Randy Couture

Randy "the Natural" Couture was born in the United States of America in 1963. Randy Couture is regarded by many as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. He has been a five time Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) and a recognized UFC Hall of Fame member. Randy is the only fighter to date to win titles in the UFC at both light heavyweight and the heavyweight division. Some MMA enthusiasts regard him as a pioneer of the sport. This is especially true amongst wrestlers as he has a strong background in wrestling styles such as Greco Roman Wrestling, and Freestyle Wrestling.

Even though Randy Couture is considered a wrestler, Couture heavily relies on taking his opponent to the ground and then executing punches whilst he maintains dominant position. This in the mixed martial arts circuit is referred to as "Ground and Pound". Even though Randy has a strong history in wrestling, he has gone on to study many styles. These include Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Thai Boxing, Boxing as well as other grappling and striking arts. Randy holds highly regarded wins over fighters such as Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Tim Sylvia and Gabriel Gonzaga.

Randy made his debut in the UFC in 1997 when he was 33 years old. His debut was against a fighter called Tony Halme who he defeated convincingly with a rear naked choke. He then went on to fight  Steven Graham in the Heavyweight class and also beat him with an effective "ground and pound" strategy. Later he went on to win and unexpected TKO victory against the then highly regarded Vitor Belfort. This is where Randy's nickname "The Natural" was ascertained.

Couture won his  first UFC Heavyweight title in December, in the year 1997 after his bout against kickboxing legend Maurice Smith. This title was vacated when he temporarily left the UFC to fight in other organizations. However in November of 2002 he regained his title by bating the then UFC champion Kevin Randleman. However after consecutive losses to two opponents Ricco Rodriguez and Josh Barnett, he decided to drop down to the light heavyweight.

Two of the classic bouts in the UFC and in Randy Couture's light heavyweight career were against  Chuck "the Iceman" Liddell in his debut which he won convincingly through  a TKO. The second classic bout was against Tito Ortiz for the Undisputed Light-Heavyweight title. After just 5 rounds, at the age of 40, "The Natural" scored a unanimous decision and became the UFC's Undisputed Light-Heavyweight Champion.

Randy has gone on to win the heavy weight title again by beating Tim Sylvia. However prior to this bout on 2006 in the month of June he was inducted in to the UFC hall of the fame. Randy "the Natural" Couture was only the fourth fighter ever to receive this accolade.

Randy has gone on to become a mixed martial arts legend and also gone on to have numerous television and movie appearances. With his achievements it is not hard to see why he may be regarded as the greatest  mma fighter ever. One thing is for sure, if he goes on to fight Fedor Emelianenko and wins, his legacy may never be surpassed.