As has been the case so many times in his career, Randy Couture will be entering the Octagon on Saturday night as the underdog with the betting lines heavily favoring his opponent Lyoto Machida. It’s not an assessment that Couture’s long time friend and current Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Dan Henderson agrees with. “I think Randy’s style is a great style to be able to beat Machida” explains the two-weight world champion. Henderson explains that despite Couture’s advanced age he’s made the adjustments necessary to compete at the elite level in the UFC. “I’m sure he’s not quite as fast as he used to be and it’s tougher to keep your conditioning up at that age but he’s adapted some things and really focused on conditioning and speed drills”.
Henderson believes that the key to defeating the illusive karate master is to deny him space. “Guys that smother Machida and don’t let him run around do well”. And in Henderson’s eyes Couture has the skills to do exactly that. “He’s as smart as ever and all the experience he’s had definitely helps. He cuts off the ring well and will be able to put him up against the cage and control in the clinch”. Such is Henderson’s confidence in Couture’s ability to defeat in Machida a man who has lost only twice in eighteen fights, that he tells Inside Fights that in his mind “Randy beats Machida nine out of ten times”.
Henderson does however see one cause for concern, namely the possibility that Couture’s chin could cost him the victory. “I’m just a little worried about his chin as he’s been dropped a few times and that takes its toll. With how much his chin has taken over the years, can it really sustain getting hit on?”
Whatever the result, Randy Couture has signaled that UFC 129 will be the last fight of a storied career. The news didn’t come as a surprise to Henderson who confirmed that Couture had been openly discussing the possibility of retirement for some time. Despite this Henderson isn’t convinced that this Saturday will be the last time fight fans see ‘The Natural’ compete, partly because it’s not the first time Couture has called time on his Hall of Fame career. “He thought he was done once or twice in his career, if Randy goes out and beats Machida up he might reconsider that as well”. He also points out that it has not been in Couture’s nature to walk away from fresh challenges and that a victory would potentially set up some huge matches for Couture down the line. “I think it’s in his nature to really test himself and see how far he can push things [and] it would mean a pretty good payday for him to come out and fight for the title again”.
Should Randy Couture manage to follow through on his pledge to retire it will make Dan Henderson the elder statesman of mixed martial arts. Both men made the transition from the upper echelon of Greco-Roman wrestling to mixed martial arts within a couple of months of each other in 1997 and both uniquely managed to have championship success across two weight classes as well after turning forty years old. Looking back, Henderson believes that both he and Couture supported each other as they made the transition. “We influenced and pushed each other while learning a lot of new stuff and sharing it with each other”. To Henderson, he and Couture share the same mentality, with a shared willingness to learn and mental toughness.
Henderson is adamant that the sport of MMA has evolved rapidly since he and Couture started fighting in 1997 and that even fourteen years late he’s still learning new things. To him the key is to make sure you’re “open to learning from everybody”. Like Couture, Henderson runs his own gym but both have always made sure to seek out fresh perspectives and ideas from those outside their own camp. “Everybody works together, if you’re above that then you’re not going to progress and learn in a sport which has so much to offer. It takes so much time to learn everything that’s involved in MMA”.
When it comes to mental toughness, Henderson believes that for both him and Couture it comes from their experience in wrestling. “Experience of competing at that level is just invaluable and most of these guys come into the sport without competing in anything and so don’t know how to do it really well”. He explains how thanks to his wrestling career he’s always known how to mentally prepare for fights. “There’s so much mental training involved in what we grew up doing, I never had any problems focusing or being there mentally”.
As Randy Couture nears the end of his long career, Henderson believes the key to longevity is intelligence. He explains it’s important to avoid “killing your body during training” and that by “coming out with a good game plan in fights” you can avoid the wild brawls that will “wear on you”. And while Dan Henderson feels good and ready to fight for a few more years he doubts that he will be able to surpass Couture’s achievement of successful defending a world title at the age of forty four years old. “No I would be happy to let him hold that record, probably would be a tough one to beat”.
Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida takes places at UFC 129 on April 30th live on pay per view. To find out more about Dan Henderson visit www.danhenderson.com or to see the latest products from his apparel line visit www.clinchgear.com.
