Couture sticking to plan, says UFC 129 is last fight

Retirement announcements made by athletes still competing near the top of their sport almost always are met with a healthy level of skepticism.

Those made by athletes who already have "retired" and come back are subject to even more debate, so it's no surprise Randy Couture's statement about walking away from the Ultimate Fighting Championship for good after Saturday has not been taken at face value by everyone.

If the UFC star still is unsettled on his decision to officially retire, he refused to concede that Tuesday.

"This is my last fight," he said.

The 47-year-old Las Vegan announced last week his fight against Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 in Toronto would be the finale of his Hall of Fame career.

His age and a blossoming movie career were among the chief reasons he gave for making this the proper time to finally walk away for real, after briefly doing so four years ago.

Couture was more ambiguous about his fighting future in an interview with Raw Vegas this week.

In a video shot at his gym in Las Vegas, Couture said the UFC would have to "make it right" for him to fight again after Saturday.

"(UFC president Dana White) is going to have to really step up if he thinks I'm going to come back out, and I don't think that's going to happen," Couture said in the interview, though he refused to elaborate on what that would entail.

Speculation has been further fueled about a future light heavyweight title shot, should Couture beat Machida, by the injury to champion Jon Jones, who will be out until late in the year.

Couture theoretically could have time to step away to film parts in several upcoming movies and still take a title shot against Jones when he returns.

But Couture said in the interview, taped before Jones announced his injury, he was offered a fight against Jones in the fall and turned it down.

"Nobody wants to fight that cat right now," he said of Jones. "I don't see that fight in my future."

He echoed the sentiment Tuesday.

As for the Internet speculation that he could be lured back for one more title fight based on his video comments, Couture didn't budge.

"This is my last fight. I don't know where that came from," he said.

White was traveling to Toronto on Tuesday and unavailable for comment. He told the Review-Journal last week he thought Couture indeed would fight past Saturday should he defeat Machida.

UFC 129, which will far surpass the organization's attendance records with more than 55,000 expected, appears to be the perfect send-off for one of the organization's first and biggest stars.

"It's going to be an awesome event," Couture said. "There is a real buzz up here, and it's going to be great. I can't wait."

Couture, a three-time All-America wrestler and two-time NCAA runner-up at Oklahoma State, made his mixed martial arts debut in 1997 at UFC 13 in Augusta, Ga. The weigh-ins for the event were held in front of a few dozen people at a Holiday Inn.

He won two fights at the event to capture the heavyweight tournament crown. Couture went on to win the heavyweight title three times and the light heavyweight crown twice.

He briefly retired from the sport in 2006 but came back the following year to win the heavyweight belt from Tim Sylvia at age 43, the oldest fighter in UFC history to hold a title.

Couture is 19-10 in his career, but 15 of his 29 fights have been championship bouts. Machida does not hold a belt but is a former champion.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.