UFC 143: Randy Couture, Mike Pierce and the Changing MMA Game

In November 2000, Randy Couture's lead trainer Robert Follis had his hands full. How do you prepare for a physical specimen like Kevin Randleman? A former NCAA champion, Randleman had seemed unstoppable during his rise to the top of the UFC. It would prove a stiff challenge for Couture, now a UFC Hall of Famer.

Tonight, Follis will watch another student, welterweight contender Mike Pierce, try to take one step closer to championship contention. In his way? Just a former NCAA champion by the name of Josh Koscheck.

Like Randleman, Koscheck has imposed his will on almost every opponent he's faced. Finding a way to overcome Koscheck's physical prowess will be the name of the game.

In some ways, nothing has changed. Two fights, two outstanding wrestlers, two huge challenges. But the decade that separates the bouts has irreversibly changed the sport of mixed martial arts. Nothing has changed, Follis agrees, but everything has changed.

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"The game at that time was in a transition. It was just becoming mixed martial arts," Follis said. "The game has really evolved. Everyone has a fairly well-rounded game...Josh Koscheck, he's a wrestler, but how many knockouts does the guy have? He's got submissions. It's not wrestler versus striker, or even wrestler versus wrestler. The level of athlete coming in, the amount of preparation, the sophistication of periodizing, bringing in training partners.

"I think all those things have become more detailed and more important as time has gone by. There's a lot more money at stake, and I think the preparation has gotten commensurately more intense. People have a lot more money to invest in proper training."

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Before the sport exploded after The Ultimate Fighter, even bouts at the highest level were often contested by part time professional athletes. Expanding pay-per-view revenues changed that. In Follis's mind, it's easy to pinpoint the start of this professionalization of mixed martial arts: the trilogy of fights between Couture and Chuck Liddell.

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I remember when Randy and Chuck were going to fight and they asked Chuck 'What's it like to be a striker against this great wrestler?' That was when the sport was really coming into its own and MMA became it's own sport in my opinion and not just a combination of other sports. Chuck said 'Randy's a wrestler, but he's been striking for years. He knows submissions. I wrestler, I strike, I do submission work. We're both mixed martial artists.' It wasn't about wrestler versus striker.

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Couture was just one of the many MMA greats Follis has worked with over the course of his career. He's been in the corner for Team Quest stalwarts like Dan Henderson, Matt Lindland and Chael Sonnen, and he believes Pierce has the ability to put his name on the same pedestal.

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I think Mike Pierce hasn't even scratched the surface of what he is capable of," the coach said with pride. "I think he's got a real opportunity to grow his game. Over the next couple of years, I think we're going to see a change in Mike Pierce and how he competes. He's ready to step into title contention and I think he does have what it takes to go all the way.

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