After watching Couture and Nogueira battle in a classic fight at UFC 102, I started reminiscing about The Natural (as I often do after his fights).  I took a look back to see how many times Couture has been the main event on a UFC Pay Per View card.  It came as no surprise that he holds the record with an impressive 16 main events.  Couture has fought 19 times in the UFC since 1997, and has been the main event for about 82% of his fights.  With a less than stellar record of 16-10 there are a few things to keep in mind when reflecting on The Natural.   First, he has consistently fought high caliber opponents.  Second, he fights in the highest pressure position 82% of the time.  And finally, his age and other factors almost always make him the underdog.  Despite all of that, he has managed to win in most of his UFC PPV main events.  Pretty impressive.

Check out a list of Couture's main events and a table of other fighters Main Event Status (MES) in the full entry.

UFC 15.5 vs Maurice Smith (W)
UFC 28 vs Kevin Randleman (W)
UFC 31 vs Pedro Rizzo (W)
UFC 34 vs Pedro Rizzo (W)
UFC 36 vs Josh Barnett (L)
UFC 39 vs Ricco Rodriguez (L)
UFC 43 vs Chuck Liddell (W)
UFC 44 vs Tito Ortiz (W)
UFC 46 vs Vitor Belfort (L)
UFC 49 vs Vitor Belfort (W)
UFC 52 vs Chuck Liddell (L)
UFC 57 vs Chuck Liddell (L)
UFC 68 vs Tim Sylvia (W)
UFC 74 vs Gabriel Gonzaga (W)
UFC 91 vs Brock Lesnar (L)
UFC 102 vs Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (L)

The table below (which includes UFC 103) shows fighters who have been a PPV main event at least twice.  It is interesting to see the parallels between Couture and Ortiz's careers.  Both men started with the company on the same card, they hold the #1 and #2 spots for MES, both men became disgruntled, and both men eventually re-signed with the UFC.  Luckily for Randy he was able to avoid any blackout of his past fights unlike Ortiz.