Randy Couture: Becoming The Natural
Published by on July 31st, 2008 in Book Reviews

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There are certain, rare sportsmen, who because of their charisma, skill, attitude and what some people call the X factor, cause their sports to explode in popularity and cultural significance. Tiger Woods is doing it in golf. Muhammad, Mike Tyson, Jack Dempsey did it for boxing. Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and the Williams sisters helped sensationalize tennis. You get the idea. Randy Couture might be the one who most symbolizes the reason for the massive growth of mixed martial arts fighting in America.

Eleven years after embarking on his career in the Ultimate Fighting Championships, there is now an excellent autobiography about the modern day gladiator icon Randy Couture by Loretta Hunt (by Simon Spotlight Entertainment, Simon Schuster) and anyone who is a fan of the UFC and Couture will enjoy this biography. Couture tells his whole story, and leaves no stones unturned, including plenty of personal family information which readers will not expect to learn.

It all began for Couture, almost by chance. His friend’s older brothers entered nine-year-old Randy and a buddy into a novice wrestling tournament, just for fun. Two and a half decades later, when his international wrestling career was winding down, Randy was offered a UFC heavyweight tournament in Augusta, GA as a sub after someone pulled out with an injury two weeks before the event in May 1997. “Hell yeah, let’s do it,” said Couture to Rico Chiapparelli, a wrestling pal who saw the future potential in MMA. The rest is history.

Randy’s life story is told in a conversational tone that is easy to read. His childhood early years was captivating because Randy reveals plenty of details. The book always stays on course and only a few times did my mind start to drift a little – this was during the college and international wrestling years which I have never been much of a fan of . But the curiosity to learn what Randy would say about each of his fights in MMA and life in the UFC is what kept the pages turning.

And Randy tell is like it is, sharing interesting insights into many of the key players of the UFC, taking you behind the scenes of this fascinating world. When all is said and done, you realize Randy Couture is just like his good friend Brett Favre – one of the country’s most admired sporting icons.

This book is a success and not lacking a few surprises either. No reader will be disappointed after reading Randy Couture: Becoming The Natural.

-Scoop Malinowski