by- Bodognation.com

A reluctant fighter is asked if he wants a shot at the heavyweight title.

It’s not just the premise for the first Rocky, It’s also the life of mixed martial arts legend Randy Couture.

Since his last fight against Chuck Liddell in February 2006, the 43-year-old "retired" former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight and light heavyweight champ has avoided the rocking chair and remains a rock star.

"He’s busier than ever," said Randy’s wife, Kim Couture. "I know that he’s looking forward to getting back to fighting so that he can take a break from business. His business meetings aren’t the typical person’s business meetings, where you’re running around town going from meeting to meeting. He’s running around the world. It’ll be nice to have him home for a while, eating, sleeping and training."

With Randy involved in commentating on mixed martial arts, launching his new gym and continuing his acting career, he still managed to field that phone call from UFC president Dana White.

"He said ‘You’re not retiring’. Every other month he’s going, ‘When are you coming back?’ I’ve kind of been in the position all along that in the right circumstance, the right situation, I’d jump all over the opportunity," Randy Couture said. "He called me a few weeks ago and said, ‘What about Sylvia? Come back and fight for the heavyweight title against Tim Sylvia.’

"I said, ‘Hell, yeah.’"
 
At UFC 68 on March 3, Couture will look to become the oldest champion in the league’s history. According to Couture, he will enter the fight at around 230 pounds, 25 pounds heavier than his last fight against Liddell. Even though he’s giving six inches in height and more than 30 pounds in weight to Sylvia, Couture remains confident with his game plan.

"I’ve trained with Tim quite a bit," Couture said. "I do need to rely on my wrestling background. I’ve got to get past his hands, under his hands and into that clinch range. From there, use my unique wrestling background to take him down to the ground. I’m still at a disadvantage from the weight perspective, but that just means you have to be smarter and a little more diligent about what positions you put yourself in."

Couture’s last heavyweight match came in September 2002. The two-time heavyweight champion lost his second consecutive match, this time by submission to Ricco Rodriguez. The Lynnwood, Wash. native then decided to drop to light heavyweight - and the move was a success. His first fight in that weight class came against Liddell.

The TKO victory over Liddell would precede a unanimous-decision win against then light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz. Couture became the first person to hold the light heavyweight and heavyweight titles, but, at 43, the question remains – why fight bigger fighters?

Randy Couture has bulked up to fight Tim Sylvia as a heavyweight. (Photo courtesy of RandyCouture.tv)"I guess that’s the question that needs to be answered," Couture said. "Is it stupid to come back at heavyweight? Should I be coming back at 205? I don’t know, I feel pretty comfortable with this matchup. Tim’s absolutely the biggest heavyweight we’ve ever had. I’ll just get ready to deal with him and see where the chips fall."

Considering all the excitement MMA has provided in recent memory, Couture, along with many fans, haven’t been happy with the heavyweight division as of late.

"What tends to be the marquee weight class hasn’t been in some time," Couture said. "Outside of Tim and Andrei [Arlovski], there hasn’t been a lot of exciting stuff going on for a while."

With all the great MMA rivalries out there, Couture doesn’t see this as a personal matter.

"Tim and I are friends," Couture said. "I like Tim a lot, I think he’s a very personable guy. I don’t understand why he comes across the way he does. The fans really just don’t care for him. He chooses to represent himself that way. I don’t think the fans appreciate it."

Couture, who left the sport as a huge fan favorite, says he is now in great physical and mental shape.

"When I retired I had a lot of stuff was going on," Couture said. "I was going through a nasty divorce. I needed to settle a bunch of stuff that was going on with my family. I’m not one to make excuses, but it’s hard to focus and do the things you need to do with that on your back. Once the dust settled and I started feeling more like myself, the competitive [drive] was still there."

Randy and Kim, who got married in October, met at a party exactly two years prior to the date of their wedding. The two live together in Las Vegas and are in the process of opening up Extreme Couture MMA, a gym dedicated to training fighters. The gym, which will be the third he owns, is set to open up Feb. 3 in Las Vegas and gives Couture the chance to follow his other passion.

Randy Couture has been a favorite fighter of MMA enthusiasts. (Photo courtesy of RandyCouture.tv)"I love to coach," Couture said. "I like being around the guys, seeing the guys progress. It’s not about ego, I think the guys get that. It’s about them, I want them to be successful."

The world may need to get ready for Randy Couture the movie star as well. Besides a small role in Invincible with Mark Wahlberg, the former champ finished shooting Big Stan, a movie starring Rob Schneider.

But Couture isn’t ready to leave the sport permanently just yet. And why should he? There are those loyal fans who feel that, like Rocky Balboa, Couture still has “stuff left in the basement.”

"Everyone gives him a hard time about the age thing," Kim Couture said. "Randy is younger and more active than most 30-year-old guys that I know…With Tim being 6-8, Randy is going to be faster. The bigger they are the harder they fall, and the harder it is for them to get back up. I see Randy finishing it with a ground-and-pound."

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