PORTLAND, Ore. – Predicting when MMA legend Randy Couture's storied career will finally come to a close is a near-impossible feat, but where it will close now appears a certainty.
Couture and UFC president Dana White announced following Saturday's "UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira" event that the 46-year-old signed a new six-fight, 28-month contract prior to his main-event loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in Portland, Ore.
"I think the opportunity to stay with the organization was my motivation," Couture (16-10 MMA, 13-7 UFC) said. "I think with things being the way they are, this is the place to be. I intend to finish my career here in the UFC."
Couture had one fight remaining on his old deal, and despite the sometimes-strained relationship between "The Natural" and his employer that led to a near-15-month layoff less than two years ago, the fighter looks forward to future challenges in the UFC.
If Couture were to complete the new deal, he would finish the contract with 32 career fights at 48 years old. There's certainly no guarantee the UFC Hall of Famer will complete the terms, but Couture said age has nothing to do with how he'll approach the coming bouts.
"I'm going to take it one fight at a time as I did 12 years ago when I started this thing," Couture said. "I'll see where that goes.
"I didn't have the outcome that I wanted (against Nogueira), but I still had a good performance, overall. I did a lot of things that I trained to do for this fight. We'll evaluate that, evaluate the training and see what fight is next and take it one at a time."
As for where that next step lies, Couture said he'd let White decide. But the UFC exec said the future is a clean slate that Couture can fill with any wish he chooses.
"It keeps the heavyweight division interesting, and maybe the light heavyweight division, too, depending on what [Couture] decides to do," White said. "I don't care what he wants to do. He can do whatever he wants.
"He's proven that he can stay in there and hang with the heavyweights if that's what he wants to do. And I think he's a beast at 205 pounds."
With a rematch with Lesnar out of the immediate picture following the loss to Nogueira, Couture may indeed turn his eye to light heavyweight. Citing a need for "interesting fights," Couture has publicly stated that 205-pound matchups with current light-heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida or middleweight-champ-turned-light-heavyweight-contender Anderson Silva would be intriguing.
"I'm interested in interesting fights," Couture said. "There's a lot of guys in both divisions that are interesting to fight."
