10 light heavyweight fights in UFC history based on a mixed criteria of competitiveness, excitement level, hype, how the fight played out in comparison to its expectations, and how it ended. So without any further ado, let’s get started…
Machida had just knocked out Rashad Evans at UFC 98 and, in the fateful words of Joe Rogan, the “Machida Era” had commenced. However, “Shogun” had a thing or two to say about that as the former PRIDE star was coming off of two TKO wins over Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Mark Coleman, and he wanted to prove to everyone it was he, not Machida, who was the best light heavyweight in the world at the time.
For five rounds, Machida and “Shogun” went toe-to-toe in the Octagon and although Machida definitely had his moments in the match, it appeared to most observers that there would be a new light heavyweight champion crowned, as Rua landed a ton of brutal leg kicks to Machida that left the champ’s torso and thighs looking like a bruised peach.
But while “Shogun” arguably won every round of the fight, the judges somehow saw the fight in favor of Machida, with all three scoring the bout 48-47 in favor of “The Dragon” despite the volume of leg kicks thrown by Rua, leading judge Cecil People to idiotically declare that leg kicks don’t finish fights. UFC president Dana White saw things differently, however, and set up an immediate rematch at UFC 113 where Rua KO’d Machida into oblivion — a happy ending to an infamous screwjob.
The UFC promoted this fight as a title unification bout between Jackson, who had just won the UFC title from Chuck Liddell via first-round TKO at UFC 71, and Henderson, who was a two-division champ coming over from PRIDE. But even though it was a title fight, since it took place in England the UFC decided to put the tape-delayed event on SPIKE TV instead of pay-per-view, which turned out to be a great idea as 4.7 million viewers tuned in to watch what became one of the biggest MMA fights in TV history.
The match delivered as much action as it promised, with Henderson and “Rampage” going back-and-forth for five rounds with both men displaying their excellence in striking and wrestling. After it was all said and done, “Rampage” won a unanimous decision, a victory that gave him the only successful defense of his UFC light heavyweight title. As for Henderson, he finally earned another crack at the UFC light heavyweight title in 2012 — a full five years after the fight with Rampage — but after the fiasco of UFC 151 he never ended up getting his shot at the belt. And at 43 years old now and coming off of two losses, it’s doubtful that he will again.
Rampage’s next outing was his five-round battle at UFC 86 against Forrest Griffin, which followed a coaching stint on The Ultimate Fighter season seven — the same show that rocketed Griffin to stardom just three years earlier.
Griffin entered the fight as a big underdog, as most fans thought Jackson’s knockout power and wrestling skills would make it an easy second title defense for him. But the fight sure didn’t play out that way, as Griffin used leg kicks and submission attempts to make it competitive throughout and a true coin-flip on the judges’ cards.
At the end of five rounds, Griffin was announced the winner by unanimous decision and in the process became the second TUF winner to win a UFC title (after Matt Serra the previous year). However, the fight was not without controversy as “Rampage” and many media and fans felt he should have won the decision.
But he didn’t, and that night at UFC 86 was the last time Jackson would ever hold a UFC belt. As for Griffin, he fought another TUF winner, Rashad Evans, in his first title defense at UFC 92, and was knocked out. And, like Jackson, he never came close to sniffing the belt ever again.
The seventh fight on this list is one of three bouts to feature current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, and it only came together as a result of the debacle that was UFC 151. Jones had been set to face Dan Henderson at UFC 151, but “Hendo” pulled out of the fight just a week earlier and Jones refused to face Chael Sonnen on short notice. After Lyoto Machida refused to fight Jones for a second time on short notice, the UFC then recruited middleweight Vitor Belfort to move back up to 205 and try to win back the UFC light heavyweight championship, a belt he held briefly in 2004 when he “stopped” Randy Couture with a cut at UFC 46.
Belfort wasn’t supposed to stand a chance in the matchup, but in the first round he caught Jones in a tight armbar and nearly shocked the world. However, Jones — even though he damaged his arm in the process — fought through the early adversity and then poured it on a game Belfort until the fourth round, when the champ was able to coax a stoppage with a keylock submission.
Although he did win, the fight wasn’t as one-sided as Jones’s previous conquests and it showed that the champ was vulnerable and not as unstoppable as many had previously thought, a point which was driven home in his most recent fight against Alexander Gustafsson. As for Belfort, he used the loss to Jones as fuel for a run at middleweight and he’s since knocked out Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold in scintillating fashion to emerge as one of the top contenders at 185 pounds.
6. Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida, UFC 140
(Photo via Tracy Lee/Yahoo!)
2011 saw Jon Jones choke out Ryan Bader, become light heavyweight champion with a TKO of Shogun Rua, and stop Quinton Jackson with a fourth-round rear-naked choke. For an encore performance, he would have his fourth fight of the year against Lyoto Machida. It turned out to be by far his most difficult match to date, as the elusive Machida was able to outstrike Jones in round one and even rock the young champion at one point, something which no one else had ever done to him inside the Octagon.
But Jones battled back hard and in the second round he began taking it to Machida before snatching “The Dragon’s” neck in a standing guillotine choke. As soon as the referee told Jones to break, he let the choke go and Machida dropped to the canvas, unconscious and with his eyes pointing into nowhere. Jones, meanwhile, just walked away.
Jones has since made four more title defenses to break the former record held by Tito Ortiz, proving without a doubt he is the greatest light heavyweight fighter in the history of the sport. As for Machida, he’s since dropped down to 185 pounds as he looks to become the third fighter in UFC history to win belts in two different weight classes after Randy Couture and BJ Penn previously accomplished the feat.
On the next page: A record-breaking rematch, Tito battles the Shamrocks, and the greatest 205-pound title war is revealed…
It ended up in the last thirty seconds, in a weird situation. He was kinda outta desperation, he rolled to a kneebar and an ankle lock. He had my leg, I’m sitting and have his feet and all I can see is his butt. You know, he was “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” and I can’t really get my leg out, and it just pops into my head, ‘spank him.’
That’s how former two-division UFC champion and UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture described delivering one of the most humiliating beatdowns in MMA History, ten years ago today. The event was UFC 44: Undisputed. Couture’s opponent was then light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, who had successfully defended his title a record five times; a record that would not be broken until last weekend. The date was September 26, 2003 (do you feel old now?).
Believe it or not, there was a time long, long ago when the relationship between the Coutures and the UFC was something other than mutual disdain. It was the early aughts, and after pounding out Chuck Liddell for the interim LHW championship at the previous event, Couture would successfully unify the belts with a five-round drubbing of Ortiz.
While there was no shaming “The Hunting People’s Champ” for losing to a legend like Couture, there was plenty of shame to be seen in the final thirty seconds of the fight, when “The Natural” proceeded to spank his younger foe like he had just found a bag of grass in his sock drawer. For lack of a better word, it was…hilarious.
At 40 years of age, Couture would become the oldest fighter to ever win a UFC title. And he wasn’t even done yet.
But Couture vs. Ortiz wasn’t the only historic beatdown to happen at UFC 44. Not by a long shot…
It ended up in the last thirty seconds, in a weird situation. He was kinda outta desperation, he rolled to a kneebar and an ankle lock. He had my leg, I’m sitting and have his feet and all I can see is his butt. You know, he was “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” and I can’t really get my leg out, and it just pops into my head, ‘spank him.’
That’s how former two-division UFC champion and UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture described delivering one of the most humiliating beatdowns in MMA History, ten years ago today. The event was UFC 44: Undisputed. Couture’s opponent was then light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, who had successfully defended his title a record five times; a record that would not be broken until last weekend. The date was September 26, 2003 (do you feel old now?).
Believe it or not, there was a time long, long ago when the relationship between the Coutures and the UFC was something other than mutual disdain. It was the early aughts, and after pounding out Chuck Liddell for the interim LHW championship at the previous event, Couture would successfully unify the belts with a five-round drubbing of Ortiz.
While there was no shaming “The Hunting People’s Champ” for losing to a legend like Couture, there was plenty of shame to be seen in the final thirty seconds of the fight, when “The Natural” proceeded to spank his younger foe like he had just found a bag of grass in his sock drawer. For lack of a better word, it was…hilarious.
At 40 years of age, Couture would become the oldest fighter to ever win a UFC title. And he wasn’t even done yet.
But Couture vs. Ortiz wasn’t the only historic beatdown to happen at UFC 44. Not by a long shot…
– In the evening’s co-main event, Tim Sylvia defeated fellow giant Gan McGee by first round knockout, only to be immediately stripped of the title after testing positive for steroids in his post fight drug test. He would not fight again until nearly a year later at UFC 48. It would not end well.
– Speaking of heavyweights, Andrei Arlovski would score a quick knockout over fellow Belarusian Vladimir Matyushenko one fight prior to the Sylvia/McGee scrap, cementing his place as a top heavyweight and punctuating the UFC’s “Greatest Knockouts” lists forevermore.
– On the preliminary card, a debuting Nick Diaz would score a third round submission via armbar over future TUF 4 contestant and despicable rapist scumbag Jeremy Jackson. The victory brought Diaz’s lifetime record against Jackson — who to this day holds the only (non cut-related) stoppage victory over Nick — to 2-1.
(Here we are, just a couple of wild and crazy guys!)
After collecting an impressive 6-1 streak in Strikeforce, Hyan Couture (son of “Handy”) was among the faces to make the transition to the UFC when the promotion was bought out by Zuffa earlier this year*. Unfortunately, it seems that Couture will also be joining the small-but-growing list of Strikeforce fighters who weren’t able to hack it in the big leagues, as the UFC confirmed his release following two consecutive losses earlier today.
Couture last competed at UFC 164 in August, where he dropped a unanimous decision to TUF 15 *finalist* (ouch) Al Iaquinta on the Facebook preliminary portion (Daaaaang!) of the card. In his UFC debut at UFC on FUEL 9, Couture was TKO’d by TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson in the second round.
Although we’re sure this has absolutely nothing to do with the UFC’s ongoing war of words with Randy Couture and company, it will be interesting to see just how many wins Randy Lite will have to score in smaller promotions before he is invited back. Or, if he is invited back (DUN-DUN-DUN).
UPDATE: Three more profiles have been removed from UFC.com. To see who they are, join us after the jump.
(Here we are, just a couple of wild and crazy guys!)
After collecting an impressive 6-1 streak in Strikeforce, Hyan Couture (son of “Handy”) was among the faces to make the transition to the UFC when the promotion was bought out by Zuffa earlier this year*. Unfortunately, it seems that Couture will also be joining the small-but-growing list of Strikeforce fighters who weren’t able to hack it in the big leagues, as the UFC confirmed his release following two consecutive losses earlier today.
Couture last competed at UFC 164 in August, where he dropped a unanimous decision to TUF 15 *finalist* (ouch) Al Iaquinta on the Facebook preliminary portion (Daaaaang!) of the card. In his UFC debut at UFC on FUEL 9, Couture was TKO’d by TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson in the second round.
Although we’re sure this has absolutely nothing to do with the UFC’s ongoing war of words with Randy Couture and company, it will be interesting to see just how many wins Randy Lite will have to score in smaller promotions before he is invited back. Or, if he is invited back (DUN-DUN-DUN).
Anyone have the slightest idea where Couture will land? The best bet is probably Bellator — in which case, he can forget all about being invited back for amultitudeofreasons – but we could just as easily see Couture winding up in a lower level promotion like Legacy Fighting Championships. Worst case scenario: We see Couture powerbombing his way through the Super Fight League’s elite (that’s a thing, right) in a year’s time. Ah, to be an MMA fighter.
[UPDATE]
As first passed along by BloodyElbow, the following profiles have also recently been removed from their respective rosters on UFC.com:
Papy Abedi: 1-3, with all 3 losses coming via stoppage to Thiago Alves, Dylan Andrews, and…
James Head: 2-3, with a notable victory over Brian Ebersole and losses to Nick Ring, Mike Pyle and Jason High
Ben Alloway: After scoring an impressive front kick KO over Manuel Rodriguez in his UFC debut, this TUF: Smashes alum has dropped two straight to Ryan Laflare and Zak Cummings.
*Does anyone else feel like it’s been years since Strikeforce was bought out? Maybe the days are slipping away from me, or maybe watching Tarec Saffiedine’s grow into a future serial killer has skewed my sense of time. In any case…damn.
Bellator 106 headliner Tito Ortiz put the word out to fellow UFC employees Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Randy Couture and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson” to join him in Las Vegas on November 16 for UFC 167.
In an interview with FightHubTV, UFC Presid…
Bellator 106 headliner Tito Ortiz put the word out to fellow UFC employees Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Randy Couture and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson” to join him in Las Vegas on November 16 for UFC 167.
In an interview with FightHubTV, UFC President Dana White seemed thoroughly amused by the situation (link features NSFW language):
“They’re gonna crash it? What are they gonna do? ‘YEA!’ They’re gonna come in, sit in their seats and f***ing watch the fight. What are they gonna do? Crash it? Buy seats to the fight, come have fun. Have a f***ing blast. Grab some beers, watch the show and have fun. Ya know? ‘The Super Friends,; yea, the f***ing Super Friends, ‘We’re gonna come to the 20th Anniversary and we’re gonna save the world!’ No, you’re going to walk through the front door, sit in your seats and watch the fights … maybe take some pictures and sign some autographs. Good for you, have fun at the fights.”
White wasn’t willing to let it go without taking some harsh parting shots at Ortiz and the Shamrocks:
“First of all, Tito is the cheapest mother****** on planet Earth, okay? This guy doesn’t spend a dime for anything. He offered to buy the tickets…the two Shamrock knuckleheads oughta take him up on that one. We know Ken doesn’t have the money, Frank probably doesn’t either, but…”
While White and Ortiz have never been the best of friends, the bad blood has surfaced again as the long-time UFC light heavyweight champ has recently trashed his ex-boss leading up to his November 2 matchup with Rampage under the Bellator banner (via MMA Fighting).
Additionally, White just made an allegation that Ken Shamrock owes him $175,000 for legal fees (via MMA Junkie), while Frank Shamrock, a pioneer of the sport, is still waiting to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Needless to say, White is not the biggest fan of the Shamrock brothers either.
Recently, Frank Shamrock and Couture coached on season one of Bellator‘s reality series Fight Master, while Ken Shamrock hasn’t been involved in the fight game since November 2010, when he lost to Mike Rouke via TKO on the regional scene.
Ortiz vs. Jackson is the headlining bout for Bellator 106, with the matchup leading to a fair amount of fan criticism, since Ortiz and Jackson have gone 1-9 in their past 10 combined bouts.
Specifically, Ortiz hasn’t won since submitting Ryan Bader with a guillotine choke at UFC 132 in July 2011, while Jackson last had his had raised after a lackluster unanimous decision victory over Matt Hamill at UFC 130 in May 2011.
Out of all the aforementioned fighters, Jackson was the last one to leave the UFC, opting not to renew his contract after losing a clear-cut decision to title contender Glover Teixeira at UFC on FOX 6 in January.
Will White ever patch things up with these well-recognized former employees? Or will he continue to add fuel to the fire in scenarios like this one?
JohnHeinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.
