Filed under: UFCANAHEIM, Calif. – Moments before he made his entrance to a chorus of jeers and cheers at UFC 121 in the Honda Center on Saturday night, a bearded Brock Lesnar appeared on the big screen to identify himself as the baddest man on the plan…
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Moments before he made his entrance to a chorus of jeers and cheers at UFC 121 in the Honda Center on Saturday night, a bearded Brock Lesnar appeared on the big screen to identify himself as the baddest man on the planet – a claim he’s repeated often lately, and one which few have bothered to argue.
Not long after that, the big man was sitting on the canvas, watching Cain Velasquez celebrate as the new champion while a cageside doctor attended to Lesnar’s bloody face.
Funny how quickly reality can shift in this business, often right out from under your feet.
For the moments in Saturday night’s main event where he was charging forward, Lesnar looked every bit as ferocious as advertised. But when it failed to stop Velasquez from offering up any offense of his own, that’s when we were reminded that we really don’t know all that much about this guy who, just minutes earlier, was calling himself the best.
Yesterday we passed along word from Dana White, who is apparently remaining firm, this time (nudge-nudge), on previous statements that the legend Chuck Liddell will not fight in the Octagon again. Of course, another of the sport’s biggest stars and pioneers, Mr. Randy Couture, is still going strong at 47, yet, nothing’s been lined up for […]
Yesterday we passed along word from Dana White, who is apparently remaining firm, this time (nudge-nudge), on previous statements that the legend Chuck Liddell will not fight in the Octagon again. Of course, another of the sport’s biggest stars and pioneers, Mr. Randy Couture, is still going strong at 47, yet, nothing’s been lined up for him since he walked through James Toney (reading that still brings a Grinchish smile to hardcore MMA fans doesn’t it?).
As anyone blessed with electricity knows, Couture continues to land roles on the silver screen and recently added “The Expendables” to his Hollywood resume. More and more lately, it sounds like Couture is unsure of is what his future holds in fighting, and in a more recent report from Fighters Only Magazine, that apparently hasn’t changed.
“I don’t know what is gonna happen on the fight front. I have had my wars, done my thing. I’ve been having fun, I can still fight, but I am not sure I want to make another run at the title or anything like that.”
Couture also reportedly said that he’s been cast in the sequel of “The Expendables,” which begins shooting in March, and even added “I enjoy fighting, but it’s probably time to move on…” In a recent interview with MMA Weekly, “The Natural” stated he hasn’t been approached by the UFC for another fight, yet, while also adding that he’s never felt better as a fighter. Could it be that Couture’s days punching dudes in the face, for real-not acting, are done? Here’s hoping the answer’s no.
Filed under: UFCLOS ANGELES – When it comes to assessing a fight between Brock Lesnar and a smaller heavyweight with college wrestling credentials, Randy Couture may be uniquely qualified. He’s been there himself, even if it didn’t turn out how he’d ho…
LOS ANGELES – When it comes to assessing a fight between Brock Lesnar and a smaller heavyweight with college wrestling credentials, Randy Couture may be uniquely qualified. He’s been there himself, even if it didn’t turn out how he’d hoped.
That’s why it’s interesting that when he looks at the match-up between Lesnar and Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 on Saturday, he sees a challenger with a very good chance at victory, despite the significant size disparity.
“Cain’s definitely going to give Brock a go,” Couture said Tuesday at the EA Sports MMA launch, adding that the fight was a difficult one to predict.
“It’s an interesting match-up. Both guys have great wrestling backgrounds, and I know from my own experience that my toughest fights were against guys with good wrestling backgrounds. If [Velasquez] can stay away and not end up underneath Brock early, not take any serious damage there, the longer it goes the better it is for Cain. He’s one of those guys at that weight class who has an unlimited gas tank. He’s not going to get tired.”
(As long as Stallone keeps making "The Expendables" sequels like he did with Rocky and Rambo, Randy will have years of work ahead of him.)
Well, it looks like Randy Couture really is planning to walk away from fighting *for good* in fav…
(As long as Stallone keeps making "The Expendables" sequels like he did with Rocky and Rambo, Randy will have years of work ahead of him.)
Well, it looks like Randy Couture really is planning to walk away from fighting *for good* in favor of a movie career.
The UFC Hall-of-Famer and the promotion’s former heavyweight and light heavyweight champ spoke with John O’Regan from Fighters Only over the weekend while in London to corner Mike Pyle for his UFC 121 fight with John Hathaway and he said that it’s likely that his days of fighting are behind him.
“I don’t know what is gonna happen on the fight front. I have had my wars, done my thing. I’ve been having fun, I can still fight, but I am not sure I want to make another run at the title or anything like that," Couture explained. “I enjoy the sport, I enjoy fighting, but its probably time to move on."
I’m not sure if retiring coming off of a win to James Toney is the way I’d want to go out, but I’m not a professional fighter with a storied MMA career like Randy, so what do I know?
By Joyce Lynda Valdes
A great leader, named Malcolm X said, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”
There are many battles MMA fighters face going into the cage, like that of a standup war or ground and pound, but every battle for these self-made warriors is by choice. There are others […]
ByJoyce Lynda Valdes
Dylan Woods at Tuff-N-Uff in March 2010
A great leader, named Malcolm X said, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”
There are many battles MMA fighters face going into the cage, like that of a standup war or ground and pound, but every battle for these self-made warriors is by choice. There are others of us in the world who are faced with fights that are unwanted and unasked for and it is the truest test of our character when we meet those challenges with will and defiance. For most of us in our lifetime, we will know someone or be someone inflicted with cancer. In my life, I have been blessed to know very few people who have fought and lost to this disease. Last night, the most influential person I have ever met, a young 13 year-old warrior named Dylan Woods who had brain cancer passed away.
I met Dylan through a non-profit organization called It Aint Chemo run by a cancer survivor, Kevin Hoyt. Hoyt, who is a friend of Randy Couture and helped Couture set up a paintball charity event for his GI Foundation, decided to open his organization to help and support MMA fighters, with the request that the fighters give their time to train young warriors who battle cancer daily. Hoyt thought that by kids like Dylan meeting MMA fighters, it would influence them to keep fighting their disease. The surprise ended up being that these kids like Dylan were the ones who inspired the MMA fighters. Dylan Woods went on to support fighters like Ryan Couture, Jimmy Jones, and Gil Guardado. He went to their Tuff-N-Uff amateur fights, cheering in the crowd, and when he could no longer travel, he watched Ryan Couture make his pro-debut in Strikeforce: Challengers on Showtime. Dylan’s story touched even UFC Heavyweight, Frank Mir who volunteered to be auctioned off in a charity MMA Bachelor/Bachelorette event held by It Aint Chemo earlier this month.
Dylan Woods did not go gently. He rose to the challenge. When it seemed he wouldn’t make it through another day, Dylan showed us he was not one to be beat and in August, at 50 lbs and wheel-chair bound, he made it to see Jones and Guardado victorious in their final amateur fights in Las Vegas. Both Jimmy Jones and Gil Guardado will be making their pro-debuts this November 13th in King of the Cage, which can be seen on PPV. Ryan Couture will be going for his second win in Strikeforce: Challengers on November 19th. Dylan fought his fight admirably and now helps science continue the fight as he gave his brain to cancer research. Most notably, he gave men who chose to fight, a solid ground to stand on and something to fight for and believe in; that ground is called It Aint Chemo and throughout these fighters careers, you will learn a lot more of the organization. It is time for Dylan to rest, but for Couture, Jones, and Guardado, it is time to stand and engage.
If you would like to help It Aint Chemo, please visit their website here or vote here for a Pepsi Refresh grant.
LOS ANGELES – Fedor Emelianenko may hail from a small town in Russia that most Americans couldn’t find with a map and a magnifying glass, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have Xbox in Stary Oskol.
They do. And, as it turns out, one of them is located…
LOS ANGELES – Fedor Emelianenko may hail from a small town in Russia that most Americans couldn’t find with a map and a magnifying glass, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have Xbox in Stary Oskol.
They do. And, as it turns out, one of them is located in Emelianenko’s house, or so he told MMA Fighting via an interpreter after showing off his video game skills at Universal City Walk on Tuesday afternoon.
“I play a little bit,” said Emelianenko, who described the feeling of seeing himself pummeling people in video game form as “fun.”
This information might have been useful to former UFC champion Randy Couture, who took on Emelianenko in a head-to-head match-up of the new EA Sports MMA video game that hit stores today. It was a spirited battle, but in the end the Russian, playing as himself, handed Couture a brutal TKO loss.
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Moments before he made his entrance to a chorus of jeers and cheers at UFC 121 in the Honda Center on Saturday night, a bearded Brock Lesnar appeared on the big screen to identify himself as the baddest man on the planet – a claim he’s repeated often lately, and one which few have bothered to argue. 
LOS ANGELES – When it comes to assessing a fight between 
LOS ANGELES – 