The 5 best fights of Randy Couture’s career

A tip of the cap to UFC Hall of Famer and MMA legend Randy Couture as we reflect on his career’s five best bouts.

Randy Couture is a legend by any stretch of the imagination. On Oct. 23 however, the world received troubling news that Couture had suffered a heart attack. Couture himself blames his genetics, “I’m one of those people that has crazy thick blood and nominally high bad cholesterol.”

Thankfully for Couture, he’s expected to make a full recovery. Couture will never be someone who ever stops fighting, even outside the cage. So don’t be surprised if Couture is back commentating sooner-rather-than-later with the Professional Fighters League, as the league enters its third week of playoffs.

So in honor of the fight Couture still has, let’s look back at five of the fights that helped make him the legend he is.

Couture vs. Steven Graham – UFC 13

Couture has many titles to his name, it’s part of his aura. One that often gets overlooked is his win of the UFC 13 heavyweight tournament. A one-night event that saw Couture fight twice, through a field of four to win the tournament. Couture had to get through Tony Halme (better known to WWE fans as Ludvig Borga) before getting to the finals, where he met Steven Graham. Despite both men fighting twice, the entire heavyweight tournament went six minutes and forty-three minutes total. Not counting the pre-fight fluff. Couture conserved energy and got two back to back finishes.

Couture vs. Keith Randleman – UFC 28

Credit where credit is due, Keith Randleman was fantastic in his prime. He defeated the great Bas Rutten to win the vacant UFC heavyweight championship and went on to defend the belt twice. Randleman was considered an early force in the UFC. That force though wouldn’t stand up against Couture, who sent a barrage of fists at Randleman so furiously that Randleman got TKO’ed in the third round.

The event needed a huge title fight due to the historical significance of UFC 28. This was one of the most notable early shows that featured mandated gear, the start of the weight classes as we know them today, as well as the first time the UFC would go to New Jersey. A state that’s very synonymous with MMA today. So what better way to end the night than with Couture’s second heavyweight title.

Couture vs. Tito Ortiz – UFC 44

Many consider Tito Ortiz the first true villain of MMA. Ortiz was the bad boy. He laughed off Ken Shamrock’s “living death” comment so perfectly it felt rehearsed. If Ortiz was the first true villain of the sport, Couture was the first true superhero. He did everything right. He was an Army sergeant in the 101st Airborne. A man who wanted to compete against the best, no matter what. That, not fame like with Ortiz, was Couture’s drive, to be the best. At UFC 49, as the interim light heavyweight champion, he got the chance to unify the belt with Ortiz’s, the then UFC light heavyweight champion.

At the time Ortiz was accused of ducking longtime teammate Chuck Liddell and it forced the UFC to do an interim title fight between Couture and Liddell, which Couture won. At UFC 49 though, Ortiz couldn’t escape his fate any longer and suffered through five rounds of grueling ground and pound as Couture took home Ortiz’s title.

Couture vs. Vitor Belfort – UFC 49

Couture wouldn’t hold the title for long, however, as a young upstart named Vitor Belfort would emerge and take the light heavyweight title from Couture at UFC 46. Belfort was dubbed The Phenom and would have people thinking that the UFC was set for a long title reign from the young fighter

Couture ended up losing the first fight by doctor stoppage due to a cut on his eyelid. Couture would return the favor, ending the title rematch in similar fashion after blooding Belfort so badly after the third round that the doctor ruled that Belfort could not continue. This would be their second fight for the title, but their third fight overall. The three-fight series would end up going to Couture 2-1 with his earlier win over Belfort at UFC 15 and his UFC 49 win.

Couture vs. Tim Sylvia – UFC 68

There might be a technically better fight than Couture’s win over Tim Slyvia but there are few that are as impressive. People fail to remember just how credible Sylvia was for his era, at a time when the heavyweights weren’t that dynamic of fighters, at least stateside. With the exception of Frank Mir, Sylvia bested the top of the division pretty handily. He was also a beast of a man at 6’8 and 270lbs. Couture stood in at barely 6’1. It seemed to some that Couture was getting this fight simply for Sylvia to pad his resume against the aging star.

Despite Sylvia being tied with Couture for most successful title defenses, it seemed like Couture wouldn’t be able to overcome Sylvia’s reach on paper. Not only did he overcome it, but he also passed through it and took Sylvia down. Time and time again when Sylvia would try and box his way out of the fight, Couture would counter and control Sylvia again. For a man so big, no one ever looked so helpless. Couture easily won his third UFC heavyweight title, and the fans in Columbus that night erupted in celebration when he did.