Randy Couture isn’t a fan of where mixed martial arts is at as a sport.
The MMA legend is considered one of the best heavyweights of all time. A three-time UFC heavyweight champion who defied Father Time and competed against high-level opponents into his 40s, Couture earned his respect in the cage. But in its current state, he doesn’t approve of where the sport is at.
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An old-school icon, Randy Couture believes the sport flourished more when the best would fight the best. Using boxing as his example, Couture hit out at promotions that prefer trash talk and characters as opposed to the best fighters in the world colliding with each other.
Likening the sport to WWE, Couture had this to say:
“It lends itself to the flaw in our sport. The fact that each one of these promotions has created their own little exclusive fiefdom, where they’re setting the rankings and the titles, and they have a stable of fighters that, if they’re on your good side, they’re going to get ranked and they’re going to get a shot at that title. And therein is the flaw in our sport.”
“Prize fighting is all about getting the two best fighters, regardless of what stable they’re in, to be able to compete against each other… Again, it lends itself to this kind of closed system that’s not true prize fighting. It’s more akin to WWE, and all about talking smack, than it is to traditional prize fighting, where the IBO guy is going to put his belt on the line against the WBO guy. And now let’s see who the real champ is that carries both those belts around now. That’s traditional prize fighting.”
Listen to Randy Couture’s comments about the UFC and the state of modern MMA in the video below.
