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Over the years Randy Couture has slowly become the most likeable and probably the most recognisable fighter in all of MMA. He might not be as instantly identifiable as a Chuck Liddell, but the mainstream public seem to know Randy Couture on sight and by name, thanks mainly to his Hollywood roles and those constant Body By Jake commercials.
Now, after 30 fights and just before his 48th birthday, ‘The Natural’ has finally decided to call it a day and hang up his gloves forever. And what better venue for Couture to bid the sport farewell than Toronto’s Rogers Centre in front of a record-breaking 55,000-plus fans?
Though Couture has ‘retired’ before, he seems adamant that this time is the last, and at his age, it would seem realistic.
“I believe this is my last fight,” Couture told ESPN.com. “I know the UFC is probably going to have other ideas, especially with acquiring Strikeforce and all that. They’re probably going to try to draw me into another fight but I don’t think that’s going to happen. I want to stick to my guns and this is the last one.”
The former champ said his focus will shift to acting after his fight with Machida, but he has no plans of stepping away from the sport completely. Most fans expect him to shift into a management role ala Chuck ‘Vice President of Business Development’ Liddell.
Since his debut way back at UFC 13 in 1997, The Natural has been clawing his way through the world’s MMA elite and refusing to let age get the better of him. He dropped 11 of his 30 fights, but has always refused to let go of those UFC title belts.
He made an instant impact in the UFC when he won the four-man heavyweight tournament in his first showing, then came back to take out ‘The Phenom’ Vitor Belfort in a massive upset victory that led him to a shot at the heavyweight belt in just his third night fighting in the UFC. And although he gave up that belt to skip to Japan for a few fights, he came back a couple of years later and took his title straight back from Kevin Randleman at UFC 28.
And that is how Couture’s career continued to unfold as he won belts, left the sport and returned time and time again, eventually astonishing the world by proving exactly what a fighter can still accomplish in his late 40s.
But what of the hole that The Natural has left? With both he and Liddell calling it a day and Tito Ortiz holding on for dear life in the lower ranks, it is obvious that the torch is well and truly being passed to the next generation of Mixed Martial Artists.
Suddenly, champions like Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva are now the veterans of our sport — fighters that entered the UFC in the post-Zuffa era.
The changing of the guard certainly ushers in a new era for the UFC and the world of Mixed Martial Arts, as we see the third generation of fighters well on their way, and another generation rising with a raised fist behind astonishing talent such as Jon Jones.
