Randy Couture had an incredible career, but it could have been a little bit better.

A five-time UFC champion across two weight divisions, Couture is a pioneer of MMA and one of the sport’s most beloved figures. “The Natural” had such a significant and impressive career that he was the fourth person ever inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, all the way back in 2006. But even with how great Couture’s career was, the former heavyweight and light heavyweight champion believes he left a little meat on the bone.

In 2008, Couture ended hie legal battle with the UFC and returned to the promotion, defending his heavyweight title against Brock Lesnar at UFC 91. It was one of the biggest events in MMA history at the time, and Lesnar won by second-round knockout. But 16 years later, and Couture says he was much closer to adding another signature win to his resume than people remember.

“Honestly, I was on my way to winning that fight,” Couture told Tim Welch. “I think if he hadn’t have grabbed the cage in the fight round, I had him up in a high single and he locked onto the cage, and the referee let him get away with it. I think if he hit the deck, it might have been a different night. It’s hard to say.”

At the time, Couture was 45 years old, facing a man 14 years his junior. Of course, Couture was no stranger to fighting bigger, younger men — he made a career out of it — but this time he did at least have a major advantage in experience over Lesnar. And Couture says that almost cost Brock.

“I think it was apparent that Brock hadn’t really made friends with getting punched in the face,” Couture said. “I hit him with a left hook and cut his right eye, and you can see when saw his own blood on his hand, it kind of freaked him out. We saw that with [Cain] Velasquez and [Alistair] Overeem. He didn’t make friends with the fact that he was going to have to get punched in the grill to get where he wanted to be.”

Lesnar ultimately had a successful, though brief, MMA career. After winning the heavyweight title from Couture, he successfully defended it against Frank Mir and then Shane Carwin before losing the title to Cain Velasquez in 2010. He retired after losing to Alistair Overeem in his next bout, though had one ill-fated comeback against Mark Hunt at UFC 200 that turned into a massive PED scandal.

Couture, meanwhile, fought five more times in the UFC, including the 2009 Fight of the Year against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and the UFC’s first ever Hall of Famer vs. Hall of Famer bout when he fought Mark Coleman at UFC 109.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Final UFC fight card of the year! Let’s have some fun one more time before a well-deserved break. — Meshew

EXIT POLL

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