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Forty-six years old, Couture has outlasted most of his contemporaries and many of the men who followed after him. In 1997, Mark Kerr was king of the world. He’s now a regional attraction with the physique of a melted candle; Maurice Smith is gone. Ken Shamrock, run out of town. Chuck Liddell debuted, surged, became the most famous man in MMA, and then wilted, all during Couture’s tenure. And somehow, Couture remains a formidable headlining attraction, based in part on his skill and the seeming improbability he should be walking upright at his age, much less fighting.
Aged 39: Fans fearing for his life, he TKOs Liddell to claim the UFC’s light heavyweight title.
Aged 43: Chops down Tim Sylvia over five rounds.
Aged 44: Hands bigger, stronger, younger Gabriel Gonzaga his ass on a garnished platter.
Aged 45: Keeps a competitive pace with anthropomorphic Brock Lesnar.He is not the oldest competitive athlete of note -- hockey player Gordie Howe and pitcher Satchel Paige shared similar what-is-this-old-man-doing appeal in their late 40s and beyond -- but he is the oldest in a sport as dynamic and unforgiving as mixed martial arts. Howe and Paige did not have to concern themselves with a 280-pound man taking them down and making them leak fluid from their eyes and nose.
This is the cherry on top of Couture’s career arc: He’s not only durable, but durable in a sport where slowed reflexes and heaving cardio can earn you assisted living.
Casual fans have expressed to me an unwillingness to see Couture and Nogueira fight for reasons that both fighters, while first ballot Hall of Famers, are simply in partially decrepit, sub-par physical versions of themselves. In their eyes the fight is meaningful but likely to be predictably low on dynamism or aggression-fueled rivalry.
But Couture and Nogueira are actually two different kinds of athletes whose careers tell two entirely different stories. Couture is still riding the momentum of a third career metamorphosis while Nogueira is hanging on to a partially aged skill set and battered body that is flirting with trouble every time he competes in the UFC. Both Couture and Nogueira profess a desire to keep going with their careers but Couture appears to be the only one driven by the prospect of competition. Nogueira has the capacity to win on Saturday night, but that subtle distinction between reaching for new heights and clinging to old ones speaks volumes about both fighters' histories as well as their futures.