For Randy Couture, UFC 109: Is One Last Run at a Championship

Greco-Roman winner, FILA World Cup Greco-Roman, UFC World Heavyweight Champion, UFC Light-Heavyweight Championship, UFC 13 Tournament Winner, UFC Hall of Fame, Fight of the Night Honors(2x), 15 UFC Title fights.   

Twenty-seven career matches, 7 wins by TKO, 2 by Submission, 8 Decisions. Some of Couture’s defeated opponents include the best in UFC history: Vitor Belfort, Chuck Liddell, Pedro Rizzo(2x), Kevin Randleman, Jeremy Horn, Tito Ortiz, Tim Sylvia.

Randy Couture also owns what has already became a legendary gym. His Xtreme Couture brand has become the home for some of the sports elite fighters such as: Forrest Griffin, Gray Maynard, Tyson Griffin, and Vitor Belfort to name a few.

With that being said, most people are asking what’s left for the 46-year-old Former

two-division World Champion?

The answer is simple, another run to the top, another crack at the Light-Heavyweight Championship of the World.

At UFC 109, on Feb. 6, Randy Couture steps back into the world famous Octagon against fellow UFC Hall of Famer, Mark “The Hammer” Coleman in the evenings main event. Coleman enters the bout off of a July win over Stephan Bonner at UFC 100. Coleman’s professional record stands at 16-9-0 with 4 wins by TKO, 8 Submissions, and 4 Decisions.

Both former champions do have history with another as they wrestled in a freestyle match at the 1989 Olympic Festival at Oklahoma State where Coleman won by one point. Recently, Coleman has also spent time training at Xtreme Couture in preparation for his own contests.

Both fighters are known for using their wrestling pedigrees to establish their even more legendary ground-and-pound on their opponents. Couture has probably progressed in the striking realm of the sport a bit more then Coleman and seems to move more fluently on the feet as well.

First of all, the consensus opinion going around is that if Couture wins in impressive fashion then he will get another crack at the UFC Light-Heavyweight Championship. It’s no secret that not only the name of Randy Couture is legendary, but so is his selling power for pay per views, ticket sales, and memorabilia.

Secondly, with a UFC 113 showdown on May 1, featuring a re-match of current Champion: Lyoto Machida and challenger: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on the agenda the UFC brass is undoubtedly looking for a big name to face the winner.

Couture fits the bill perfectly and with his credentials, and what he has accomplished in the sport it would be hard to deny him another attempt to put a Championship belt around his waist.

That being said, Couture versus Coleman is a major tilt in the career of both men but more importantly for Couture who is setting his sights in on the Light-Heavyweight Championship of the World. An impressive victory for Couture and the UFC brass will make the case for him having one last legendary run at the title that would undoubtedly seal the Hall of Fame career of one of the sports most legendary fighters.

UFC 109: FEB. 6, 2010

Location: Las Vegas

Venue Site: Mandalay Bay Events Center

Couture vs. Coleman – Light Heavyweight Division

Some statistical information courtesy of  mmaweekly & mmajunkie.com