Issue 078

August 2011

A look back at some of the greatest moments in the history of MMA. Couture has plenty of iconic moments, but few stand taller than the night he felled a giant to reclaim the UFC heavyweight title.

Every title fight is eagerly awaited, but leading up to the main event of UFC 68 in March 2007, the tension was unbearable. In one corner stood Randy Couture; in the other, the champion, Tim Sylvia. When the pair stood together the size difference was apparent. Tim, all six feet eight inches of him, towered over the challenger. ‘The Maine-iac’ was hard to love, but he had made the most of his gifts and become an effective performer. Factor in the 40lb weight advantage and it was obvious why the bookies made him a heavy favorite.

Randy had been written off before, but this time the evidence was compelling. He’d not fought at heavyweight since 2002 when Ricco Rodriguez had smashed his orbital bone with an elbow in the fifth round of their grueling encounter. Fighting is a young man’s game and many thought that it was the end of the road for ‘The Natural.’ Instead of hanging up the gloves, Randy made the calculated decision to drop to light heavyweight.

The newly crowned Rodriguez was knocked out just over three minutes into his next outing by Tim Sylvia. Waiting for Randy at 205lb was an equally concussive puncher, Chuck Liddell. It looked like a case of out of the frying pan into the fire. Against ‘The Iceman,’ Randy followed a gameplan that appeared suicidal – he stood in the pocket and got into a fire fight. He threw Liddell out of his comfort zone then asserted his own strengths, scoring takedowns and finally prevailing with brutal ground ‘n’ pound.

The Liddell-Couture trilogy was one of the rocks the UFC success story was built on. Although fans fell in love with the grit and dignity displayed by Randy, it was Chuck who came out on top and in decisive fashion – he sparked out Couture in the second and third episodes. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when he announced his retirement. But it was the only possible option. 

Bloodied and bruised with 42 years on the clock, there was nowhere left to go. Thanks for the memories ‘Captain America.’

But Randy Couture is – and never will be – a pipe and slippers kind of guy. Even though he kept busy with acting and commentating, the desire to fight still burned inside him. Always a scholar of the game, he was sure he’d seen a way back. The announcement of his fight with Sylvia was greeted with alarm from the MMA nation. This wasn’t about records, there were genuine safety fears. Randy flashed his winning smile and confidently assured everyone that he knew what he was doing. Fans nodded in hope, all the while remembering his battered face from his previous outing in the top division and his destruction at the hands of a lighter puncher in his last fight. Randy summed up his strategy: “Keep from getting hit. He’s not a guy you want to trade with at 280lb. If he hits you, you’re going to feel it.”

Tim Sylvia would never be a poster boy. His awkward plodding style and less than winning personality made him a hard sell. Despite his short comings, however, he had climbed to the top of the UFC heavyweight division. The Randy fight looked like a cynical ploy to raise the champ’s profile and set up a clash with Croatian superstar Mirko ‘Cro Cop.’ Many Couture fans perhaps secretly hoped the end would be quick and clean.

The first action of the fight, Randy throws a right hand. It connects and Goliath tumbles. Inside the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, 19,000 fans emit a joyous roar. It echoes around bars and living rooms across the world. This is truly unbelievable. Randy takes Sylvia’s back and sinks the hooks in. Although he can’t finish, he keeps the pressure on for the rest of the round.

Things were almost going too well. Later Randy himself admitted: “We had a gameplan that would work against Tim Sylvia. I just went out there and let it rip. To my surprise, I hit him with that right hand and he fell like a big tree. The whole arena stood up and went crazy and I was stunned that he had disappeared. It took me a second to catch up with the program.”

The ovation at the bell is huge. Elation and relief mix in equal measure with the nagging doubt that this cannot continue. Sylvia has to catch up with him eventually. But he doesn’t. It goes on and on. Randy’s like a machine, relentlessly picking the champion apart on the feet. 

After five rounds of total domination he grins while big Timmy has the vacant look of an accident victim. He shakes his head; things like this aren’t supposed to happen in real life. All three judges agree: 50-45. Randy Couture, ‘Captain America’, reclaims the UFC heavyweight title. The man himself summed up the affair succinctly in his post-fight interview: “Not bad for an old guy, huh?”

Of course, Randy rolled on. As in his early days, he won some and he lost some, but he never ducked anybody and was competitive to the very end. Randy Couture took part in more than his fair share of landmark UFC moments – but that night in Ohio was something very special.

COUTURE ICON ISSUE/JOE ROGAN

“Randy Couture is a very rare human being – the kind who comes along only once or twice in a lifetime. He’s one of the few people I’ve ever come across who’s both a kind-hearted, friendly, happy guy, and a furious, relentless competitor. He’s also one of the rare human beings who fully maximizes his potential in his pursuits”