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LAS VEGAS — Brock Lesnar dethroned UFC heavyweight champion Randy (The Natural) Couture at UFC 91 on Saturday night, stunning the 45-year-old in the second round and then punching away at the fallen Couture until the referee stepped in.
Lesnar (3-1) was too big and strong for Couture (16-9), who put up a brave fight until a right to the head put him down. Lesnar threw more than 20 punches at the prone champion until the mixed martial arts bout was stopped by Mario Yamasaki three minutes seven seconds into the round. Yamasaki would have done Couture a favour by stepping in quicker.
"I can't believe it," said Lesnar, who thanked Couture for fighting "a young buck like me."
"That's just a big son of a bitch, that's all there is to it," said Couture, who said he made some mistakes on the night.
Couture, at 6-2 and 220 pounds, was giving up 14 years, at least 50 pounds and six inches in reach to the 6-3, 275-pound Lesnar. He also hadn't fought for 15 months.
Lesnar, a former NCAA wrestling champion and WWE star who was the 7-5 favourite with the bookies, came out first to the booming sound of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" - and a chorus of boos from the near-sellout of 14,272 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The cheers started before Couture, a former four-time alternate on the U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman team, made his entrance to Aerosmith's "Back in the Saddle" - with his shiny championship belt held up high by one of his trailing crew.
The two clinched at the fence as the fight opened, exchanging knees, and Couture got in a good shot as they broke away. Lesnar took Couture down and, although the champion got up, soon ended on top of him again. Couture got up again but all three judges awarded the round to Lesnar.
The two traded blows early in the second and Couture was stunned by one. The chants of "Randy, Randy" continued as they clinched at the fence again. Couture landed some more good blows as they separated, cutting Lesnar's right eye.
But it ended suddenly when Couture went down and could not escape the barrage of blows from Lesnar, who is surprisingly agile for a man his size.
"Next thing I know I was on the ground, eating leather," said Couture.
Couture, the master strategist, was unable to solve Lesnar. It was like tackling a souped-up mini-van.
Couture did leave a mark, with Lesnar needing four or five stitches to close the cut by the eye. As to his future, Couture said wanted to take some time to "let the dust kind of settle.
"We'll figure it out," he added. "I'm sure it will come to me."
According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Lesnar made US$450,000 - including a $200,000 win bonus. Couture was guaranteed $250,000, missing out on a matching win bonus.
Those figures do not tell the whole tale since they do not take into account other contract bonuses not made public by the UFC. Couture is also likely to collect a cut of the lucrative pay-per-view take from the night - the UFC predicted a record 1.2 million buys for a take of more than C$50 million, not counting the arena gate of US$4.8 million.
Lesnar will next meet the winner of the December fight between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir. He wins the title in only his fourth MMA bout, just as Couture did in 1997 when he beat Maurice Smith in Japan for the first of three heavyweight crowns.
The giant fighter admitted to nerves before the bout and got emotional at the post-fight news conference when asked what winning the championship meant to him.
"My first NCAA title meant a lot to me but this, I never expected this in my wildest dream. I don't know even what to say."
There was almost an element of good versus evil in the buildup to the main event with fans wildly cheering any glimpse of Couture while booing Lesnar. Couture was returning from his second retirement, this time due to a contract dispute.
Story from thecanadianpress.com
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The Build Up
UFC 91 Lesnar vs Couture (Full 10 mins)
