Captain America, Randy Couture Does it Again

Randy "the Natural" Couture added to his already legendary status February 6, 2010 when he defeated fellow Hall-of-Fame fighter, Mark "the Hammer" Coleman in the second round of their UFC 109 light heavyweight match-up. Couture's resume reads like a who's who of mixed martial arts, and this recent victory serves to further cement his place as one of, if not the best MMA fighter of all time.

This light heavyweight bout between Couture and Coleman was twelve years in the making. The two were originally slated to step into the octagon against each other at UFC 17 back in 1998, but due to an injury Couture suffered during training the match never took place. Instead the two men would have to wait a dozen years before getting the opportunity to square off. The fight made history as it was the first time two current UFC Hall-of-Fame fighters faced each.

Mark Coleman was coming off an impressive unanimous decision over the "American Psycho" Stephan Bonner at UFC 100. This was a fight many felt Coleman would be overmatched by the much younger Bonner. Instead, Coleman stood toe-to-toe with the Ultimate Fighter Season One runner-up and scored an upset win catapulting the "Godfather of Ground & Pound" back into main event status as well as possible title contention.

Like Coleman, Randy Couture, a former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion, was also coming off a victory as he too scored a unanimous decision over Brandon "the Truth" Vera at UFC 105. Couture's battles with Chuck Liddell are must see MMA fights, and though he was out-muscled by the juggernaut that is Brock Lesnar, Couture is still very much alive in the heavyweight and light heavyweight title scene.

When the two men finally touched hands and came out to wage war in the main event Saturday night they set a record of having the oldest combined ages of fighters at 91 years. Though both men looked in great shape the night absolutely belonged to the Natural as he dominated his way to victory.

Mark Coleman was never in the fight and was simply out-classed. Couture used his jab effectively throughout the first round as well as landing several strong straight right hands and uppercuts. At one point, Couture dazed Coleman with a knee he landed from a Thai clench. Couture pressed the action the entire round, and surprisingly Coleman tried to match Couture's stand-up instead of taking the fight to the ground.

The second round opened up with Coleman landing a good stiff jab followed by a powerful hook. It looked as if momentum might swing his way, but Couture landed two solid right hands of his own. The Natural was then able to take Coleman down and effortlessly transition into a mount. From there, Couture was able to utilize some ground & pound of his own forcing Coleman to cover-up and eventually give up his back. Once that happened the ring-savvy Couture positioned himself to allow getting both his hooks in and applied a rear naked choke. Impressively, Mark Coleman refused to tap and looked like he was on the verge of losing consciousness when referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the fight giving Randy Couture the win.

The question now remaining for both fighters is what's next. For Mark Coleman I have to wonder if this is it. At age 45 Coleman is well past his prime, and UFC President Dana White has to be curious if the Hammer has anything left in the tank. The guy is still in great shape, and probably could still be involved in some entertaining and competitive fights against some second-tier fighters. With this showing at UFC 109 however, I believe his main event days are over. Coleman really has nothing left to prove, but only he knows if the desire to compete is still there. I would hate to see him linger around looking for one more big pay day only to wind up getting seriously hurt.

For Randy Couture however, the sky still seems to be the limit. Though he is 46-years of age himself he looks as dominant as ever. Like Coleman, the Natural has nothing left to prove, but one has to wonder what challenges can the sport of MMA offer to Couture to keep him interested. I could see Randy making another run at Brock Lesnar or just as easily see him stay in the light heavyweight division and make one more title run there as well.

I think the fight every MMA fan has been salivating over for years and I know Couture himself has wanted is Randy Couture versus Fedor Emlianenko. That fight could be the finale in Randy Couture's stellar MMA career. Let us all hope the UFC can find someway to make that happen.

"Mark Coleman", www.wikipedia.org

"Randy Couture", www.wikipedia.org