Guy i only say if he really wants to fight allow him to fight. A minimum of they know where he’s and is not delusional like Tito or Chuck. They know he wont be a champion again but he’s a competitor. Therefore if he take an periodic “novelty” fight then more energy to him, as lengthy since it’s not likely to kill or cripple him he then is all set. He’s a fighter, its what he’s done all his existence, its what they know.
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@CanadianChronic

Thank you sir!

Most people seem to be in agreement here actually, that while we still want to see him fight, we all know his best days are behind him, so why not take some interesting/novelty fights? Just do it under a different banner so everyone knows exactly whats up. Couture get headline openweight fights in Japan on New Years Eve for the next ten years.

soon Randy will only be fighting alzeimers. Although I think he is awesome, have enjoyed most of his fights and he is a great inspiration, I see old people fighting every day in the queue at the pharmacy. Just do your fighting gran torino style

@steampunk

well said sir, my sentiments exactly

@RwR

til the next commercial break, too fuckin funny!

@ArmFarmer – Thanks for pointing out what should be obvious to people about Franklin. That dude doesn’t seem to get the respect he deserves simply because he got smoked by Anderson Silva twice. He is still a very relevant fighter, who the UFC shouldn’t have used to prop up some middle-ground for people switching weight classes. I think he could have made an interesting run at Lyoto’s title during that time period, but instead was forced to fight tough fights at 195. Now, I don’t know if he could handle some of the new guys at 205, like Jon Jones and Bader, but Franklin is still a tough match-up for just about anyone.

And that decision loss to Hendo was such BS!!!

@mburtoni – completely agree. We always complain about fighters not knowing when to hang it up. Well…

Couture v. Mythical Creature of Dana White’s Choosing, because why the fuck not at this point?

Couture v. Harold Howard. Winner gets Tank Abbott.

Couture v Fedor

A glorious 10 round affair, where both fighters retire afterwards.

I’d like to see Couture go out on his shield rather than crush a bunch of cans and water down his legacy. The fight I’d like to see is him vs. Griffin. It’d be a damn good slobber knocker.

I actually think this is the perfect approach to a graceful retirement from MMA. We all know how hard it is for fighters to hang ‘em up, Having the intelligence to truly understand your current physical capabilities and the foresight to know how’d you’d hold up against elite competition is necessary to avoid unnecessary damage. For all his accomplishments in combat sports, Randy seems healthy and doesn’t show any signs of punch-drunkenness. He’s had enough wars and been hit in the head enough times to know that, at age 47, he’s going to have to stop eventually. Might as well do it now while he’s still lucid and can make $ doing movies and commentary and what not. I don’t need to see him lose fights to Shogun, Evans, Machida, or Rampage (and I’m not saying he’d definitely lose those fights – I’m just saying there’s a pretty good chance he would.) I’d especially hate to see him go out on two or more losses like Chuck did, and then have fans begging him to retire. If he wants to fight another fading legend like himself or a freak show ( such as Herschel Walker, Don Frye, Dan Severn, Ross Clifton’s corpse, or a garden gnome) as a co-main event, that’s fine. My only wish at this point is for Randy to have the happy and healthy retirement that an athlete of his accomplishments deserves.

How is Franklin washed up? He’s lost to Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort.. and Lyoto Machida a long ass time ago. He has recent wins over Lidell, Hammil, Lutter, Okami, W. Silva.. oh yeah and he got screwed on a decision loss to Henderson. Either way, not what I’d call washed up.

Cro Cop is fucking washed up.

I’m all for him retiring at this age, but please, not after the Toney fight. Couldn’t he just co-main event one more pay per view and make it more official? With a goodbye speech at the end whether he wins or loses? He would just need the right opponent. The only two that makes sense are Mirko Cro Cop or Rich Franklin. Just the right amount of washed up/still competitive.

Randy Couture – official UFC can crusher. Line ‘em up!

Opponents for Randy:
Herschel Walker
Roy Jones Jr
Any other famous person or crossover sports figure

Suggestions for opponents: Wesley Snipes, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, any of the “Expendables” cast….

@ jimbonics ;^)

I think Randy nearly had Brock aced too until he failed the math section of the Rickson Gracie 101 final – Don’t stand and trade punches with someone who outweighs you by 40 firggin’ lbs.

Fuck it, start up an over 40 division and let them beat each other to see who can win the strap.

Before anyone brings up Toney, that was a different scenario and there was more going on there than Randy seeing an easy W and an easy paycheck. Someone needed to shut that washed up boxer up, and make a statement that mma/grappling is the real deal and you can’t just waltz in with top tier striking alone and KO every big name in the sport.

Don Frye’s dead. He died in the Great Mustache Fire of 09. Soooo, I gotta go with the Undatake-ah. Did I pronounce that right, Viva?

I think Randy still has some good fight left in ‘em. Or at least I would like to think he does. He barely broke a sweat vs Mumbles and it’s not like he’s looked like shit before that. He’s The Natural! He’s money, baby.

The guy said novelty fights.. not joke fights. Where the fuck are you guys pulling names like conseco, choi, and sapp from?? In the context he used, novelty = fights that don’t really matter in the title picture of the division. I’m guessing he means fights against other aging legends like some of the more reasonable posters here have suggested, like tito or chuck or someone like that. Maybe even some interestnig fights with guys in the middle of their division, like the Vera fight. Conseco?? Get the fuck outa here with that. Randy (i hope) would laugh at whoever offered him that fight.

Fedor would rape Randy from between Werdum’s legs.

“I kind of like the idea of Randy being the resident ass kicker for freaks who suffer from delusions of grandeur.”

Yes, yes, yes.

Honestly I think he could have taken penis-chest if it hadn’t been his first fight in a year+.

I think it would still be cool to see Handy fight Fedor.

CroCop please.

I’m pretty much with Steampunk on this. We all knew Randy had to give it up sometime. I’m sure he could still give a hell of a fight to just about anyone not named Jon Jones, but I don’t want him savaged by a young up and comer, or wasting young challengers time.

I also don’t want to see him in another fight against someone like James Toney. Really, I can only think of three fights with Randy in them that would definitely catch my interest – Tito Ortiz 2, Chuck Liddell 4, or a one-off with Fedor. All three of those opponents are on a bit of a slide (Fedor least of the three), but could be interesting simply from a longtime fan’s perspective. I love watching Tito get his ass kicked, so that would be entertaining. I wish Chuck would just retire, but if he won’t, Randy presents an old rivalry that probably wouldn’t flatline him with an errant punch. And Fedor will never happen, but still would be fun to see those two in a cage, and I’ve always thought the way Randy uses the cage would pose problems for Fedor.

Otherwise, walk away Randy. Good luck to you in the acting business. I may or may not catch your work when it comes out on video, but I promise that if I am sitting drunk on my couch late at night and your movie has filtered down to USA or FX, I will watch it until at least the next commercial break.

I kind of like the idea of Randy being the resident ass kicker for freaks who suffer from delusions of grandeur.

He’s right – he’s never going to be champ again, so why not pick up a couple hundred thou here and there being the UFC’s roster Gate Keeper? We’ll cheer like bastards for him each time, no?

@steampunk22 Totally agree. Also, that’s a “comment of the week” in my book.

CroCop

So let’s have an informal CP poll.

Best Fight for Randy Couture that has no title implications?

My vote is already for Frye.

Just remember…money up front. And if they dont pay have Whiteside cut off one of their pinkies. They respect that shit.

Novelty doesn’t have to equate to freakshow…

@steampunk22
The image of Couture and Frye going at it Jimmerson style had me cracking up for five minutes straight. I would pay to see that.

Under Jimmerson rules is it a technical submission if you mount your opponent?

I heard the Undertaker was looking for a fight get it done Dana.

Noooooooooo

Randy against Cyborg would be a novelty.

I dunno, this doesn’t really bother me so much.

I mean, nobody wants Couture to turn into a sideshow but the truth of the situation is that watching a 47 year old fight already is a sideshow. He openly admits he isn’t going to make a title run, so what are we watching him for? I don’t think anyone wants to see him as a low level perennial gatekeeper either. Seeing him get squashed by the Jon Jones’ of the world would just be sad. So what can he do? We can’t force the guy to retire. I think he’s earned the right to do whatever the fuck he wants to be honest.

You want to fight Hong Man Choi? Go for it Randy.

You want to fight Don Frye with both of you using one boxing glove Jimmerson style? Go for it you glorious bastard.

The first step though is to get out of the UFC and go to Japan because they will MAKE that happen. Don’t cheapen a legitimate organization though, that long and lonely road leads directly to Coker Town.

Man i say if he wants to fight let him fight. At least he knows where he is and isnt delusional like Tito or Chuck. He knows he wont ever be a champ again but he is a competitor. So if he choose to take an occasional “novelty” fight then more power to him, as long as its not going to kill or cripple him then he is good to go. He is a fighter, its what he has done all his life, its what he knows.

Sakuraba…to da deth.

Don Frye.

That is all.