Couture discusses past offer to fight Fedor
Randy Couture: “I was approached when Fedor Emelianenko threw his hat back into the ring after a four, five year layoff. I was the first one they came to.”
Bellator has broken records using older fighters like Tito Ortiz, Kimbo Slice, and Stephan Bonnar. Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture would seem to be a natural fit for that model.
Couture has not fought since a TKO loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 in 2011. He has since appeared in a series of roles in Hollywood movies, most notable The Expendables franchise, and is currently shopping a Rocky-like script called “Rust Belt” about a high school wrestling coach who gets a shot to fight in MMA. In a recent interview with Kenny Rice for Inside MMA, Couture, 52, discussed being offered a fight by an unnamed company, that may have been Bellator.
“I was approached when Fedor threw his hat back into the ring after a four, five year layoff,” said Couture, as transcribed by Luke Thomas for MMA Fighting. “I was the first one they came to. It’s certainly something you have to consider and take seriously, but it’s not really about money. I think one of the more rational decisions I’ve probably made in my life was the decision to step down and hang them up.”
“I just don’t see that happening. At 52 years old, it doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
“You want to be remembered as somebody that had integrity and that represented the sport in a positive way. I think I accomplished that.”