RealGM

I dont watch mma at all, just a fight here and there. But i'd like to know why he is so highly regarded. He has 8 losses. .500 winning Percentage and other than his last two straight wins, his career on paper has has been win loss win loss win loss... So can a mma fan explain this to me?

He's shown such ridiculous improvement, in skill and in strategy, that he's always a step ahead of his record - a step ahead of his performance in his last fight.

His tactics against Sylvia were perfect, for example. And, as a wrestler, he's managed to improve his striking to the point where he can stand with serious kickboxers (Rizzo, Liddell, etc.).

He now has the best team in the world, quite possibly.

I don't think he's top 5 P4P, though. I don't think anyone does.

Couture's record is misleading. He is a guy who has fought the best fighters in the world over and over again. Unlike a lot of the new fighters, he has no cupcakes on his resume. Couture fought Chuck 3 times, Vitor twice, Tito, Barnett, Rizzo twice, Sylvia...just to name a few. Very few fighters would have as good a record as Couture considering the caliber of fighter he has fought from day 1.

A) I don't think many people consider him top 5 P4P. Top 10? Maybe. Top 5 HW? Probably. But I haven't heard many people talk about him as top 5 P4P. So let's just get that out of the way.

B) People rate him highly because he comes across as a pretty likable guy (I think he's being kind of a douche at the moment though), is a great story, and he's won 5 championships in two weight classes.

C) 16-8 is not a great record, but it's not .500 either. I don't know if you did that intentionally or not, but that's pretty dumb.

Randy is a B level fighter. As overrated as they come.

Couture is far from overrated. He is 16-8 with as tough a record of fights as anyone in MMA. He has no cupcakes on his record, similar to Tito, which is why his record also is not great at first glance.

I don't think he's P4P Top5 but he is a pretty amazing fighter. The only UFC fighter to hold 2 different belts in 2 different divisions, that should say something about his all around skill. Plus he beat Chuck Liddell which is pretty impressive.