Where Does Randy Couture Go From Here?

Is "Father Time" finally catching up to Randy Couture?

Or did "Minotauro" simply make a great fighter look average?

I suspect that it's a bit of both. One thing is for certain though - Couture's loss on Saturday night will likely permanently take him out of the heavyweight title picture, and possibly out of the entire division as well.

Randy Couture has defied all logic during his incredible career in the UFC. His multi-year run has captured the imaginations of many MMA fans across the world, and he is very likely one of the top 5 40+ athletes that has ever lived.

That being said, it's pretty obvious that Couture is starting to slow. And why not? He is 46 years old and has only fought three times in the past two years.

Couture is clearly still a very good fighter. However, his slight degradation of skills and speed likely takes him out of any serious consideration for another run at Lesnar's title. Lesnar is clearly getting better with every fight, and I expect that Couture would fare even worse than in their first fight if the two were to lock horns again.

Nobody wants to see Lesnar kicks Couture's head in, which is why I believe that the UFC will take him in another direction. Couture is not retiring, as evidenced by his comments post UFC 102. In addition, the UFC recently extended his contract for six more fights. "The Natural" is not going anywhere.

Let's look at two strong possibilities for Couture going forward, and shoot down two rumored opponents as well:

Possibility - Wanderlei Silva. Two of the most popular fighters in the history of the sport duking it out at light heavyweight? Why not? This would be guaranteed to be a fun fight.

Silva has lost five of his last six fights and is kind of floating aimlessly in the UFC right now. It's win/win for the UFC in my opinion, and would be guaranteed to do some big business. A former PRIDE legend against one of the top names in the history of the UFC. Sounds like a good idea to me.

Not a Possibility - Anderson Silva. There were rumors floating around over the past few weeks about the possibility of Silva and Couture going at it. There isn't a chance that this fight happens. Silva is just too quick and powerful, and I don't think that Couture would stand much of a chance. There is just far too much risk for both the UFC and Couture's career in this fight.

Possibility - Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. Ok, if Couture doesn't want to move back down to light heavyweight, then this fight would make a ton of sense, assuming that Filipovic doesn't fight his way into title contention.

The UFC is only going to match Couture against "name" opponents at this point, and Filipovic certainly is that.

Again, you would have another former PRIDE star battling it out against a five-time UFC champion.

Filipovic is one of the few heavyweight fighters that makes sense for Couture for now.

Not a Possibility - Tito Ortiz. I don't see it. Ask yourself this question - what would the UFC do with the loser of this fight? The UFC will almost surely keep two of their biggest draws away from each other.

Other names that you can probably toss out as potential opponents for Couture - Mir, Liddell, Coleman, Velasquez. None of these match-ups make much sense.

I've heard Rich Franklin discussed as a potential opponent for Couture as well. Franklin would make a great deal of sense, but we'll first have to see if Couture elects to remain a heavyweight or move down to 205.

There are plenty of intriguing possibilities, but first we'll have to see if Couture wants to move down to light heavyweight or not.

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