Randy Couture Quotes
“We don’t see the basic pounding other sports see. Not that our sport isn’t rough. It’s plenty rough. But I don’t think [long-term injuries] will be an issue for any athletes.”
ON LOSING TO BROCK LESNAR:
“It was just one of those things. It wasn’t necessarily a mistake on my part, it just happens sometimes in an MMA fight. The best guys get caught and against Brock, you can’t afford to let him catch you.”
ON DROPPING BACK DOWN TO 205 TO FIGHT BRANDON VERA
“I feel like I’m the best fighter I have ever been. I just need to train hard and continue to do what I’ve been doing which is to progress and get better as a fighter. I’m not going down to 205 now because the heavyweights are too much for me. My performances have been good, it’s just, I haven’t gotten the outcome. It made sense to start playing around with guys that are a lot closer to my size. Being comfortable with the last two performances and the things that I trained to do and the things that I exhibited and didn’t know how to do before have been good things.”
ON MENTAL REHEARSAL:
“I picture success and winning. The body has a physical response to mental images of winning.”
ON WRESTLING
“I’m never going to be that master black belt jiu-jitsu practitioner. I realized I need to get back to my wrestling. I’m bringing back a lot of tools and implementing a lot of things I’ve done my whole life that I’ve kinda let go by the way side. Spending 30-plus years as a wrestler — it’s still the basis of my fighting style. I still need to go back and make those people I compete against wrestle me (smiles). That’s where I am going to have an advantage. I think I’m definitely becoming a better fighter and I think I showed that against Brock, and I think I showed that a lot in the Nogueira fight.”
COUTURE ON PROVING NAYSAYERS WRONG
“It’s always satisfying when that happens. I guess I’m one of those guys. You tell me I can’t do it, I’m gonna train harder to prove to you that I can do it.”
ON HIS AGE:
“I’m doing this because I love to do it. I have nothing else to prove. My body is holding up well in training, and even in competition.”
ON FIGHTING FOR THE LOVE OF IT
“I’m doing this because it’s fun, it’s what I love to do, and I definitely have a deep-seated passion for the training and the competition. That doesn’t make it feel like work. It makes it feel very, very good.”
ON HIS PRE-FIGHT THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS
“I just try and stay as relaxed as possible. Focus on the strategy and gameplan. Not waste any energy. I don’t get too pumped up before the fight…the nature of the sport doesn’t require it. (Upon entering the Octagon) yeah, I usually look at him. I generally smile. I’ve been accused of smiling too much. It’s part of being relaxed and enjoying the moment. (I tend to smile) when an opponent is all jacked up, trying to stare me down. That generally makes me smile. Some people, it pisses off, which is OK too. Some people, it makes them think.”
UFC PRESIDENT DANA WHITE ON RANDY COUTURE:
“He’s a freak of nature – he seriously is. He doesn’t go out partying and drinking. He’s a guy who’s always stayed in shape, even when he retired, he was training.”
