| Randy Couture Discusses Possible Fights with Franklin, Machida and Toney |
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| Written by Paul Fladten | |||||||||||
| Friday, 05 March 2010 23:43 | |||||||||||
 Throughout his career, Randy Couture has seemingly fought every top competitor the UFC has had to offer; on Friday at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, “The Natural” discussed a few more matchups that would once again test his abilities.After signing autographs for a nearly endless line of fans, Couture took a moment to sit down with Wisconsin Combat Sports and discuss potential upcoming fights with Rich Franklin and James Toney, how he feels about boxers entering the UFC, and where he sees himself in the title picture. Following a move to light-heavyweight, Couture has bested legitimate opponents Brandon Vera and Mark Coleman. But in order to establish himself as a title-contender, “The Natural” will need to take on one of the division’s best. Enter Rich Franklin. With a similarly storied UFC career, Franklin makes an ideal opponent for Couture. Rumored to take place sometime in the summer, Couture said that he would welcome the fight with open arms. “A fight with Rich would be very intriguing,” said Couture. “He’s one of my favorite guys and I have a lot of respect for Rich. He’s a former champion and a great fighter. There is a number of things that would be interesting with that fight.” As far as the fight itself is concerned, Couture said that the two’s fighting styles could eventually result in fight of the night type material. He also noted that many of Franklin’s strong suits counterstrike his own. “Technically he does a great job as a southpaw which always poses interesting problems,” said Couture. “He also uses his butterfly guard real well on the ground which is where I would want to take it. It would be a real good fight.” While a victory over Franklin is in no means guaranteed, Couture expressed an interest in fighting Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida if he was to gain a victory over “Ace”. “I want interesting fights, and everybody wants to fight Machida,” said Couture. “He’s the puzzle that nobody has solved yet. That’s the guy I want to fight…and sooner or later hopefully it will happen” Besides discussing his interest in fighting both Franklin and Machida, “The Natural” also noted that he would love an opportunity to welcome boxer turned mixed martial artist James Toney to the UFC. “Several boxers have stepped up and said that we are no good at striking and they would knock us out, and James Toney is no different. He’s the first one that is willing to step up and put his money where is mouth is though, and I’d love to welcome him into MMA.” Speaking on a broader audience than just Toney, Couture noted that he welcomes boxers into his sport, but that they need to respect all aspects of the sport. “There is no reason boxers can’t be successful in MMA,” said Couture. “However, they need to learn, just as I did as a wrestler, that there are a lot of different techniques to learn. Or else they will be a fish out of water if they ignore those skills.” Besides answering a number of questions about his future opponents, Couture responded to a question that he has been asked hundreds, if not thousands of times. How much longer do you have left in your tank? “I’m not placing any limits on myself. I’m taking it one fight at a time and I’m having a blast.”
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Comments (2)
Maxwell Destree
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... Great Article with one of the top three "legends" of the sport. Randy freaking Cotoure on WI Combat Sports...AWESOME! |
Jake Shafer
said:
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... Randy is the man through and through, throw him in there with machida and let them bang is what I say. |
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