Happy in Retirement, Randy Couture Can’t Think of a Reason for a UFC Return

Retirement isn’t something any high level athlete or competitor ever looks forward to.

Just ask former Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre about that one because he’s retired and un-retired numerous times over the last several years.

But sometimes when the decision is just right, it sticks.

That’s the case for UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, who officially walked away from active competition in MMA following a loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 in April 2011.

A legend of the sport, Couture ended his career with a 19-11 record, but it’s not his overall wins and losses that made the former Olympic hopeful such an icon in MMA history. Couture seemed to make the impossible, possible, and he did it on more than one occasion.

But at 48 years of age and a budding movie career still humming along, including an extended role in the upcoming Sylvester Stallone action sequel The Expendables 2, Couture is happy in retirement and doesn’t see anything changing his mind.

“I can’t think of (a reason to return). I am pretty happy and comfortable with the decision I made. I am enjoying perusing the acting roles I am getting,” Couture told UFC Tonight on Fuel TV recently.

The former UFC champion has been extremely busy since closing the doors on his fight career. He released a book in 2011 and spent time in Hungary while filming the Expendables 2.

Couture has also filmed another movie called Hijacked alongside actors Dominic Purcell and Vinnie Jones.

It seems like Couture is settling into his fight retirement, but obviously not slowing down in other endeavors. He also spends time when he can overseeing the activities at his Las Vegas gym Xtreme Couture.

While the legendary fighter isn’t as hands on as he once was simply due to time constraints, Couture still keeps a watchful eye on the team and their activities.

When looking over the always growing roster of fighters, Couture sees the talent that continues to shine out of the gym with his namesake, and is excited about the future of Xtreme Couture.

“I have an amazing crew of guys there. The guy who is most impressive right now is Martin Kampmann,” said Couture. “This is probably the most impressive group of guys I’ve been training with in the past couple of years. We have a huge crew of guys. Any given night, any one of those guys could do well.”

Couture has also taken an active role of late as an analyst during some of the UFC’s programming on the Fox family of networks as well. So even if Couture never fights again, he’ll still be an omnipresent fixture around the sport and his contributions will never really slow down.

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