Russian champion may be next on Couture’s fight card

Monday, Aug. 27, 2007 | 7:13 a.m.

It was more than 27 minutes into a postfight confab with reporters, and long after he dismantled challenger Gabriel Gonzaga to retain his Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title Saturday night, when Randy Couture sent another charge through the room.

Couture and UFC president Dana White had been adeptly deflecting questions about Couture's next opponent with vague, if accurate, statements about how the heavyweight division is "stacked" with plenty of potential attractive matchups for the 44-year-old mixed martial arts icon.

Then Couture let slip the name Fedor Emelianenko, the fearsome Russian heavyweight champ who competes primarily on the Pride fighting circuit, and it was possible to feel the anticipation begin building.

"I think all the guys up here want to fight the best guy in the world," Couture said. "They want that challenge. That's why we're here. That's why we're fighters. I think the best guy in the world right now is probably Fedor in the heavyweight division.

"Bring him on."

It was as close to a "callout" as we're likely to hear from Couture, who has developed a massive fan following thanks in part to a thoughtful, gentle demeanor outside the octagon that contrasts with his vicious persona in the cage.

Couture (16-8 mixed martial arts) finished off Gonzaga (8-2), a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert, with a stoppage at 1:37 of the third round after breaking the heavier challenger's nose with a thundering takedown in Round 1. "I heard it crunch in my ear as we landed," Couture said.

The action-filled and blood-soaked UFC 74 headliner delighted a sellout crowd of 11,118, good for a $3.3 million gate, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

"From that point (the takedown), I felt a little different pace from him," Couture said. "It was harder for him to stay focused. At one point, blood was getting in his eyes. He actually asked the ref (Herb Dean) to stop the fight.

"The ref kind of got on him, (asking) 'Do you want to continue or not?' You can't just call timeout. This is a fight. He sucked it up from then on, but I felt that was the turning point."

Even with Gonzaga's blood running down Couture's back like raindrop trails on a windowpane, the champion continued to control the fight's tempo, forcing his opponent against the octagon's fencing and keeping him in check with combinations of overhand punches and well-placed knees.

Gonzaga finally landed a clean right leg kick in the third round, but it packed considerably less power than the one he used to KO Mirko Cro Cop in his previous fight. Couture shook it off and went back to work, sealing the victory with a blizzard of huge left hands that battered Gonzaga's head.

Couture went into the fight as the betting underdog, just as he did before upending Tim Sylvia in March to win the UFC heavyweight crown for the third time in his Hall of Fame career.

"It's not even that people don't expect him to win, it's just, 'Oh my God, he's 44 now,' " White said. "Everybody loves Randy. He's probably the most beloved guy in the UFC ever.

"You're like, 'I don't want to see Randy fight this guy.' This guy's huge, he's young, he's well-rounded, he's powerful, he just kicked Cro Cop's head off. Poor Randy, you know?"

Couture acknowledged he'll have to deal with plenty more of those sentiments no matter who he fights next.

He's 44, a fan favorite, and the world's toughest and most talented heavyweight fighters, including Fedor Emelianenko, want his championship belt.

"I'm not really here for titles and that sort of thing anymore," Couture said. "To take home some more hardware is always nice, but it's more about the performance at this stage in my career.

"Every time I go out there it's a bonus. I feel blessed to be able to still compete in this sport at this level."

In a featured welterweight bout, former champion Georges St. Pierre (14-2) put himself in line for another title shot by winning a unanimous decision against Josh Koscheck (11-2).

St. Pierre, who cited family illnesses and other personal distractions for affecting his state of mind after losing to Matt Serra in April, said he's back at full strength mentally.

"From this day, right now, I cannot promise you I will win all my fights, because nobody can do such a thing," St. Pierre, 26, of Montreal, said. "Nobody is invincible.

"What I can promise you is you will see the real GSP every single fight, the real GSP who's there 100 percent and who's there ready to fight."

St. Pierre showcased his impressive skills on the ground as well as punching from a standing position in winning by scores of 30-27 and 29-28 twice on the scorecards.

"With one minute left in the final round, I was like, 'Hey Georges, congratulations,' " Koscheck (11-2) said. "And then, whap, I got hit with an elbow. So I was like, oh, I guess we're still fighting. Georges was the better man. Next time, I'm going to work on my wrestling."

Middleweight Patrick Cote scored the only other betting upset on Saturday's card with a first-round technical knockout of Kendall Grove as a plus-210 underdog. Grove went off as a minus-260 favorite (risk $2.60 to win $1), according to odds in the Mandalay Bay sports book.

The betting favorite won each of the other five fights on the board at Mandalay Bay. St. Pierre was minus-200 against Koscheck, down from an opening line of minus-250.

Joe Stevenson was bet up from minus-280 to minus-360 before winning a unanimous decision against Kurt Pellegrino in their lightweight match. Also winning as favorites were Frank Mir, Roger Huerta and Renato "Babalu" Sobral.