Randy Couture

The first UFC Pay Per View I purchased featured a main event of Randy Couture vs Tito Ortiz.
Tito Ortiz had been the champion in the 205 lb division for three years and dominated everyone he had faced. Randy couture the former heavyweight champion had recently turned 40 and been kocked out in two of his last three fights, few gave him a chance of unseating the invincible champ.

The main event of ufc 44 was classic story of the old master vs the young hotshot bully. The fairy tale version ,where the old master has enough gas left in his tank to take the arrogant young guy to the woodshed and teach him a lesson. This bout was magical as Couture dominated the seemingly unbeatable 28 year old champion. In the prefight video package Ortiz spoke in hyperbole while Couture simply said "he's no slouch, but everything he can do I feel I can do just a little bit better. For 25 minute Couture proved his point schooling Ortiz in all facets of the fight game both kick boxing and wrestling. I was completely amazed that a fourty year old could perform at that level and even more amazed he could keep it up for 5 five minute round.

Couture had a two year run at the top of the 205 division until he was knocked out twice by UFC posterboy Chuck Liddle. Couture was now 42 and had been ko'd twice. To no ones surprise he annouced his retirement. Then a couple months ago it was annouced that Couture at the age of 43 was coming out of retirement to take on the reigning ufc heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia.
Sylvia a 6'7 monster who has to cut weight to make the ucf's 265 pound weight limit was obviusly a very dangeroug opponet for the 43 year old 6'0 220 Couture.

I decided not to buy the Pay Per View. I did not begrudge Couture for taking the fight .
Pay days for UFC main eventers have gone from 50,000 to over a million dollars. I also understood why the UFC made the bout. They had a champion who was not marketable and needed some one they could put him against who would lure pay per vier buyers. I did not think the 43 year old Couture had a reasonable chance of winning and I did not want to see him get hurt.

I have never been more happy to be proven wrong. I followed the fight on the internet.
The first site I went to crashed in the second round, due to to much traffic. the next two sites I visited had the same problem. Finally the dust settled and I was able to get the result. Randy Couture had shocked everyone again. He had duplicated his effort from the Ortiz fight,but this was even more remarkable. By all accounts the 43 year old Couture used his quickness!! to out box Sylvia, he also demonstrated his world class wrestling skills effortlessly throwing around the 265+ champion like a rag doll. Absolutely amazing!