When the UFC offered Randy Couture an interim light heavyweight title shot in 2003, the writing was on the wall.
Couture, already a two-time heavyweight champion by then, knew the UFC wasn’t happy about him beating the younger Pedro Rizzo twice in back-to-back fights to defend his title in 2001.
“I don’t think they were too keen on having a 39, 40-year-old heavyweight champion,” Couture said in a recent episode of “Legend 2 Legend” with Burt Watson. “I don’t think they thought I was very marketable.”
In 2002, Couture lost his title when he was TKO’d by Josh Barnett, who subsequently was stripped after testing positive for banned substances. That gave Couture a chance to reclaim his belt six months later in a vacant title fight against Ricco Rodriguez, but Couture was submitted in the fifth round.
