Ryan Couture, one of mixed martial arts Bellator’s lightweight, may still be famous for being the son of Hall of Famer and former UFC champ Randy Couture. Now, he is trying to make a name for himself in the MMA industry.
Couture’s UFC fights back in 2013 were terrible losing streaks. These losses eventually caused the 33 year old to be let go from the promotion. But Couture didn’t have to wait very long to get back into the game. He eventually found a way to get back into his feet and win fights. In fact, he was able to win four consecutive fights; he was able to win all of the fights by stoppage. He has two fights coming up under Bellator as well.
Couture, who has a record of 10-3 MMA and 2-0 BMMA, will try to push his luck and get a fifth win when he goes against Nick Gonzalez, who has a record of 18-12 MMA, 0-2 BMMA, this coming Bellator 143 event. The fight will be held in Hidalgo, Texas at State Farm Arena and the fans can watch it through streaming via MMAjunkie. The fight will be slotted as the preliminary card of the night.
Couture would like to be the best fighter in the MMA and get world championship titles, just like any fighter. He admitted that he is not in a rush to grab the titles though. He said that his focus for now is to be prepared in facing opponents like Gonzalez. The contender has lost three out of the four fights he had and he hasn’t fought in about two years.
“I like the way (Bellator is) bringing me along; I think they want to see me get some wins under their banner and establish my name in the promotion instead of just being a last name that people recognize and know about from other promoters. They want me to show my best under the Bellator banner, and once I start to string some wins together, especially in a dominant fashion, it’ll put me in the mix with the guys at the top of the lightweight division and get me a matchup with one of the top guys,” Couture said during an interview with MMAjunkie.
Couture says that it is important to stay focused and do not underestimate Gonzalez even though his contender has experienced a total of 12 losses in his entire career. Gonzales went up against some big names in the MMA industry like Josh Thomson, Luis Palomino, and Yves Edwards. This probably means that Gonzales can be capable of winning over Couture if the latter would come inside the octagon unprepared.
“He’s a much tougher guy than his record says; if I fight stupid, it’s not going to be a good night for me. I need to be prepared and fight my fight. He’s really tough; he’s really durable and is in shape to go 15 hard minutes. He’s dangerous and a gamer, and I have to go out there and use my advantages. I think I’ve finally started to get it down where I’m finishing at a higher percentage in there. I’m doing well in the gym and showing up on fight night, too, so I’m really happy with how I’ve come along. I wouldn’t be surprised to be adding a couple more submissions to my resume in the next year or two. That may become my calling card here shortly,” Couture said.