(Put her in a body bag! No seriously, could someone please dispose of that corpse as quickly as possible? I’m starting to feel queasy.) 

No, that is not a screenshot from The Ring, that is the aftermath of the last time we saw Sheila Bird compete in this thing we call MMA. It took place back in July of 2011 against Kim Couture, and using the combination of a leg scissor choke and some of the worst referee negligence this side of Marius Zaromskis vs. Andrey Koreshkov, Bird not only came away with the win, but provided one photographer with the opportunity to stare into the fleeting remnants of Couture’s soul before she stole it. It was the first documented case of Shang Tsunging in WMMA history.

What are we going on about? Well, Ms. Bird stepped back into the octagon last weekend, and although the end result was nearly as horrific for her victim this time out, it was equally as decisive. Bird needed just 11 seconds to pack Christina Barry’s lunch and jam it down her throat brown bag and all at AFC 12 on Friday, so head after the jump to check out the brutal finish.

I’ll never figure out how Kim Couture is still getting fights. She isn’t skilled. She isn’t exactly loved by the MMA community. And while you’ll get media attention for putting her on your fight card, it’s usually at the expense of having your good fighters ignored so that the inevitable freak show bout can receive extra criticism. Is any attention truly better than no attention?

Kim Couture fought Suzie Montero, a Muay Thai fighter who once fought Gina Carano, who was making her MMA debut. If this fight was a warm-up for Kim Couture’s planned transition to professional kickboxing, then perhaps Kim should train more. Or at least she should train with consenting sparring partners. Couture now drops to 3-6 in her MMA cash grab.

The saddest part is that W-1 MMA had some real news emerge from last night’s card. For starters, W-1 announced that it has agreed to terms with UFC veteran and TUF Season 2 winner Joe “Daddy” Stevenson. While details are still unclear, Stevenson is expected to make his debut with the promotion in early 2012. The fight will be Stevenson’s first fight since being cut from the UFC in August.

By Mike Russell

(After as one year hiatus, W-1 is back with a solid inaugural U.S. show.)

Apparently rumors of the demise of Warrior One (W-1) MMA were greatly exaggerated as the Toronto, Ontario-based promotion that made waves with its stacked Canadian cards the past two years but hasn’t held an event since last October, is back with another impressive offering — this time for American MMA fans in Florida.

W-1: Reloaded is set for October 15 at the Bank United Center at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida and according to W-1 president Jack Bateman, the reason his organization has not held an event in almost a year is that it underwent an ownership restructuring and he and his new partners were carefully laying the groundwork for the promotion’s foray into the U.S. because they wanted to make sure they took their time and did it right.

“Everything has come together and I couldn’t be happier with the way the company has evolved and the quality of our first event in the States,” Bateman told CagePotato.com Monday. “I have a great group of partners who are at the top of their specific fields and whose skill sets bring a lot to the table when it comes to promotion and putting on events like we’ve come to be known for putting on. We have some big signings we’ve been working on and will be having a few of those names on our next card in Miami on October 15.”

That’s not a photo, it’s a two minute video loop. (Pic: CageSideSeats.com)

Remember that little incident a couple of weeks back when referee Len Koivisto did everything but hold a mirror below Kim Couture’s nose to make sure that she was finished breathing before finally calling an end to the bout? Those of you who lashed out at him for his incompetence may now issue him a heartfelt apology in our comments section. You see, as MMAJunkie reported yesterday, the Calgary Combative Sports Commission—a council of supposed experts and professionals that oversee our sport—have decided that his actions warrant neither a reprimand nor retraining.

In the course of their investigation, which clearly didn’t include video of the sub-two minute fight, they found Koivisto to be a man who “has always taken his ring official’s duties very seriously and conducts himself with a great deal of professionalism.”

So, that’s it, right? He’s a veteran referee who’s never shown himself to lack the knowledge required to oversee a mixed martial arts fight. Oh wait, he totally has…

(Video courtesy of YouTube/MMACanadaTV)

- The end of Strikeforce? (SI)

-The Electric Dock Ellis Acid Test: An Attempt To Recreate His Drug-Addled No-Hitter, On Xbox (DeadSpin)

- Paulo Filho training for Satoshi Ishii (Tatame)

- ‘We’ are the champions: in defense of referring to your sports team in the first person (Clutch.MTV)

- 5 UFC fighters who could squash ‘The Spider’ (BleacherReport)

- Dana White talks UFC 133, Overeem and his meeting with Vince McMahon (MMAFighting)

- Calgary Commission finds no fault in ref who stopped Couture-Bird fight way too late (MMAJunkie)

- Comic-Con 2011: Spielberg says Jurassic Park 4 is underway (ScreenJunkies)

- MMA Agent Malki Kawa talks shop (CageWriter)

- The hottest chicks from comic book flicks (MadeMan)

- Overeem declares boxing superior to MMA (FiveKnuckles)

- Bobby Lashley out of next week’s Titan FC event (FiveOuncesofPain)

(Someone was jealous of the attention her fighter friend was getting…Unfortunately she didn’t realize it had nothing to do with fighting.)

Well Kim Couture’s fight Saturday night just got even more controversial.

According to a report by MMAJunkie, representatives from both the Association of Boxing Commissions and the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board say that Couture shouldn’t have been allowed to fight by the Calgary Combative Sports Commission as she still has not been cleared from an indefinite suspension levied by an NJSACB physician after her unanimous decision loss to Munah Holland at Ring of Combat 32 in Atlantic City in October.

(James Toney, shown above with one boxing glove, one MMA glove, and an artist’s depiction of what he might look like if he lost 85 pounds.)

By Jared “DangadaDang” Jones

During its rise to popularity, Mixed Martial Arts has become known for the incredible physical conditioning, talent, and (depending whose side you’re on) heart of its athletes. It is a sport built on dedication; simply put, no amount of pink gloves and flirting with overweight TUF alums will make you an MMA fighter.

But as with any sport’s increase in mass appeal, MMA has seen its share of hacks, wannabes, scallywags and jabronis attempting to grab 15 more minutes of fame through a career in “that Ultimate Fighting stuff.” In light of James Toney’s continuing efforts to shake the MMA world with the use of side check kicks, I give you the five worst instances of C-to-D-list celebrities giving MMA the old community-college try.

5. Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson

The phrase “meteoric rise” comes to mind — one minute you were watching Kimbo smoke blunts in the background of semi-public orgies and the next he was being touted as the most formidable opponent to take Brock Lesnar’s crown. Mr. Ferguson landed on our radars through a series of brutal street fight videos in which he fought guys named “Afro Puff,” “Byrd,” “Chico,” and “Mayor McCheese.” These internet videos went viral so ferociously that the now-defunct EliteXC built him up to be their marquee star by feeding him other hopeless big lugs like “Bo” and “Tank.”

Kimbo was given his first “legitimate” opponent in James Thompson as the headlining bout of EliteXC: Primetime in May 2008. Despite possibly tapping to a guillotine in the first round and being on the receiving end of over 1,000 elbows in the second, Kimbo was able to pull off a rare standing-TKO of Thompson late in the third. (Good lookin’ out, Dan.)

On a slow Sunday, we’ll often loosen the strict criteria we normally use to separate the wheat from the chaff. A short list of some of the “freakish” things that will often make their way to the site once we’ve lowered our usually-high standards: Kim Couture getting beat up; video of a rarely seen submission; a failure of referring so severe that it would make Cecil Peoples blush. Today, however, you won’t have to settle on any one of those things. Behold, we bring you all three in one incredible video.

Kim Couture took on Sheila Bird in the “co-main event” of Friday night’s AX Combat 1 card. Few punches were thrown and even fewer landed in the opening minute of the bout before Bird attempted to throw Couture from the clinch. It’s not clear if the throw was ill-performed or if Kim has been working on her Judo, but either way they end up on the ground with Sheila in guard and Kim working for a triangle. Bird worked her way to north-south where she rained down multiple heavy hammerfists en route to locking in a leg scissor choke. This choke was in deep from the onset, and Kim had hardly any time or ability to work for an escape before passing out. Although this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this choke in MMA, it still seems more at home in a professional wrestling match. Perhaps also feeling nostalgic for the WWF’s heyday, the official for this bout–Len Cloivisto–does his best impression of a pro wrestling referee.

(Time sure does fly…)

WEC 49 went down 1 year ago.

Why it matters:

Josh Grispi earned the next shot at WEC featherweight champ Jose Aldo with his win over LC Davis at this show held in Edmonton, Alberta. Because of an injury, Aldo had to pull out of their planned UFC 125 bout. Rather than wait for his shot, Grispi took a fight with Dustin Poirier on the January card and lost via unanimous decision. As a result, another fighter who impressed on the UFC 49 card earned the next shot at Aldo.

Mark Hominick was en route to a unanimous decision loss to fellow Canadian Yves Jabouin in Edmonton, but pulled out one of the most impressive come from behind wins in WEC history.

Stunned and dropped by a stiff right hand, Hominick weathered the ensuing ground and pound onslaught, swept Jabouin and forced a TKO stoppage via punishment from the mount.

A quick first round TKO win over teammate George Roop in his next bout earned him a shot at Aldo at UFC 129 this past April. Although he couldn’t finish the Aldo, Hominick showed the heart of a champion by fighting through a massive, disgusting hematoma to give Aldo the fight of his life and finishing the last round in dominating fashion.

(Props: Sherdog)

Inspiration to all women Kim Couture competed at Ring of Combat 32 in Atlantic City on Saturday, dropping a unanimous decision to Team Tiger Schulmann product Munah Holland, who was making her pro MMA debut. As captured in the photo above, the aftermath was eerily familiar. The loss dropped Couture’s record to 3-4, and comes just three weeks after her submission victory over Felicia Wells at an Absolute Action MMA event in Kentucky; Wells also had an 0-0 record going into the fight, just like Couture’s two previous opponents, Marianna Kheyfets (who Couture lost to by first-round submission) and Rosa Vizcarra. Couture’s spotty record against inexperienced fighters is very surprising, considering what a beast she is in training.

In other somewhat-depressing weekend MMA news…

("A new job, and a place to crash for the night? This is too good to be true!")

In late May, Kim Couture caught a domestic violence charge after an argument with her personal assistant turned violent; she’s due in court today to answer the charges. Well, it took four months, but MMANewsLeak finally got their sticky little hands on the police report, which sheds more light on the bizarre situation. As we already knew, Couture and her P.A. first got into an argument at the UFC Fan Expo in Las Vegas. Here’s what happened next…

The victim left Mandalay Bay in a separate vehicle and went to Ms. Couture’s home where the victim had been living for approximately 3 weeks. The victim intended to retrieve her belongings and move out of Ms. Couture’s home before Ms. Couture returned home in order to avoid another confrontation.

As the victim was packing her belongings and preparing to move out, Ms. Couture arrived at the house she shared with the victim. Ms. Couture then went to the victims’ room and once inside the victims’ room, Ms. Couture allegedly blocked the door preventing the victim from leaving and then engaged in a heated argument with the victim, which subsequently led to Ms. Couture knocking/pushing the victim onto the bed. It is alleged that Ms. Couture then began choking and shaking the victim.

(VidProps: Youtube/superboxmma)

It appears that whatever remained of Kim Couture’s sad little MMA career unraveled this weekend at an XFC show in Tampa, Florida. If you didn’t already know that Couture is nothing more than a marginally talented former casino worker (with arguably the worst website in the sport) who is just trying to trade off the famous last name of her former husband, well, now you do.

Couture stepped in the cage on Friday night with Marianna “The Crushen Russian” Kheyfets – a 25-year-old without a Wikipedia page who was making her pro MMA debut – and for a while it looked like things were going to go “Sugar Free’s” way. Couture got the better of the stand-up exchanges landing, as the HDNet broadcast team pointed out, some pretty decent right hands. But a little more than two minutes in, Kheyfets nailed her with an overhand right of her own that sent Couture sprawling to the mat. In the scramble that followed, Kheyfets expertly locked up – what  else? – a triangle choke and secured the tapout.

(Oh come on, that doesn’t look so bad. Photo courtesy of purposeinc.com)

Notable ex-wife Kim Couture has officially entered the "abusing personal assistants" stage of her career — a critical step in the path to divahood. As first reported by MMANewsLeak.com, the MMA pioneer (in her own mind) got into a little dust up on Friday that ended with her cooling off in jail on domestic violence charges:

Sources report that Ms. Couture allegedly got into a heated argument with her personal assistant at the home which they share and when police officers arrived at the scene, Ms. Couture was choking her personal assistant and that the personal assistant had visible signs of abuse. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police took Ms. Couture into custody and booked into Clark County Detention Center. Sources also allege that Ms. Couture and her personal assistant got into a heated argument on Friday at UFC Fan Expo at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada…

You probably didn’t notice because you were too busy being distracted by the bright lights of UFC 111, but there was another massive MMA event on Saturday, only this one was south of the border. Kim “Sugar Free” Couture – the woman known primarily for being briefly married to a famous MMA fighter, as well as for being hated intensely by many female fighters who made their way up the ranks without appropriating someone else’s famous name or building unintentionally hilarious websites – traveled down to Sonora, Mexico to compete in the Xtreme Fighters Mexico event.

On her Twitter, Couture wrote that her initial opponent “quit” at the last minute and was replaced by Rosa Vizcarra, who weighed ten pounds over the 135-pound limit that Couture had agreed to, but what are you going to do? It’s Mexico, after all. Couture also described being part of a pre-fight parade through the streets of Sonora, and after seeing Kevin Randleman (who ended up in her corner for the fight) sitting on top of a Corona bus waving to the crowd, declared, “This is the Biggest Event Ever!”

It’s possible she got swept up in the moment there and forget that you could probably hire Randleman to make a promotional appearance at a house party for a couple hundred bucks and all the wings he can eat.

(Couture and Toughill, locked in an old-fashioned bikini duel.)

The beef between female fighters Erin Toughill and Kim Couture just won’t die, mainly because Toughill won’t let it die. She hates “Sugar Free” so much, she managed to take a UG thread about Gina Carano and turn it into another rant about Couture, who no one had even mentioned up until that point. At first it was the usual criticism of Kim’s lack of talent and inflated sense of self-importance, but then she took aim at Couture’s website, pointing out that the bio page doesn’t really make sense.

Out of sheer idle curiosity, we went to check it out. What we learned is that Toughill is totally right.  As unintentionally hilarious bio pages go, this one is pretty great.  For example, after describing how Kim “took the ‘Bull by the Horns,’ so to speak” by attending public school as a child, the biography offers this description of her early work life:

("If hatin’ is your occupation, I probably got a full-time job for you." More hair-raising photos of Kim at Fightlinker.)

Not everybody is in the holiday spirit this week. Over on the UG, MMA fighter and former American Gladiator Erin Toughill weighed in on a thread about Kim Couture’s performance last Friday. Things got very ugly very quickly:

(Photo courtesy of Esther Lin.)

It’s a fact of life in the world of MMA: when it comes to getting big paydays in a hurry, fame trumps skill every time. We saw it with Kimbo Slice, who made half a million to dollars to lose to a mid-level fighter in the weight class below him. We saw it with Brock Lesnar, who debuted in the UFC with just one pro fight to his credit and made $250,000 in guaranteed show money. But we also see it in small ways, such as Kim Couture’s $10,000 take for her losing effort in Strikeforce Challengers last Friday. By comparison, Kerry Vera, who starched Couture in the first round, made four grand to show and another four to win. Main eventer Tyrone Woodley made $3,500 and $3,500. His losing counterpart in that bout? He took home just $2,500.

So how is it that a 1-2 fighter who has yet to prove that she has the skills to warrant an appearance on TV can pocket the biggest check of the night on a card that features several more experienced up-and-comers? Simple. She shares a famous person’s last name, which makes her kind of famous. Sort of.

(Photo by Esther Lin, for Strikeforce.)

Kerry Vera and Kim Couture are set to go at it tonight in the Strikeforce Challengers event in Kansas City.  Since they both share the names of famous UFC fighters who just faced one another, it probably seemed like a genius idea to Strikeforce.  But "Sugar Free" is a Couture in the same way that Ivana is a Trump.  When a name helps that much you hang on to it, even if you didn’t hang on to the husband. 

So what do you think, is your interest in this bout harmed by the somewhat disappointing display put on by their male counterparts at UFC 105?  Or does Kim’s shiny weigh-in bikini erase all those memories from your mind?  Not trying to juge or anything, but when these girls show up wearing more than you…

(In Russia, we don’t train with heavy bags, just gypsys. Photo courtesy of CanvasChronicle.)

As first reported by MMA Weekly, Strikeforce’s upcoming CBS event on November 7th will go down at the Sears Centre Arena, an 11,000-seat venue in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, near Chicago. Tickets for the event, which start at $35 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster and Strikeforce.com, go on sale to the general public this coming Monday at 10 a.m. CT. Besides the heavyweight headliner of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers, the show will feature Jason Miller and Jake Shields fighting for Strikeforce’s newly-vacant middleweight title; Gegard Mousasi and Cristiane "Cris Cyborg" Santos are also rumored to appear, against opponents to be named later.

In other Strikeforce news, Kim Couture and Kerry Vera have agreed to meet in a 135-pound bout at a proposed Strikeforce Challengers event on November 20th. Couture is 1-1 in professional MMA, and hasn’t competed since her first-round TKO win over a befuddled Lina Kvokov last November. Vera, who previously competed as a kickboxer and won the 2007 season of Fight Girls, won her MMA debut via unanimous decision over Leslie Smith at a Bellator event in May. Kim’s soon-to-be-ex-husband Randy and Kerry’s husband Brandon, are scheduled to fight one week earlier at UFC 105.

(Tate vs. Elaina Maxwell on her previous Strikeforce appearance.)

A few weeks ago Miesha Tate thought she’d be facing Kim Couture at the Strikeforce Challengers event on Showtime this Friday night.  But when Couture pulled out due to “personal reasons” and Tate posted a MySpace bulletin informing fans that “Sugar Free’s” impending divorce from former UFC champ Randy Couture was to blame, things got sticky in a hurry.  

Now instead of facing the 1-1 Couture, she’s facing the 8-0 (all by KO or TKO) Sarah Kaufman, and the fight has grown considerably in magnitude.  Here she talks about the change of opponents, her path to MMA, and what it’s like trying to make it as a female MMA fighter.

This seems like significant change in opponents, and on fairly late notice.  How did that affect your preparation for this fight and what the fight means for you?

It was kind of strange at first, the idea of going from Kim Couture to Sarah Kaufman.  Obviously it’s quite a jump.  I think I have a lot more to gain from this fight.  She’s a very tough and worthy opponent.  I have the opportunity to beat someone who has an established, undefeated record.

Do you think the only reason Kim Couture got this fight in the first place was because of her last name?

(This Cyborg, not this one. Photo courtesy of CageToday.com.)

Maybe Strikeforce‘s roster isn’t so thin after all. According to a new press release sent out by the fight league, Strikeforce will hold its second "Challengers" event at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington on Friday, June 19th — just two weeks after "Lawler vs. Shields" goes down in St. Louis — and a host of prominent names are already booked.

(We were middle-aged and so in love once.)

Former UFC champ Randy Couture really is now headed down the path toward divorce number three, according to a Raw Vegas report that claims Couture has served his wife with the official papers to end their union.  We heard rumors that the couple’s marital strife was responsible for Kim “Sugar Free” Couture pulling out of her bout with Miesha Tate.  Guess Randy is single again.  Somebody go tell this girl.  She’s at the tanning salon.

(Guess who isn’t in this sport to just screw around?)

Strikeforce may have found their replacement for Kim “Future Ex Mrs.” Couture, and it’s an undefeated fighter who made her willingness to scrap known on the UG.  8-0 Sarah Kaufman said in a forum post that she’d step in to face Miesha Tate while Couture sorted out her personal issues, and Strikeforce may be taking her up on the offer.  They acquired her contract in the Pro Elite sale, and though the fight’s right around the corner on May 15 Kaufman has a real opportunity to turn the Couture family’s rumored marital strife into a big payoff for herself so why not?  Unlike Kim Couture, she may not have a recognizable name, but she does have more than two fights, so automatically this becomes more of a serious fight with her in it.  Those of you wondering what she can do should take a look after the jump.

Tracy Lee of Combat Lifestyle recently uploaded a metric assload of pics she took at Kevin Randleman‘s wedding last Saturday. (Congrats, Monster!) Among the familiar faces from Hammer House and the requisite pics of old people dancing were some great shots of MMA sex symbol Gina Carano, who showed up to the festivities with grappling coach Scott Bieri on her arm. A few more of our favorite pics from the highly-entertaining set are after the jump. You can check out all of ‘em here.

(Well, at least now they’ll have to make a new poster where Miesha’s name is spelled correctly. Image courtesy of FighterGirls.com.)

Friends and fans of Miesha Tate were in for a shock yesterday when this bulletin notice was sent out from Tate’s Myspace page:

Though Tate’s camp confirmed to PRO MMA that her May 15th Strikeforce Challengers bout against Couture had been scrapped, Miesha later took to Sherdog to back off her claim that Randy was headed for his third epic marriage fail:

(Props: MMA Opinion)

Is there any fighter who more closely resembles the animal for which he is nicknamed than Thiago "The Pitbull" Alves?  Just looking at his face makes me want to lock the door and call Animal Control.  He says in this video that he’s been working out at Wanderlei Silva’s new gym/daycare center in Las Vegas, and plans to return there the week before his title fight with Georges St. Pierre at UFC 100 to get his weight right.  Alves has had some weight issues in the past, and with a title fight he won’t get that extra pound allowance so he’d better be on point.  Something tells me that screwing up a title fight at UFC 100 would be a murderable offense in Dana White’s eyes.

Raw Vegas went by Xtreme Couture to talk with Kim Couture about her upcoming bout.  Am I the only one not buying it at all when she claims to be blissfully unaware of the criticism that suggests she’s only getting these opportunities because of who she’s married to?  Even if she doesn’t "go on the computer," the idea must have occurred to her that it’s not solely her 1-1 pro record that’s landing her on Strikeforce cards.  Whatever you think of Couture though, it’s nice to see a woman fighter slam "Cyborg" Santos’ woman trouble excuse.  It just doesn’t have the same force when we do it, for some reason.

After the jump, American Top Team boxing coach Howard Davis Jr. takes it to the gloves and shows us the hand speed.

(Frank Shamrock and Mauro Ranallo trade places. Ranallo is chubby. Frank has braces. Hilarity *almost* ensues.)

— After jiu-jitsu badass Andre Galvao (3-0) finishes his current run in DREAM’s welterweight GP, he’ll be heading over to Strikeforce to shake shit up in their 170-pound division. The seven-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion is currently training at the new Black House facility in Los Angeles, and will be working out with Anderson Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza for his next DREAM tournament bout on July 20th. Jake Shields, you’ve been put on notice.

— In an effort to make tomorrow night’s lightweight scrap between Gilbert Melendez and Rodrigo Damm a little more interesting, the winner will be named Strikeforce’s interim world lightweight champion. (Are you psyched yet?) The interim champ will face the actual lightweight champion, Josh Thomson, as soon as the Punk’s leg is healed.

— Kim "Sugar Free" Couture will compete next on the main card of Strikeforce’s first "Challenger Series" event, which will take place May 15th in Fresno, California, and will be broadcast on Showtime. Couture will take on the very-tough Miesha Tate (5-1) in the up-and-comers event, which will be headlined by a fight between undefeated lightweight Billy Evangelista and BJ Penn student Mike Aina.

— We’ll leave you with this quote from Frank Shamrock’s Yardbarker blog: "its time to get serious. i am taking off to the hotel and getting ready to cut some weight. i was 185.2 when i got up so its nothing of a cut. looking forwrd to that BARBQ after. nick is gonna die. i love this sport."

(Rogers vs. Murphy at EliteXC: Primetime, 5/31/08)

With a proposed fight between Jake Shields and Joe Riggs scrapped from Strikeforce’s April 11th event due to Shields being tapped to headline their May show, there was a spot that needed to be filled on the "Shamrock vs. Diaz" supporting card. FiveOuncesofPain reports that EliteXC vet Brett Rogers has been asked to step in against an opponent to be named soon. Rogers’s return to competition will come nearly a year after his last fight — a 61-second knockout of Jon Murphy (see above) in the first live MMA fight on network television.

Following that match, the undefeated Team Bison product called out Kimbo Slice for his garbage-ass performance (which led to a brief Internet trash-talk war), and was supposed to take on Paul Buentello at an EliteXC event in November. Unfortunately, the promotion fell apart before that event could take place and Rogers has been inactive since. Whoever gets the Grim next month had better protect his neck — all eight of Rogers’s wins have come by stoppage due to strikes in the first round.

MMA Fanhouse adds that Randy‘s third wife Kim "Sugar Free" Couture will be returning to the Strikeforce cage for their May show, also against Unknown Fighter. When we last saw Kim, she was kicking the tar out of Lina Kvokov at Strikeforce: Destruction in November. It was later discovered that Kvokov was actually a spectator who had mistakenly entered the cage on the way to the bathroom. But hey, a win is a win, and Couture’s first-round TKO increased her pro-record to 1-1. As for the real star of women’s MMA, Gina Carano, she and Strikeforce are still in negotiations, with league boss Scott Coker recently comparing her to a contract hold-out at a pre-season training camp. That’s…encouraging?

(Here comes the pain, Whoville.)

Yeah, that’s Randy and Kim Couture enjoying the hell out of themselves at their Christmas costume party.  Combat Lifestyle was there and captured the magic in a photo album you really should take a look at. 

While there is absolutely no way I can go to sleep tonight without having a nightmare about Randy the Grinch up there, I do have to admire his willingness to go all out and his attention to detail.  Not only did he do the whiskers, he did the creepy long eyelashes too.  That’s a man who is committed to his costume.  We also gotta give respect to Shawn Tompkins, who nailed the "dick in a box" thing perfectly…

The Xtreme Couture blog posted this video of Kim Couture training (and looking surprisingly sharp) along with an interview in which they discuss her kind of sad fight against Lina Kvokov.  Sounds like Kim was as weirded out by the whole thing as we were:

K. Couture: "I trained hard and really wanted to show the MMA fans a good show and let them know I was a 100% and ready to fight, I have the utmost respect for anyone who steps into the cage but felt disappointed that she just wouldn’t engage with me and turned her back on me. I was just dumbfounded.”

XC: “Do you think she shouldn’t of been matched up with you?”

K. Couture: “On paper it looked like a good match-up. We both had 1 professional fight with a loss. She was training with Matt Lindlands Team Quest so I expected she would be ready and I was ready for a stand-up brawl.”

XC: “Did you have a chance to watch the fight yet?”

K. Couture: “Yes, Lina just looked nervous from the moment she tripped coming out to the cage, she just looked like she didn’t want to fight that night.”

Ouch.  Kim goes on to say she’d like to fight three or four times a year.  Hopefully better opponents lay ahead, since Couture is bound to attract more attention than more experienced/talented female fighters simply because of who her husband is.  That fight did nothing good for the credibility of women’s MMA.  Probably didn’t help Kvokov’s reputation around Team Quest either.