Randy Duane Couture (pronounced /koʊˈtʊər/ was born on June 22, 1963) and has become an icon of American mixed martial arts. A world champion MMA Fighter, Greco-Roman wrestler, Actor and Commentator - Couture is best known as the three-time former heavyweight champion and two-time light-heavyweight champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Randy Couture, nicknamed Captain America, is one of only two UFC fighters to have held a championship title in two different weight classes (B.J. Penn, with his titles at welterweight and lightweight is the other one). Couture is also the only five-time champion in UFC history.
Couture has competed in a record 15 five round title fights and was named a member of the UFC Hall of Fame. He is considered by many to be the most popular fighter in MMA history.
Couture was an Olympic wrestling alternate, an assistant wrestling coach and a strength and conditioning coach for Oregon State University. He later established Team Quest with Matt Lindland and Dan Henderson, as a training camp for up and coming MMA fighters, based out of Gresham, Oregon - headed by coach Robert Folis.
In 2005 Couture moved to Las Vegas, where he opened his own chain of gyms under the name Xtreme Couture. He currently trains at his Las Vegas-based gym. Couture also partnered with Bas Rutten in the opening of Legends Gym in Hollywood, California.
Couture is generally recognized as a clinch and ground-and-pound fighter who uses his wrestling ability to execute take downs, establish top position and successively strike the opponent on the bottom. Couture has also displayed a variety of skills in boxing, Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu; submitting three opponents using different chokeholds. Couture is the only athlete in UFC history to win a championship after becoming a Hall of Fame member and is the oldest title holder ever (in the UFC and Mixed Martial Arts overall). Along with Chuck Liddell, Couture is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts into the mainstream of American pop culture and sports.
Matthew Allen Hughes was born October 13, 1973 and is a professional mixed martial arts fighter. He recently became a UFC Hall of Famer and he is best known as the former two-time Welterweight Champion. Hughes put together two separate six-fight Championship winning streaks in the UFC, won the welterweight title on two occasions, defended the belt a record seven times and holds the record for most wins in the UFC.
A long-time member of Miletich Fighting Systems, Hughes left the Miletich camp in late 2007 to start Team Hughes. Team Hughes fights out of The H.I.T. Squad (Hughes Intensive Training), a Granite City, Illinois gym, which he co-owns with Robbie Lawler, Matt Pena and Marc Fiore.
Georges St. Pierre (French pronunciation: [ʒɔʁʒ sɛ̃ pjɛʁ] was born on May 19, 1981) His official fighting nickname is 'Rush' for the way he aggressively attacks his training and his opponents, but many MMA fans know him simply by his initials GSP.
A Canadian mixed martial artist and current Welterweight Champion of the UFC. St. Pierre is presently ranked by many mixed martial arts experts as the best "pound for pound" fighter in the world.
St-Pierre is well-rounded and his take downs have improved considerably each year of his career. In 2008 and in 2009, he was named the Canadian Athlete of the Year by Rogers Sportsnet and the 2008–2009 Most Outstanding Fighter by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Georges St. Pierre also won the Fighter of the Year award at the 2009 World MMA Awards.
