The Downside: UFC 105 and Randy Couture’s Legacy

Saturday night’s fight with Brandon Vera represents a potential inflection point for Randy Couture’s future and legacy. A loss would be three straight and I wonder if the fog of time will dim the glow that surrounds Couture. Is it possible that “The Natural” could be considered another fighter who tried to hang on?

Further, could he be remembered as coming back to the sport to challenge a particularly weak class of heavyweights? I refer specifically to Tim Sylvia and Napao Gonzaga, who two years ago were on the top of the division. Clearly, there will always be people those who defend him, but if his record ends up as 16-11 or 16-12, it’s a tough argument to win.

And finally, if he was to lose, who could Randy fight next? Can the loser of 3 consecutive bouts be a headliner?

My opinion is if he loses, he’ll retire, totally for realsies this time. I think he is aware (perhaps keenly) of his legacy and will preserve it. After all his future revenue streams- Xtreme Couture and his acting career- are dependent on it.

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 Uncategorized

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1 Comment to The Downside: UFC 105 and Randy Couture’s Legacy

Baumer
November 12, 2009

Completely agree with you. Everyone loves to root for Randy but he is still a 16-10 fighter. Anyone else with that record might not even be in the UFC, let alone headlining. If he loses Dana will announce his retirement like he tried to do for Chuck. Dana can’t insult Fedor and still present Randy as a contender.
That said, I do not see him losing at 105. We’ve seen Vera as a mentally weak fighter before and Randy will be able to take him out of his comfort zone.

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