Randy Couture
At 43-years-old, Randy Couture announced his retirement with immediate effect after suffering his second knockout loss to his old rival Chuck Liddell in the space of a year.
For a time Couture enjoyed providing color commentary for the UFC and making appearance in TV shows and movies, but the urge to compete still burned brightly and so after a little over a year out he announced that he was not only returning, but stepping back up to heavyweight for the first time in five years to fight Tim Sylvia for the title.
Seeing Sylvia tower 7 inches above him this seemed like it might not have been such a great idea, but almost instantly Couture caught ‘The Mainiac’ with a punch that rocked him and would go on to control the fight for five full rounds to win the title.
Continuing to prove that age is just a number, ‘The Natural’ then defended the belt by TKO’ing Gabriel Gonzaga later that same year, and though he’d lose to Brock Lesnar and suffer a further defeat against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Couture would continue competing until his late 40’s, defeating the likes of Brandon Vera, Mark Coleman and James Toney, before his career ended.
