The Five Biggest Fights of Randy Couture's Career (So Far)

The UFC recently announced that Randy Couture had inked a new three-fight deal with the company, and that the two sides had put any past "differences" behind them. This new deal between Couture and the UFC will lead to some very big fights for "Captain America", including a scheduled tilt against Brock Lesnar at UFC 91, a possible fight against the winner of Nogueira / Mir to unify the heavyweight belts (assuming that Couture beats Lesnar), and a potential fight between Couture and Fedor sometime in 2009.

Those are all very big potential fights for Randy Couture. The question is: what have been his five biggest fights up until now?

Here's my list - feel free to disagree:

1. Couture vs Sylvia. March 3rd, 2007. UFC 68 - Uprising. Couture vs Sylvia for the UFC heavyweight title. Couture is 43 years old when this fight takes place, and facing the much bigger Tim Sylvia. This was Couture's first match in the UFC following his "retirement" after losing to Chuck Liddell at UFC 57. People didn't know what to expect. He was well over the age of 40, hadn't fought in over a year, and was facing the heavyweight champion. Couture answered all of the critics by completely dominating Tim Sylvia over the course of the five-round fight, winning the title via unanimous decision. This would be Couture's third run as heavyweight champion. It was widely expected that Sylvia would retain his title (Vegas had Sylvia as a -238 favorite heading into the fight). This was arguably Couture's biggest moment ever as a professional fighter.

2. Couture vs Liddell I. After two straight losses in the heavyweight division, Couture decided to move down and try his luck in the light heavyweight division. Couture would fight Chuck Liddell for the interim title in his light heavyweight debut at UFC 43 - Meltdown. Couture knocked Liddell out at 2:39 of the third round, and became the first UFC fighter ever (at the time) to hold titles in two different weight classes. B.J. Penn ended up accomplishing the same feat when he captured the lightweight title at UFC 80: Rapid Fire (he was also previously the Welterweight champion).

3. Couture vs Ortiz. Immediately following Couture / Liddell I, the UFC announced that Randy Couture would be taking on Tito Ortiz in a "Champion vs Champion" fight to decide who was the undisputed light heavyweight champion. The two would fight at UFC 44 - Undisputed, and Couture would end up winning via Unanimous Decision in the five round fight. This was notable because Ortiz had held the title for almost 3 1/2 years, ending his run as arguably the greatest light heavyweight champion ever. Couture was now the undisputed light heavyweight champion.

4. Couture vs Belfort I. UFC 15 - Collision Course, October 17th, 1997. Considering that Couture had gotten such a late start in his career as a professional fighter, there were naturally many doubters. Those doubters were silenced in October of 1997 when Couture "stunned" Belfort, knocking him out 8:17 in their fight. This fight was described at the time as a "stunning upset", and firmly established Randy Couture as a legitimate heavyweight threat. Belfort was on a four fight winning streak at the time, and was described as a "phenom". The much older Couture was thought to be just another obstacle in the path of Belfort, but Couture proved everybody wrong - something that he would continue to do throughout the course of his career.

5. Couture vs Smith. UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan 1. Couture defeats kickboxer Maurice Smith on December 21st, 1997, to become the UFC heavyweight champion. This was his first UFC title (of five). The fight was won via majority decision. Couture soon left the promotion and was stripped of his title after not being able to come to a contractual agreement with the UFC. He would later return to the promotion and recapture the heavyweight title at UFC 28: High Stakes.

Play Poker - Receive a $600 Bonus