Does Randy Couture deserve a LHW Title shot?

[jmt225]

Simple question:

After Randy Couture's impressive victory Saturday at UFC 109 against Mark Coleman, does he deserve the first Title shot against the winner of Shogun vs. Machida II?

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In my opinion, I don't think so just yet.

I am a HUGE Randy Couture fan, but I believe he needs one more win to get a shot at that title. Against who? Well, that's pretty simple: The winner of Keith Jardine vs. Ryan Bader. In fact, if Bader beats Jardine, then I would just make the fight between Bader and Couture a #1 Contender fight, since Bader would definitely deserve a shot at the LHW Title if he were to beat Jardine and Couture back to back (Jardine would need another win after the hypothetical Couture fight to get a championship match, I would believe).

Another option would be to set up Couture vs. Jon Jones if/when Jones beats Brandon Vera. But, I think Couture vs. the winner of Jardine/Bader makes the most sense.

What do you think? Does he need one or two more victories before getting a shot at the title, or should he already be the first in line to get the winner of Shogun/Machida?

 

[Frozentrash75]

I like couture also but i really don't think he deserves a title shot quite yet i mean he has won two fights since coming back to the LHW division but against vera he didn't look that good and he won his second fight against coleman but i personally think coleman is kind of a scrub anymore i feel he should just retire because all he is doing is hurting his legacy at this point.

I think couture needs one more signature win against either a young up and comer like Bader or Jones like JMT said or he need a win against a good established veteran like maybe a Rich Franklin, Rashad Evans, or a Tito Ortiz. I believe if couture can do that then he should get a title shot against the winner of Machida vs Shogun

 

[Big Sexy]

No way does Couture deserve a title shot just yet. His last two wins are good wins but far from great. Brandon Vera hasn't done much of anything lately and Coleman had a nice win over Stephan Bonner, but a win over Bonner isn't exactly the hardest thing to get at this point.

If Bader and Jon Jones each win their next fights then I believe one of the two should be put in a fight with Couture. The winner of that fight could then claim to be the number one contender. Also if Rashad Evans beats Rampage at UFC 114, then he should automatically be put into the next title fight.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I think that with the way he's been fighting, Couture's already on the cusp of being, if not already, a top 5 light heavyweight. In the UFC at least, I'd say he's a top 5, just below Lil' Nog. Here's how I rank the Light Heavyweights:

1.) Lyoto Machida
2.) Shogun Rua
3.) Gegard Mousasi
4.) Rashad Evans
5.) Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
6.) Randy Couture
7.) Forrest Griffin
8.) Thiago Silva
9.) Jon Jones
10.) Luis Cane

Let's call a spade a spade here, a lot of these guys haven't been too successful lately. I think getting Lil' Nog was a huge coup for the company, and I think that if Lil' Nog beats Forrest Griffin, then he and Couture should have the big #1 Contendership fight. Couture's beaten Brandon Vera and Mark Coleman. Sure, they're not main eventers by any means, but Couture not only beat them, he dominated them.

I would say that Couture should absolutely take on either Rashad or Jon Jones, but I'm pretty sure that Couture and Greg Jackson have something going on where a guy from their respective camps will not fight each other. Obviously, that throws even more of a wrench into things when you're trying to make matches happen, and that is why Joe Silva sometimes has such a great yet difficult job.

But getting back to the question, Couture should face Lil' Nog if he beats Forrest Griffin, or he should face Rampage if he beats Rashad Evans. Of course, that's if he stays on with the UFC. I heard an interview with Dana the other day where he actually praised the A-Team movie and said Rampage looks great in it. He even said that he never should have fought with Rampage about doing the movie to begin with, because he didn't understand how big the movie was. He even talked about how much he loves Rampage, so who knows, they probably worked things out like I knew they would.

Either of those fights would be amazing, especially Randy vs. Rampage.

 

[INDYjon22]

Couture should not be fighting for the LHW title, yet at least. He was beat twice in a row by top level fighters and has to start at the bottom of the barrel like everyone else in the UFC, in my opinion. I know he is a legend and a great fighter but I think after both losses to Nogueira and Lesnar that the UFC needs to question if Couture can still hang with the big boys.

Sure he beat Coleman decisively but his fight with Vera was extremely close and Vera is nowhere near the top of the food chain. I think GuyCompton hit the nail on the head. Couture should face the winner of Griffin/Nogueira or he should fight the winner of Bader/Jardine. Both fights would be against an established, solid, fighter who could really test Couture and see if he still can fight top level competition. If he can beat any of those four then I would begin to seriously consider him as a challenger for the winner of Rua/Machida. But not yet, his wins have been good but nothing that warrants a title shot for him.

 

[Via Armbar]

Is he worthy of a title shot? Fuck yeah he is. He shows every fight he can still hang with the young guns. And when people start saying ''yeah but this time, i think his age is just too much and will be his downfall'' the man shuts them up.

But does he deserve one this early into his reintroduction to LHW? Thats debatable. As much as i love Coleman, he wasn't the particular opponent he need in order to move into contention.

He's more than proven that he would be a formidable opponent for anyone, even the champ whether it be at 205 or heavy. He has polished his game so well and is so well conditioned that his gameplan follows through almost every fight. But I think he is one fight away from earning a title shot. Coleman wasn't considered a gatekeeper so he shouldn't be treated as one. Couture needs a fight with an up and comer who is also closing in on a title shot.

If I had to pick it would be against either Bones Jones or Little Nog. Jones is coming off a loss to Hamill, though a controversial one. He lost via DQ but had the fight won. After he beats Vera, and im sure he will, a fight with Couture would be good for the both of them. Same goes for Rogerio. He has a fight with Griffin coming up, or rumor has it, and if he gets through that will need a final test before getting a shot.

People accuse Couture of recieving gift title shots. The dude has proven that he should never be an underdog and can hang, but he has been given title shots that werent really warranted at the time, especially getting them before other deserving fighters. But they feel that given Coutures history, popularity and consistency it warrants giving him a shot and i dont have a real problem with it but i can see why some would.

 

[Rizza]

Well I guess he is fighting Rich Franklin now, so thats not exactly what everyone had in mind when the idea of Couture fighting a 205 contender to get a title shot. Not that Rich is a bad fighter, hell he is one of my all time favorites, its just that everybody in the world lost any confidence in Franklin still being a legitimate title threat after the 2 losses the Anderson and the lost to Belfort. I was hoping Coutures next fight would be a top 10, just to see if he really could take the title at 46. I personally think Rich will win, I believe he will pick his shots, avoid being pressed against the cage, and outwork Randy to a decision. I hope he wins too, Rich really really needs this win. The shitty thing about this fight though for Randy is that is really is a lose-lose situation, if he beats Franklin, it really won't get him closer to the title, and if he loses he will have really no chance at this last run at the title thing he has going on.