Couture's big victory has him ready for more

By Steve Sievert

Hollywood couldn't have written a more compelling script.

A year removed from his last fight, Randy Couture faced long odds heading into his Ultimate Fighting Championship bout against heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia on Saturday at UFC 68 in Columbus, Ohio. The 43-year-old, a more than 3-to-1 underdog, was giving up six inches and 40 pounds to the massive Sylvia.

But by the end of the fight, it was Sylvia who was giving up his title.

In a dazzling performance that kicked sand in the face of Father Time, Couture owned the bout from the first punch to the final bell. Couture dropped Sylvia with his opening swing of the fight and completely dominated the five-round, 25-minute affair.

Couture reclaimed the UFC heavyweight title he last held in 2002 and added another accolade to his mixed martial arts hall-of-fame résumé by becoming a five-time champion. He executed a nearly flawless fight plan, pressing Sylvia throughout, taking him down repeatedly and, most surprisingly, initiating the stand-up exchanges.

"That was part of the game plan," Couture said. "I had to go first and felt like I had the mobility and athleticism to hit him before he had a chance to get to me. I thought that was important in establishing the tempo of the fight."

Sylvia did little offensively, struggling mightily to find anything that even resembled a rhythm in the octagon.

"He had me guessing the whole 25 minutes," Sylvia said.

Sylvia (25-3) claimed right after the fight that he was injured coming into the bout. He didn't appear at the postfight news conference, but his teammate Matt Hughes delivered the message that Sylvia sustained a back injury and considered pulling out of the match.

Couture's victory, which is likely to net him a seven-figure payday once the pay-per-view buys are tallied, potentially sets up a date with a fighter who helped spur Couture out of retirement. Croatian Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic was signed by the UFC earlier this year to inject new life into the heavyweight division. Filipovic won his first bout and is the division's top-ranked contender.

"He's certainly one of the guys that made it interesting to even think about coming into the heavyweight division," Couture said. "That played into my decision to throw my hat into the ring at heavyweight. I'd like to fight him now before he gets his feet any wetter in the cage. I think the tactics in the octagon are still pretty new to him, and that's maybe something I can exploit."

A late summer showdown between Couture and Filipovic is imminent, provided the Croatian gets by Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 70 in April.

While most fans left Nationwide Arena in awe of Couture's history-making feat, the new champ was decidedly matter-of-fact about a fight that further solidified his legendary status in the sport.

"I just feel like a regular guy most of the time," he said. "Occasionally, regular guys have exceptional things happen to them, and this was certainly one of those nights."

Record result In another testament to the exploding popularity of the UFC, the event in Columbus drew the largest North American crowd in mixed martial arts history.

Record night
A crowd of 19,049 broke the previous record of 18,265 set by a Strikeforce show last year in San Jose.

UFC's showing at Nationwide Arena produced the largest gate in excess of $3 million in the building's six-year history, trumping the likes of music superstars Elton John, Billy Joel and the Rolling Stones.

UFC 69 gate grows
It won't rival the sold-out house the UFC drew in Columbus, but UFC 69 next month in Houston is on pace to draw in the neighborhood of 12,000 fans.

As of late last week, 10,000 tickets had been sold, generating $2.3 million for UFC coffers thus far. About 1,100 tickets remain in the first wave of tickets released to the general public.Should that supply be tapped out, the UFC would open up another wave after it makes a final site visit to Toyota Center late this month.

UFC 69, the promotion's third pay-per-view show of the year, is set for April 7.