Randy Couture Reminisces About Significant Moments In His Life and Explains How They Impacted His Ca

What a journey it's been.
Randy Couture first fought in the UFC's Octagon in 1997. In the ensuing 11 years, there have been glorious titles, heart-breaking defeats, frustrating roadblocks and amazing comebacks.

Through it all, the world of MMA has grown to adore the man they call "The Natural," a man who might be one of the most humble men you'll ever meet, a man whose inspiration never wanes and a man who continues to defy Father Time and fight at a world-class level at 45.

But he is also human, as you're about to see.

In the following story, Couture opens up about the most memorable moments in his career and life, some of which are good, some bad.

Enjoy his journey ... which isn't over yet.

1. HOW THE JOURNEY BEGAN
The original decision to get into MMA was on a whim. Friends prompted and prodded me because they had seen other wrestlers like Don Frye and Mark Coleman compete, and they thought I should try it.

At the time I was still a college wrestling coach at Oregon State, and I had been competing for the U.S. National Team in Greco-Roman wrestling.

The fight was with Vitor Belfort, who had beaten up Tank Abbott, so he had my attention. The UFC wanted me to sign right away, and I told the head wrestling coach that I wanted to take the fight and take three weeks off to go to California. I wanted to get with a boxing coach so I could learn boxing. Otherwise, I was going to get my head knocked off.

The head coach had an issue with that, and he forced me to make a decision. He said either be a wrestling coach or be a fighter. He forced me to sit down and figure out what I was going to do. I decided I was going to fight so I gave up the coaching job.

It was risky [to take the fight], and I did not know if I was doing the right thing. I loved coaching, and I was new to the fight game. I'm glad he forced me to do that because fighting on the side would not have worked.

2. THE FIRST FIGHT
It was a whole new world. It was a barrage of information and experiences ... walking into the cage, the crowd and everything. It was very unique.

3. THE UNDERDOG ROLE
When I fought Vitor Belfort, no one knew who I was or gave me much of a chance, so that set the tone for my career. I was a huge underdog, and I found myself in that situation several more times in my career.

To read the rest, check out the April issue of Ultimate MMA.