Newest fighting Couture shines in second battle
Martial Arts Related News
posted by mmamoz
With lots of fighters gassing, dropping their hands and showing sloppy jiu-jitsu defense, it was no surprise that one of the few guys who looked like he could make a living at this stuff was a Couture. In just his second fight, Ryan Couture dealt well with the pressure of being the main event at last night's Las Vegas Tuff-N-Uff event, posting a second round victory by submission over Art Martinez. Randy Couture's 26-year-old son who's considering a pro career in mixed martial arts, showed some solid skills on the feet before going to the ground with Martinez where he got his back and won the fight by rear naked choke.
Couture's victory capped a pretty solid night of fighting, although much of it was very one-sided. The Las Vegas amateur card actually featured three vicious knockouts. Eddie Jackson drilled Johnny Batres with a beautiful right counterpunch eight seconds into the third round, Victor Henry knocked out Wayne Wrath with a left kick to the head just 21 seconds into their fight and Rich St. Claire delivered the finish of the night. St. Claire from Warrior Training Center in Las Vegas broke Eric Bosley's jaw with a right kick to the head just 14 seconds into the fight.
Couture, who finished third in the state of Washington as a wrestler in high school, wanted to show his skills on the feet. He showcased a bit of it with some solid low-kick, punch combinations.
"I would've liked to work my jab a little better. I'm a better kickboxer than what I showed. I didn't get hit with anything that hurt. I was able to use that get him to take a bad shot which set up the finish."
His father Randy did not work his corner. Shawn Tompkins, Ron Frazier and Neil Melanson took care of the work ringside although Dad was sitting just a few feet away in the crowd:.
"He showed some good ground skills, his grappling was phenomenal, his wrestling is very good," Couture told Cage Writer. "I know he's going to be disappointed, he wanted to let more of his hands show but he had a great performance."
Couture is hoping for a fight in Bellingham, Washington on Mar. 27. He has no timetable set for a potential pro debut.
Former Michigan State and U.S. Olympic alternate wrestler Nik Fekete toyed with Shawn Frye before finishing him with a choke in the third round. Fekete took down Frye at will and mauled him on the ground with knees and punches over the course of seven minutes.