Issue 164

February 2018

Randy Couture may not be fighting any more, but he's still staying heavily involved in the sport.

How cool is it spend time with other legends like Royce Gracie, Frank Shamrock and Dan Henderson at Bellator fan fests?

It’s an absolute blast. Seeing all of these guys and to get to hang out with Royce Gracie and to go train with him and a bunch of firemen in San Jose was great. We were doing rescue drills all in the name of being a brand ambassador for Bellator. It’s nice to come to the Bellator shows and see the young fighters and to be a part of the fanfare again. There is a reason why Bellator is picking up all the free agents out there and all the stuff that’s going on. The landscape is changing, some for the better and some other stuff, we will see.

How close did you come to going back to Japan and fighting any of them in Pride’s heyday?

Had I come out on the short end of the first Chuck Liddell fight, I would have been in the Pride Grand Prix, hoping to work my way back.

What is it like to work directly with Scott Coker?

I have always had a great working relationship with Scott from the Strikeforce days when we were working with Gina Carano. My son, Ryan, fought first for Strikeforce. I respected Scott because he was a handshake guy. Shake his hand and that was it. He didn’t need a 17-page contract and a bunch of lawyers. He was going to do what he said he was going to do. I had also done some martial arts seminars for his old martial arts school in San Jose. Knowing he came from the martial arts is where that respect from his athletes comes in to play. He is one of us in many, many ways. There is a mutual respect and admiration with Scott.

Who else do you admire most from your career?

My coaches were pretty important guys in my life. I grew up in a single-parent household in Seattle. My mom worked and I had two younger sisters. I was the oldest, so in a lot of ways I was the man of the house. There was no guy around. That’s why I started wrestling… It led me down this road.

Those coaches – my junior high school coach, my high school coach – were the guys who taught me how to work hard and became role models for me. My Army coach is still a very good friend and someone I look up to. I don’t know how many guys he affected and gave opportunities to in that Army program. He was definitely that guy. He gave a bunch of us the opportunity, built that work ethic and gave us the belief that we could compete on that level.

Those coaches were really important to me. I think that’s one of the reasons I enjoy coaching so much, whether it be at Team Quest or Xtreme Couture. I really enjoy it because I feel that connection with those athletes the same way I felt with my coaches.

How did you hone your strategic and methodical approach to your fights?

That mentality and that approach came directly from years of being on the National Team in wrestling. I was on, as I called it, ‘The Scrub Club’. The times I didn’t make the world or Olympic teams, they brought extra guys as training partners. I got to go see the Olympics. I got to go see the world championships. I was training with the guys that were close to my weight, helping them by being a workout partner.

I was also filling out scouting reports. The guys on “The Scrub Club” would watch matches and see who was progressing through. How did the Russian win? What did he get scored on? We were filling those out and filming those matches and we could then brief the guy who was actually wrestling for his next round matchup. “Look you got this guy next round. He tends to gut wrench to the left every time. He got scored on by this technique. This is what you need to be aware of.”

Obviously, I approached my own matches the same way. I knew those guys. I had seen them before. I knew what to expect. I knew what they were good at and what they weren’t as good at. That’s directly where that came from. Then being a part of the RAW Team with Ricco Chiapparelli, he was a guy that was a cerebral type of trainer and coach. We look at footage, and he would tell me what he saw and we would break it down. Almost from day one, that’s how we approached it.

How did you manage to suppress your competitive nature and transition into retirement from the cage?

I don’t think a lot of people understand what it’s like to have your whole life and identity wrapped up in a single endeavour. It’s a challenge. I have been very fortunate that when I retired from wrestling I still had fighting. When I retired from fighting I was heavily in to acting and other business ventures. I have been fortunate that I could just shift my emphasis and passion and competitive drive to those things.

Now I deal with this on a much larger scale with soldiers transitioning their way back into society. Now they are out for whatever reason and they don’t have that structure, they don’t have those teammates, they don’t have that adrenaline rush. They have lost their purpose. Finding a new purpose for these guys is very important.

Do you still have experiences in MMA where you have to pinch yourself?

Recently, at Bellator 186, we were sitting at the weigh-ins and I had to come over early because I had 500 bobbleheads I have to sign! I am standing there in front of four tables full of minions. It was insane, bizarre and surreal. To have an action figure and a bobblehead is pretty cool.

Six-time UFC title winner

• May 1997 - Won four-man UFC 13 heavyweight tournament
• December 1997 - Won UFC heavyweight title vs. Maurice Smith at UFC Japan
• November 2000 - Reclaimed title with R3 TKO of Kevin Randleman
• September 2003 - Follows interim title win over Chuck Liddell by beating Tito Ortiz for 205lb title
• August 2004 - Avenged controversial loss to Vitor Belfort to reclaim 205lb gold
• March 2007 - Comes out of retirement to take Tim Sylvia’s heavyweight title