Randy Coture coming out of retirement

Vince135792003

From the observer:

Randy Couture will be announcing on Thursday night's "Inside the UFC" that he is coming out of retirement. It wouldn't shock me if they also announced Tim Sylvia vs. Couture as the main event for the 3/3 PPV in Columbus, OH. The second sentence is nothing anyone has told me directly, but based on a number of things said to me be a few different people in the last few days. Most notable regarding that is the current plan is for Couture to fight at heavyweight for his comeback. I think that's a bad idea. Another indication it may be Sylvia is just the timing of this announcement.

The Sparrow

Yeah I read that too... I would imagine it to be a mistake tbh. He has a pretty good legacy to leave and I would hate it to be tainted by memories of him up against Cro Cop or Heath Herring or whoever.

Fozzy

Ah, as much as I love the guy, I do think he retired at the right time, for himself and for the sport. There was an article I read recently about why it would be a bad idea for him to come out of retirement after his comments saying he would if Tito bet Chuck, I'll try find it

EDIT: Actually, that article was focusing more on what would happen if he fought Tito or Chuck, and it doesn't sound like that'll be the case according to Meltzer. Still, I think it would be a backwards step for UFC as a whole. Sure, he's got a chance against Sylvia, but against more skilled heavyweights I can't see him doing

Just a quote that I agree with:

Couture is a class act, and unlike his fellow hall-of-famers who have come back solely for payday fights, has stuck around to act as a mentor and ambassador for the organization. The UFC prides itself on its progressive approach to promoting fights, and does not need to give a 43-year-old former champion another shot at the title.

In his post-retirement roles as coach and color commentator, Randy Couture has found a way to give back to the sport he loves. He’s now where he belongs. Last February, Chuck Liddell put him there. And, after beating Tito Ortiz again, Liddell has made sure he’ll stay there

Vince135792003

woooo232 wrote:

Yeah I read that too... I would imagine it to be a mistake tbh. He has a pretty good legacy to leave and I would hate it to be tainted by memories of him up against Cro Cop or Heath Herring or whoever.

I see what your saying.

From his perspective though, he retired just at the point when the UFC got really hot. For 2 fights he could make between 2-4 million depending on the buy rate. Thats hard to turn down.

From UFC's perspective Coture would be a huge draw. A Coture Silvia match would do good business. If Coture wins, it sets up a monster fight between him and Cro Cop. If he loses it puts Silvia over and makes the fight with Cro Cop even seem more major. This is all assuming Meltzer's guess work is correct.

Also, this might be a mute point. But Coture returning has a Rocky feel to it and that creates a special type of interest too.

The Sparrow

You know he probably will end up beating Sylvia... He is a smart enough fighter to do it no matter what age. But then it gets tricky... I see what your saying Vince about Couture missing out on the sport when its really hot, but I think his timing is wrong again... If only he had of come back a year ago I would have been much more confident about it with Arlovsky and Sylvia on top then with a lot of Pride fighters probably on their way... (although not Fedor it would seem!)

Vince135792003

Well to be fair he couldn't come back a year ago because he hadn't retired yet!

His last fight was January of last year against Lidell.

I'd fancy him against Silvia too (not that I'm great at predictions). That match really intrigues me. And if he could beat him(seeing as how Silvia isn't the most popular guy in the world), it would be a hell of a moment.

A Randy Coture return can be measured in 2 ways. Wins and losses. But also the money he'd draw. I think from Randy's perspective he feels he can still be competitive. And if you still love the sport, you still feel you can be competitive and you can earn a hell of alot of money doing 1 fight let alone 2, well then I say go for it. Its more than worth the risk of losing.

I think from the way it sounds, it'll be a 1-2 fight return. And if he's going to fight Silvia in March in a card that also will have Matt Hughes and Ric Franklin returning, it could do real good money for the UFC.

Fozzy

Vince135792003 wrote:

I think from Randy's perspective he feels he can still be competitive. And if you still love the sport, you still feel you can be competitive and you can earn a hell of alot of money doing 1 fight let alone 2, well then I say go for it. Its more than worth the risk of losing.

Maybe, but I'm sure he has a lot of fans who were hoping he wouldn't do what Ken Shamrock and Royce did last year. Their auras just aren't that bright anymore

Vince135792003

I think the comparison between Coture Shamrock and Royce is unfair. The sport had passed Shamrock and Royce by 6 years ago (a generation ago you could say). Thats not the case with Coture in my opinion.

You can't live off your bright aura. Seemily Shamrock had some money issues before his fight with Tito last year. Now after making alot of money from it, he's comfortable. Fans come and go but if you want to provide a good life for your family, sometimes putting your legacy on the line is worth the reward.

Dragan

Randy is my favourite fighter. I suggest anyone who doubts what he would do against the likes of Cro Cop of Herring to go back and watch his fight with Pedro Hizzo. Randy will take a beating and just keep on coming. Not saying he would beat Cro Cop, just saying it would not be as one sided as people seem to think.

Sylvia would actually be a terrible fight for Randy, as he would run into the same problems that Monson did against him. He's just so tall and can sprawl so much ( a bit less of a problem for Randy maybe, being taller than Monson ) and even when you did get him down his is so long and spread out with those ridiculous legs doing a guard impression of the great wall of China.

To be honest though I have every faith in Randy, should he come back and against whoever, to give a great fight.

daveirl

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Dragan

daveirl wrote:

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Apparently when he sub wrestled Jacare(sp?) he looked pretty fast, even if he did wrestle very defensively.

Besides, the speed difference between 205 and 240+ is pretty big. So a slow Randy at 205 is a relatively fast one at 240 imo.

Vince135792003

It looks more and more definite with the Silvia fight. From MMA weekly:

MMAWeekly has confirmed through various independent sources close to the situation that Randy “The Natural” Couture is set to announce his return from retirement. Never one to sidestep a challenge, his first opponent is to be UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia.

Couture surprisingly announced his retirement less than a year ago following a loss to UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell at UFC 57. At the time, having just lost 2 out of 3 fights with Liddell, it appeared there weren’t many choice fights left for the first man to win titles in two different UFC weight classes.

Always a competitive spirit, Couture has since competed on Spike TV’s “Pros vs. Joes” and fought to a draw in a professional submission grappling match with Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. It now appears that Couture is ready for a new challenge in MMA, returning to the heavyweight division to confront Sylvia at UFC 68 on March 3rd in Ohio.

There had been negotiations to have Sylvia make his next title defense against heavyweight contender Brandon Vera. But Vera has only one fight left on his current contract and the UFC will not extend a title shot to a fighter that could wind up leaving the promotion following the fight. Apparently negotiations on an extension with Vera are at an impasse with sources revealing that Vera is asking for a rather large signing bonus that the UFC is unwilling to agree to. It is likely that Vera will end up sitting for much of the remainder of his contract, reportedly in the neighborhood of eight months, and then be given a fight in a preliminary bout to finish out his contract.

Despite taking some flack for not being as exciting as some fans would like recently, Sylvia has been on a tear winning his last six fights in a row, pushing his record to 23-2. The streak includes an impressive knockout of Tra Telligman, a decision over Assuerio Silva, a TKO of Andre Arlovski to regain the heavyweight title, and decision defenses against Arlovski and Jeff Monson.

Having just added a three-fight extension to the one fight left on his previous contract, Sylvia poses a difficult task for Couture. He is much larger than Couture, cutting weight to make the 265-pound limit of the heavyweight division and stands 6’8” tall. Couture has had difficulty with larger fighters in the past, he lost to both Josh Barnett and Ricco Rodriguez, neither of which has the size of Sylvia.

In a post-fight interview at UFC 57, MMAWeekly co-founder Ryan Bennett told Couture, “Captain America can’t retire… you’re not going anywhere.” Couture responded with a chuckle saying, “It’s gotta end sometime. I’m ready to focus on something else.” Although his focus did shift to other areas for a while, Couture never really strayed too far. And now, Captain America is ready to return.

Vince135792003

I'm bumping this thread. Randy Couture deserves 2 threads!

Never doubt Randy Couture. He's added to his legacy which I never thought was possible.

There were alot of people who questioned him coming back. Never question this guy. He truly is special.

The Sparrow

woooo232 wrote:

You know he probably will end up beating Sylvia... He is a smart enough fighter to do it no matter what age.

Not me mate!! At least not for this fight!! Randy is my hero now!

Vince135792003

Not me either! Although my prediction was a little more tentative on this thread. Still actually seeing it was something very special.

Dragan

I thought long and hard about this fight before prediciting the outcome on my own site.

In the end, despite all the reasons why Tim should win it, i called the fight for Randy.

I just couldn't bring myself the doubt that guy. And i'm glad i didn't.