As a 6-time World Champion and Hall of Famer in the fastest growing sport in the world, Randy Couture is a true icon in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). In addition to his stellar standing in combat sports, Randy is also a successful business man, best-selling author and actor.
Randy’s growing career in acting includes the hit films “The Expendables” and “The Expendables 2,” opposite Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis, and he will reprise his role as Toll Road in “The Expendables 3” opening in theaters on August 15, 2014. He has most recently starred in “Ambushed” opposite Dolph Lundgren and Vinnie Jones and also filmed “Strech” opposite Patrick Wilson and Ed Helms. On the television front, as a part of his multi-year talent, development and production deal with Spike TV, Randy served as a coach on the first season of “Fight Master: Bellator MMA” in summer 2013 and will next appear in Spike’s new reality show “Gym Rescue,” for which he also serves as an executive producer, slated to premiere in August.
Born in Lynnwood, Washington in 1963, Randy served 6 years in the U.S. Army after graduating from high school during which time he took up boxing. Having completed his service, Randy decided to begin working as an assistant wrestling and strength conditioning coach at Oregon State University. By December of 1997, at the age of 33, Randy made his debut into the world of professional fighting claiming victory in the Heavyweight division of his first appearance in the UFC and soon earning the moniker of “Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture.” Randy eventually moved down a weight class to the Light-Heavyweight division, where he would spend the remainder of his UFC career. Randy is to this day, the only UFC competitor to hold titles in both the Heavyweight and Light-Heavyweight divisions.
In June of 2006, Randy became the 4th professional fighter to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame and that same year also retired. In March of 2007, Randy came out of retirement at the age of 44 shocking the world by re-capturing the UFC Heavyweight belt and becoming the first man in UFC history to win the Heavyweight title a total of three times. “The Natural” retired once and for all at the age of 47 but continues to be a highly respected presence in combat sports.
Randy’s other film credits include Lionsgate’s, “The Set Up” opposite Bruce Willis, David Mamet’s, “Red Belt” for Sony Classics followed by a starring role in Universal’s, “The Scorpion King: The Akkadian.” Additionally, Randy played a recurring character on CBS’, “The Unit,” in a role written specifically for him. Randy also dedicates time to running his own chain of gyms, Xtreme Couture MMA; a thriving clothing line, Xtreme Couture MMA Clothing; a supplement company, Xtreme Couture Pharmaceuticals (XCAP); commentating for the UFC on FOX fight nights and giving back through his foundation, the Xtreme Couture GI Foundation dedicated to honoring the veterans of America’s Armed Forces. Additionally, Randy created MMAthletics with Fox Sports’ own Jay Glazer, a company focused on training professional athletes from various sports in the ways of Mixed Martial Arts and teaching them how that training can be applied to their respective sport’s discipline.
Randy currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada and is an avid outdoorsman with a passion for motorcycles and hunting.