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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