Couture returning to grappling competition

[Sever]

UFC legend Randy Couture will be returning to some form of active competition on November 18th in a sub grappling match against Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza
I'm really glad Randy still wants to compete, it'll be great to see him in there again, and grappling comps are safe enough that he's not going to end up a vegetable if he loses at his age, but that said, Jacare is going to absolutely school him. Jacare is an absolutely awesome grappler (2005 ADCC 88kg champ and has a submission win over Marcelo Garcia) and I don't think Randy's going to have an answer for the kind of game he's going to bring. It'll be fun to watch though
MMAWeekly interview (http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=2837&zoneid=13)

[Apotheosis]

Good to hear, when was the last time Couture was in a grappling competition?

Pretty sure he is going to be beaten, but Couture strikes me as the kind of guy who won't take a fight if he doesn't think he can win. Perhaps he has been drilling his ground game religously lately.

[spirez]

He's been training with Erik Paulson, and that guy is a legend

[Sgt_Major]

be good to see him back in the game ....

I found this video of him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7x-ri0S7oA

[Sankaku-jime]

Randy Couture is cool,

he might not be as technical as Jacare but he experienced, strong and tenacious plus he is bigger than Jacare, I think he is in with chance.

[Sgt_Major]

a little Ot - but anyone got a link to a video of the couture vs liddell fight in feb?

[Apotheosis]

Randy Couture is cool,

he might not be as technical as Jacare but he experienced, strong and tenacious plus he is bigger than Jacare, I think he is in with chance.

He always has a chance, but I think he may have gotten in over his head with this competition.

[Sever]

he might not be as technical as Jacare but he experienced, strong and tenacious plus he is bigger than Jacare, I think he is in with chance.Even with the size difference, he's going to lose. Jacare is in the top five in the world in submission grappling. No matter how well he's been training, Couture's in his world now and I don't see him winning it. It's like if Chuck Liddell entered K-1

[Apotheosis]

But Liddell would win in K-1 easily, he is the best striker this world has ever seen bar none.

[Sever]

Of course, how silly of me :p

[Rapid]

Chuck liddel has fought in K1 and been quite succesful, UFC pays higher though and is more watched and more money can be made from merchandise, most UFC champs especially chuck and randy can be succesful in other competions, all they need to do is change to a more specific training routine for a year or so have a couple fights and theres a good chance theyll succeed in that aswell, people like chuck and randy are born fighters and you can never count them out of any competition

[Sever]

Chuck liddel has fought in K1 and been quite succesful,I think you'll find he has competed in kickboxing, but never K-1. I've been unable to find any info of him in K-1 and I think if he had, I'd have seen it
UFC pays higher though and is more watched and more money can be made from merchandise,No it doesn't and no it isn't. K-1's one of the biggest fight shows worldwide, and pays an absolute bomb if a fighter's winning decent matches. I guarantee you top K-1 fighters make more than top UFC guys do.most UFC champs especially chuck and randy can be succesful in other competions, all they need to do is change to a more specific training routine for a year or so have a couple fights and theres a good chance theyll succeed in that aswell, people like chuck and randy are born fighters and you can never count them out of any competitionNo, you can't, but when a fighter who's been spending years training all aspects of fighting goes against someone who's spent most of their time training for one particular aspect (striking, grappling, for example) and goes into their game, they're at a serious disadvantage. Randy's at a serious disadvantage against Jacare and Chuck would be at a disadvantage against any decent K-1 fighter

[callsignfuzzy]

You think Randy's plan is to hit his takedowns, stay on top for a bit then get up, and just rack up points? I don't know that much about Jacare, but Couture's not really known for his sub skills, and I doubt he plans to actually submit an ADCC champion.

[Apotheosis]

I have no idea what his plan is..

Check out this video for Jacare highlight

Highlight (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXM9J10IfSw)

[slipthejab]

But Liddell would win in K-1 easily, he is the best striker this world has ever seen bar none.

BWHAHAHA!!!And then you woke up. :rolleyes:
Chuck Liddell...while considered a good striker for the format that he fights in and generally is considered an all around class act... is hardly the best striker the world has ever seen. Far from it.

You need to take a look back at many of the legends of the standup game and then rethink that.

Sugar Ray Robinson
Coban
Raymon Dekkers
Andy Hugg
Ernesto Hoost
Bernhard Hopkins
Floyd Mayweather Jr.

[Sever]

Kinda missed the sarcasm there, didn't we, Slip? :p

[tel]

He's been training with Erik Paulson, and that guy is a legend
so true.

[Apotheosis]

Kinda missed the sarcasm there, didn't we, Slip? :p

Just a little bit


so true.

Erik Paulson may be a legend, but so is Jacare and Couture is neither.

[slipthejab]

Kinda missed the sarcasm there, didn't we, Slip? :p

hmmm... someone better brush up on his sarcasm because if that's what it was it certainly was weak. :rolleyes:

[Rapid]

I think you'll find he has competed in kickboxing, but never K-1. I've been unable to find any info of him in K-1 and I think if he had, I'd have seen it
No it doesn't and no it isn't. K-1's one of the biggest fight shows worldwide, and pays an absolute bomb if a fighter's winning decent matches. I guarantee you top K-1 fighters make more than top UFC guys do.No, you can't, but when a fighter who's been spending years training all aspects of fighting goes against someone who's spent most of their time training for one particular aspect (striking, grappling, for example) and goes into their game, they're at a serious disadvantage. Randy's at a serious disadvantage against Jacare and Chuck would be at a disadvantage against any decent K-1 fighter

The top UFC guys will get more than K1 fighters easy, not necesarily from the event but chuck and tito have made millions from merchandise especially chuck, also they will be far more known on the whole than K1 fighters as MMA draws more attention, gets more viewers and is gaining more viewers and more of a following constantly, also Chuck will have been training primarily striking his whole career, my point is he could succeed in kickboxing aswell as it is a striking style. Randy could also succeed in wrestling and maybe grappling with enough fights and training as these are the main elements he trains and utilises when he fights.

[Sever]

The top UFC guys will get more than K1 fighters easy, not necesarily from the event but chuck and tito have made millions from merchandise especially chuck, also they will be far more known on the whole than K1 fighters as MMA draws more attention, gets more viewers and is gaining more viewers and more of a following constantly, also Chuck will have been training primarily striking his whole career, my point is he could succeed in kickboxing aswell as it is a striking style. Randy could also succeed in wrestling and maybe grappling with enough fights and training as these are the main elements he trains and utilises when he fights.Grammar is your friend. Seriously, try it, you might like it ;)
You seem to be unaware of exactly how much K-1 is viewed worldwide, especially in Asia.
In Japan, K-1 events have often outsold Pride events (we're talking 50,000+ seater arenas like the Tokyo Dome here) and 2005 was the first time Pride beat K-1 in the new years eve shows ratings (Japan's most competitive TV event). K-1 is huge in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and it's Las Vegas events pretty much always sell out. Also, MMA and K-1 fighters are celebrities in Japan with endorsements for just about everything including razors and blenders. Hate to break it to you, but the US MMA market just doesn't have that kind of breakthrough yet, hence why UFC fighters do not make what top K-1 or Pride fighters do annually. Not even close, most likely
Liddell at his current level would get eaten alive by any top ten (possibly top fifteen or twenty) K-1 fighter much like lots of MMA grapplers get tapped pretty quickly in ADCC.
Going into single-discipline competition is a very different world from MMA. If Couture keeps training hard in grappling, he could be a force (most likely as a "name" attraction to grappling events), he's got decent sub-defence and an excellent wrestling pedigree, but he'll never break the top twenty; he's in his forties, going up against guys half his age that have been doing BJJ since they could tie a belt. Jacare, especially is a very big challenge for his first match

[Oversoul]

You think Randy's plan is to hit his takedowns, stay on top for a bit then get up, and just rack up points? I don't know that much about Jacare, but Couture's not really known for his sub skills, and I doubt he plans to actually submit an ADCC champion.

He could try it. But I'm sure that planning to beat Jacare is much easier than actually doing it. In fact, I have a plan for how I could beat Jacare right now. But I think you'll find that if we were to actually grapple, something in the implementation of my plan would go wrong...

[Sever]

With regards to takedowns and holding position - how well Couture fares with that gameplan will depend entirely on the ruleset the promotion employs. I've seen and competed under rulesets that actually dock you a point if you take someone down and just lay and pray. Couture would have to be actively trying to improve position if he takes Jacare down under these rules. They could not have that rule, but I personally really like it, it makes grappling so much more interesting to watch

[Rapid]

Your just assuming K1 fighters get more because there are more viewers world wide, because you have no factual evidence suggesting salaries i refuse to accept your opinion over mine

[slipthejab]

Your just assuming K1 fighters get more because there are more viewers world wide, because you have no factual evidence suggesting salaries i refuse to accept your opinion over mine

hmm... you might end up having to eat these words.
I seem to remember seeing the comparative numbers and K-1 fighters did in fact actually earn the bigger dollars. This is part of the reason why there was such an exodus of fighters from all over the world to move to Japan to compete and train.

I'll see what I can dig up.

[slipthejab]

The top UFC guys will get more than K1 fighters easy,

Can you actually back this up with numbers or credible sources? :confused:

not necesarily from the event but chuck and tito have made millions from merchandise especially chuck,

Hate to inform you but there is a world outside of the US. The merchandising that you speak of isn't some sort of exclusive deal only available to the UFC fighters. Pride and K-1 fighters have exactly the same business going on. They've got everything from Bob Sapp breakfast cereal to Metrosexual Hair Gel and everything else by Genki Sudo. They even do car commercials - which is something you don't and probably won't ever see UFC fighters doing.

also they will be far more known on the whole than K1 fighters as MMA draws more attention,

Again - you're making points I doubt you can really back up.
Among what demographic are you talking about?
Are you talking internationally?
Are you talking US only?
Are you talking in Japan?
:confused:
In Japan even the grannies know who Bob Sapp is and other K-1 fighters - I doubt the same could be said for many UFC fighters in the US and American grannies. :D There is by far a greater acceptance of combat sports in Japan than there is in the west - much of it has to do with cultural norms.


gets more viewers and is gaining more viewers and more of a following constantly,

As for get's more viewers... again can you actually back this up with some credible numbers? :confused: As for gaining more viewers and following... it's a non point really as K-1/Pride is as well.


also Chuck will have been training primarily striking his whole career, my point is he could succeed in kickboxing aswell as it is a striking style.

Hmmm. It's questionable at best. He's too flat footed to really be able to make much of a dent in the ranks of K-1. That doesn't take away from him.. he's a swell fighter for his format... but he's no kickboxer. Far from it.

[Sever]

Any luck with digging out those numbers, Slip? (I'm supposed to be working right now)
As for why fighters in Japan make more money than UFC fighters, who makes more money - a soccer player in the UK where it's our national pasttime (like combat sports such as K-1 and Pride are in Japan) or a soccer player in the US where it's superceded by many other sports (like MMA is in the US)? Get the analogy?