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Randy Couture -- voted "The Greatest Fighter of All Time" by viewers' choice -- recounts his record-breaking career, which has made him an undisputed UFC legend.
Randy Couture wins fights with the seemingly effortless ease with which lesser mortals eat or breathe. He's the only athlete to have held championship titles in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions of the UFC, and he's the only six-time title earner in UFC history.
In Becoming the Natural, Couture tells his story for the first time, beginning with a childhood spent in search of an elusive father figure, followed by the pure adrenaline rush that accompanied his first wrestling bout in grade school. In 1997, at the age of thirty-three, Couture made his UFC debut, defeating two opponents in the heavyweight class and then scoring a TKO victory against Brazilian phenom Vitor Belfort to earn the nickname "The Natural." He won his first heavyweight title that same year. At the age of forty, he defeated five-time defending champion Tito Ortiz for the undisputed light heavyweight title. Couture retired in 2006, only to reemerge the following year and seize the heavyweight championship title once again.
Becoming the Natural is the remarkable story of one of the world's most gifted and dedicated athletes -- a born fighter whose skill and showmanship have helped to lift mixed martial arts out of the shadows and into the mainstream.
Foreword Kevin James xi
Round 1 Wrestling from Within
1 Saying Good-bye 3
2 Pieces of the Puzzle 20
3 Boy to Man 32
4 What's Meant to Be 45
5 Double Legs, Double Life 63
6 Devastation 80
Round 2 It was Always about the Competition
7 You Need to Get Into That 95
8 Finally Number One 116
9 Zuffa Means "Fight" in Italian 137
10 Hanging Up the Gloves 158
11 Reality 182
Round 3 Coming Around Again
12 Confrontation 207
13 A Revelation 224
14 Going Out on Top 240
15 Settling into Life 257
16 The Right Thing 270
Epilogue 289
Appendix 301
Acknowledgments 306
Anonymous
Posted January 13, 2011
took too long to get to any action
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Another great MMA fighter autobiography!
First off the book has a very funny, short (foreword) written by comedian/actor Kevin James!
"Becoming the Natural" is right up there with Chuck Liddell's book "Iceman / My Fighting Life", which I consider to be the best MMA/UFC book out there.
Randy tells his childhood story and how he got into wrestling and MMA. He had a very sordid childhood as far as his parents were concerned. Randy talks about alot of very personal issues in the book, that he didn't have to tell us the readers. He really lays it all out there! He goes into detail about his ex-wives, cheating and being a parent.
Randy goes into detail about the UFC, Dana White and his current legal battle with the UFC. Couture's 16-8 record doesn't stand out like that of a champion, but read the book and you'll see just where that record comes from. Randy was fighting heavyweights with 40-50 pds. over him, in many fights once they got on top, he was simply pinned beneath them.
Randy is one of my favorite fighters simply because he seems to be a genuinely good guy and this book gave me that same feeling about him! Randy has beaten the best and been beaten by the best.
Throughout the book, even when describing his losses, he never bad mouths his opponents, in one fight he loses, he later learns the other fighter failed a steroid test, Randy is given the chance to have the fight changed from a (loss) to a (no contest), he refuses, saying a loss is a loss!
As a fan, I hope to see Randy get his chance to fight Fedor. As Randy says in his book, it's about taking on the best possible opponent and that man is Fedor!
Randy is still training, but not currently fighting, he is pursuing his acting career, with his first leading role movie, "Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior" on DVD!
The book also provides alot of nice pictures to give you a better sense of his past and family!
Another good MMA bio. for fans collections!
beezy-bee
Posted February 23, 2009
I Also Recommend:
Randy has always been doubted ever since his first fight at UFC 13 against the much larger Tony Halme but he has destroyed almost every opponent. No one expected him to win the UFC Interim LHW championship against Chuck Liddell but he KOed him. And no one expected him to come out of retirement and beat the 6'8 Tim Sylvia for the HW championship. In this book Randy tells his life story from growing up without a dad to his entrance in MMA and confront his dad who abandoned him at a young age. In this book Randy proves that he is a humble human and yet a fearless and devastating opponent.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Tyler10
Posted October 23, 2008
BAM! Picture yourself in the cage with Randy Couture standing toe to toe fighting, and thousands of blood thirsty fans watching to see who will be the top contender. This and more happens in ¿Becoming the Natural¿ by Randy Couture.
Randy Couture is a hard working wrestler and UFC fighter with many goals to achieve in his career, but there are many things distracting him and things in his way. He has to cut weight, his family is rough, and of course his opponents. But with his heart and love of the sport he has a great chance to make it.
In Becoming the Natural: My Life In and Out of the Cage, is about Randy Couture growing up as a child in Washington not having the best times. How him and his wife go through rough times of having a baby at a young age. And it talks about how he served our country in the army and how he¿s wrestled for them. One day he sent a few videos of him wrestling to the UFC. Next thing you know he got a phone call and was asked to fight Tony Halme in the UFC 13. After he has won a few fights he is now gaining more and more fans, but will he be the best of the best?
This is a great autobiography of a man who went from teaching wrestling to being the main event of the night. This book shows that you can accomplish anything with enough hard work. This book made me never want to put it down. This is a great book because it¿s about my favorite sport and not alone my favorite fighter, so if you¿re into this stuff then read it! There are a few parts in the book with bad language and violence. I would have to rate it a five out of five.
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Posted July 13, 2011
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Posted November 29, 2008
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Posted February 21, 2011
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Posted December 11, 2010
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Posted May 17, 2010
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Overview
Randy Couture -- voted "The Greatest Fighter of All Time" by viewers' choice -- recounts his record-breaking career, which has made him an undisputed UFC legend.
Randy Couture wins fights with the seemingly effortless ease with which lesser mortals eat or breathe. He's the only athlete to have held championship titles in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions of the UFC, and he's the only six-time title earner in UFC history.
In Becoming the Natural, Couture tells his story for the first time, beginning with a childhood spent in search of an elusive father figure, ...