Machida ends Couture’s career with real-life ‘Karate Kid’ move

Randy Couture showed some guts taking on a scary fighter in his final MMA tilt. It didn't work out for the 47-year-old legend, but he got to walk out of the Octagon to a huge ovation from the crowd in Toronto and with his head held high. There may never be another fighter like Couture.

Couture took on MMA's great riddle in karate master Lyoto Machida. For six minutes, Machida confused Couture with his movement and counter-striking, then he pulled off an amazing front kick to put the former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion on his back. Couture was out and referee Yves Lavigne jumped on top to save him at 1:05 of the second at UFC 129.

Machida essentially pulled off the crane kick from "The Karate Kid" and, in doing so, knocked out one of Couture's teeth.

"I think I had all my teeth the last time we had this discussion," joked Couture with UFC analyst Joe Rogan. "I felt like I was standing still out there. He's a tremendous athlete

Couture (19-11, 14-8 UFC) confirmed that he is done. He's made a pretty successful transition to acting. He was aHis impact on mixed martial arts is beyond description. After a decorated amateur wrestling career, he decided to transition to MMA when it was still very much an outlaw sport back in 1997. He was 34 at the time. During the growth years, Couture was a winner in and out of the Octagon. Along with winning five titles fights at light heavyweight and heavyweight, he did much of the media work necessary to spread the word about the legitimacy of the sport after it was purchased by Zuffa in 2001.

Machida, nearly overcome by emotion, thanked Couture for the opportunity to fight him.

"It was an honor [to fight him]. It was a dream when I was a child, I would like to fight this guy," Machida said. "He is a hero. This is the hero. Thank you so much."

Machida's amazing boot was the second front-kick knockout in the history of the UFC. The first came less than three months ago at UFC 126 when Machida's teammate Anderson Silva used a similar move to knock out Vitor Belfort.

Machida's kick was a variation of what Silva did. He faked a left kick and leapt into a right kick. Couture never saw it coming. After the fight, Machida thanked both his father and Steven Seagal for teaching him the kick. Silva also thanked the movie star following his fight. Seagal, an 80's and 90's action film star, has been working with some of the fighters from Blackhouse MMA based in Southern California. Many in and out of the game mocked on Seagal for accepting credit following Silva's win, maybe the kidding needs to subside
Randy Couture showed some guts taking on a scary fighter in his final MMA tilt. It didn't work out for the 47-year-old legend, but he got to walk out of the Octagon to a huge ovation from the crowd in Toronto and with his head held high. There may never be another fighter like Couture
cast member in Sylvester Stallone's blockbuster "The Expendables" and is part of the mix when "The Expendables 2" begins filming in September

Saints pick Mark Ingram gets emotional message from jailed dad

Though Mark Ingram Sr. was watching the NFL draft from a federal prison in Alabama, he and his son, Mark Jr., shared one of the most special moments during Thursday's first round.

After the younger Ingram was selected by the New Orleans Saints with the 28th pick in the draft, he received
Ingram Sr. is in the middle of a seven-year federal sentence for laundering and bank fraud. He had additional time tacked on to his sentence after jumping bail in 2009 to watch his son, then a freshman, play in the Sugar Bowl. Hours before kickoff, Mark Sr. was apprehended in a hotel room and returned to jail. The next year, Ingram Jr. was a national champion and Heisman trophy winner at Alabama.

Related: Draft pundits weigh in on first round's winners/losers

Though the emotions behind the moment could be interpreted as contrived (Kolber was clearly trying to make Ingram Jr. cry; why couldn't the father have written his son an email directly?), the reaction of Ingram Jr. was genuine and affecting. On a night when many of the other players selected celebrated with their fathers, Ingram Jr. could only look at a BlackBerry screen to share it with his.

In 1987, Ingram Sr. was also a first-round draft pick out of Michigan State. He was taken No. 28 by the New York Giants, the same slot where his son would be selected 24 years later

What you need to know from the TUF debut

"I ain't here to make friends. I ain't here to win new fans. This is strictly business for me."

The first words out of Brock Lesnar's mouth in the debut of the 13th season of "The Ultimate Fighter" were in form of the most cliche of reality TV cliches. This bodes well for the season. Read on for a recap and spoilers from the first episode of ... "The Ultimate Fighter."

Good news of the day: The fighters were pleased to find out that they did not have to win a fight to make it into the house, as was the custom in the past few seasons. What has returned is the wildcard. Less than two minutes into the show, Dana White drops his first f-bomb, saying that the UFC wants guys who are bleepin' fighters.

Instead of the fights, the fighters are put through workouts to show off their skills for Lesnar and Junior dos Santos. Lesnar has his strength and conditioning guru check on the cardio of each fighter, while dos Santos explores the "international language of fight." Dos Santos points out that he is more concerned about the fight style of each competitor, while Lesnar is more concerned about cardio.

Standouts of the day: Brock is most impressed with Len Bentley, while Shamar Bailey and Ryan McGillivray catch Junior's eye.

Ugh, that sucks of the day: Myles Jury, who also stood out, hurt his knee in practice. While he says it's fine, I've been watching this show long enough to realize that this is a bad sign.

Picks of the day: Lesnar and dos Santos head to the office to make their picks, meaning that it won't be like gym class, where each fighter will go and stand with their team. I hope it's more like cheerleading tryouts, where you read from a list that's posted outside the gym. Some cry with happiness, some cry with sadness.

Nah, Dana White just reads the fighters name from a list. Lesnar gets first pick by virtue of a coin toss. In order of how they were picked, the teams are:

Lesnar:
Len Bentley
Charles Rader
Tony Ferguson
Clay Harvison
Myles Jury
Chris Cope
Nordin Asrih

Dos Santos:
Shamar Bailey
Ryan McGillivray
Javier Torres
Ramsey Nijem
Zach Davis
Mick Bowman
Keon Caldwell

Second biggest reality TV show cliche of the day: Let's explore the house and claim rooms! The teams break up by floor, with Lesnar's team upstairs and Team dos Santos downstairs. Somehow, I still have faith that hijinx will ensue.

Saw that coming from a mile away of the day: Myles Jury has a torn ACL, and the doctor won't let him fight. Lesnar is surprisingly supportive. Jury thinks he's going to stay around and learn from the coaches while he heals. Dana White bursts that bubble and sends him home, to be replaced by Chuck O'Neil and his fantastic Boston accent.


Fight pick of the week: Dos Santos gets first fight pick, and he puts his first pick, Shemar Bailey, against Lesnar's last, Nordin Asrih.

Finding religion of the day: In an interesting oddity of matchmaking, both fighters are deeply religious. Bailey is a preacher's son, while Asrih is a German Muslim who adheres to his religion's pillar of praying five times daily. Asrih says that he feels more focused after prayer.

Fight of the Day: Nordin Asrih (Team Lesnar) vs. Shamar Bailey (Team dos Santos)

Round 1: Bailey quickly uses his strength, wrestling. He takes Asrih down and moves to side control. Asrih gets back to his feet for a second, but Bailey brings it right back down. Bailey's wrestling is fantastic, but he seems content to get the pin. It takes him much too long to figure out that it's OK. He can throw punches. Near the end of the round, he lands some big elbows, but for as long as he had control, Bailey should have done much more damage.

Round 2: Asrih starts the round with a kick, slips and falls on the ground. Bailey jumps on top of him, gets full mount and pins Asrih. However, this not being a wrestling match, no one slaps the mat and he has to continue fighting. Asrih shows some flashes when he reverses Bailey and tries for a guillotine. But the round was Bailey's. In the final minute, he gets full mount and throws strikes.

All three judges score it for Bailey, and he says after the fight that his strategy worked because he didn't want to show off everything that he could do in his first bout on the show. In his parting shot to his team, Lesnar says, "Wrestling is powerful in this sport."

Darn straight, Brock. What did you think of the first episode?

UFC In the Moment: Jon Jones - Full Episode

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