August 30, 2004 Observer Newsletter: Randy Couture wins at UFC 49
Someday, sadly, Father Time will catch up to the most successful champion in UFC history.
But for now, it will have to wait. 41-year-old Randy Couture captured the UFC light heavyweight championship, becoming the first four-time champion in the 11-year history of the sport, by stopping 26-year-old Vitor Belfort after three rounds, in a rematch of the 1/31 fluke where Belfort captured the title.
On 8/21 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Couture is now both a two-time heavyweight champion and two-time light heavyweight champion, with a tenure that dates back to a title win back in 1997 from Maurice Smith. In even more interesting news, after his match, Couture issued a challenge to Pride’s champion, Wanderlei Silva, who was sitting at ringside. While UFC officials were adamant that Couture did this on his own and it was not a planned angle, the fact was, Pride had released both in Japan, and in the U.S. in a press release, that Silva was going to Las Vegas.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.