Randy Couture goes 15rounds

By Gary Herman

Mixed martial arts has exploded onto the national sports scene. One of the most recognizable figures leading the charge is the current UFC heavyweight champion, Randy “The Natural” Couture.

We recently caught up with Couture to talk about his upcoming fight with young contender, Gabriel Gonzaga. Couture also provided his insight on a potential future foe, Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko.

Q: Coming up in August, you’re taking on top contender Gabriel Gonzaga. What are your thoughts on the fight?

RC: I’ll start my peaking phase, my hard core training, in the middle of June at about ten weeks out. We’ll be fighting August 25 in Las Vegas. I’m looking forward to a very tough fight. He’s a very well rounded guy. He may not have a lot of experience, but I think he is a very game fighter. He’s good on the ground. And as we saw in his last fight, he’s good in the standing position. I’ve got to be ready to go.

Q: How shocked were you to see Gonzaga’s last fight end with the high leg-kick against Mirko Cro Cop?

RC: To kick him in the head? Who would have thought that would happen? Maybe (a kick) from Mirko. But in the past few months of the sport, the string of upsets is just unbelievable. Its what makes our sport so exciting.

Q: When you see that highlight reel knockout, what does that do for your overall mental makeup in preparing for the fight?

RC: I think styles make fights. Going into a fight with Mirko, you need to know a lot of the fight will be standing. I don’t bring that kind of a style to the fight. If Gonzaga thinks he’s going to come out and throw high kicks at me, he’s going to end up on his back pretty quickly. His head kick to Mirko doesn’t really play into the equation. I’m going to watch all the tapes and really understand his tendencies.

Q: For yourself, do you have a timetable on how long you want to keep fighting?

RC: I’m taking it one fight at a time. I love what I do. I’m physically holding up very well. And as long as all the out of the ring stuff doesn’t get in the way, I’m going to go on training and keep fighting.

Q: A guy you’re certainly very familiar with, Chuck “The Iceman Liddell” recently suffered something of an upset defeat. What did you think of Rampage Jackson’s victory?

RC: I thought it was a great fight. Both fighters came in very, very prepared. I was picking Rampage to win, but certainly not by a knockout in the first round. He did a great job of covering and rolling and countering with a right hook answer to Liddell’s body shot. I thought the stoppage was spot on. Very clear that Chuck was stiffened out after a couple of shots on the ground.

Q: Coming up to Chuck Liddell’s fight with Rampage Jackson, we saw him do a lot of media appearances – including the Best Damn Sports Show and ESPN. Do you think this affected his preparation?

RC: I don’t think so. Chuck’s been doing this a long time. Media is part of time. Some people see it as a distraction, but I see it as a welcome distraction. Most of the hard work is already done. Anything to make that clock appear to spin faster is ok with me. I don’t think it was a factor at all.

Q: One of the fighters that you have been training, Karo Parisyan, also looked very impressive at UFC 71. What do you think of his future?

RC: I think Karo is one of the most talented guys in the division at 170 lbs. He is judo is off the chain. His stand-up is improving all the time. I’ve been working with him to protect his head. His head is exposed a little too much – especially in the later rounds. A very good striker would make him pay for that. Karo’s cardio is greatly improving as well. His talent will only take him so far – he’s got to put more work in. And now, he’s doing that.

Q: We talked earlier about Mirko Crop Cop. He obviously came over from Pride, and there’s another top fighter from Pride who is their heavyweight champion – Fedor Emelianenko. One of the ultimate dream matches at this point would have to be yourself vs. Emelianenko. Do you foresee Emelianenko coming over to the UFC?

RC: I certainly hope so. He’s the top fighter in the world right now and certainly with good reason. He’s amazing to watch. I love to watch him fight. He’s exciting. He’s very stoic when he steps into the ring. He’s got a great demeanor. He’s technically a very, very good fighter. Those are the kind of guys I want to fight.

Q: Looking down the line a bit - how do you think a fight with Emelianenko might go?

RC: That might be a little too far down the line right now to talk about. I’m trying to keep focused on Gonzaga. I’m not going to hold my breath on Fedor, but if it ever happens, that would be great.