Kim Couture thinks first round will be key

As Kim Couture, wife of Randy Couture, readies for a match up against Lina Kvokov (0-1) at Strkeforce: Destruction on November 21st from San Jose’s HP Pavilion, it would seem important to look at the past.  By the past, we mean that back on June 20, 2008, Kim Rose defeated her by way of decision.  It was the first MMA fight for both competitors and obviously the loss was disappointing for Couture.  Still, she gained a lot of respect from true MMA fans on that night.

You see, right off the bat she was dropped by her competitor and the damage from that initial onslaught resulted in a broken jaw.  Most people would probably figured something like that would have stopped her coming into the bout.  Heck, most people believe that a broken jaw stops just about anybody.  Instead, Couture kept fighting and actually looked improved as the night wore on.    

But ask Couture about the heart she showed on that night and she almost makes you feel rather ridiculous for even thinking it was something of note.   

“It wasn’t a big deal to me,” she told MMAFighting.com’s Robert Rousseau.  “I think everybody else made it a bigger deal than what it was.  I was fine.  Obviously it sucked to go through that because I would’ve liked to fight that fight at a hundred percent.  But it’s a freak thing and you kind of know going into a fight that anything can happen.”

Perhaps part of the story on Kim Couture’s toughness is that she trains with a great group of guys at Xtreme Couture and is married to a fighter that knows a little something about toughness himself.  But there’s certainly more to it for this woman who was involved in athletics like volleyball, basketball, and the rodeo before she even met The Natural.  Speaking of the rodeo that may very well be where she gained some of the mettle she showed against Rose.

“I grew up on a ranch, born into it,” she said.  “My dad and my brother rodeo professionally.  I’ve had a lot of broken bones (in the past).”   

Still, Couture indicates that she certainly learned something about fighting in her MMA debut.  “I think the biggest thing that I needed to work on which was pointed out in that Kim Rose fight is my aggressiveness.  I kind of I’m very technical and methodical but I need to be aggressive right off the starter or they will be, and that’s what’s going to get me hurt.”

It is because of the way she was attacked by Rose early in their fight, which proved to set the stage for their entire match up, that she believes the first round will be crucial when she takes on Kvokov on November 21st.  “I’d just like to have an explosive, dynamic first round,” she said.  “Obviously seeing it going in my favor.  I’d like to overwhelm her.”

This is in fact why she chose to add kickboxer Ray Sefo to her arsenal of trainers that includes Robert Drysdale (jiu jitsu) and Gil Martinez (boxing).  “He’s (Sefo’s) very explosive.  I think instead of waiting around and looking for an opening, he creates those openings.  He works very diligently on setting up for where he wants to be instead of just dealing with what they’re giving you.  Putting them in the position that you want them to be in so you can utilize the skills you want to use.”

All of this leads into one pretty obvious conclusion. Don’t walk away from that TV set in the first round of this match up.  Kim Couture has already proven that there’s no quit in her.  Now she wants to prove that she’s also a highly aggressive offensive fighter from the get-go.  So the first round should go a long way toward determining the winner of this one.    

Just don’t blink.



More quotes from Kim Couture:

More on why it’s not a big deal she fought through a broken jaw: “If I went into a fight thinking ‘oh my gosh well if I get hit or if I get hurt I’m gonna quit,’ that’s just the wrong way to go about it.  I wouldn’t be getting in there if I didn’t expect to get something done and still have the will to think that I could win.”

How she wants to be remembered in fighting: “Wins and losses don’t really matter.  I think when you show heart, that’s what shows what a true fighter is.  You get in there, fight whoever, whenever.  Just overcome obstacles.  I wouldn’t want to have a career of having fights and blowing through everybody and being undefeated.  .  .  Win or lose show a lot of improvement.”   

On EliteXC folding: “It’s unfortunate that they folded.  I think female MMA is going to be fine.  I know I’m going to continue to do promotions and I’ll continue to put females on my card.  .  . Strikeforce is doing the same thing.”

How she deals with the lack of film on her opponent: “I go out there and I do my thing.  I train for everything.  I train in every aspect of the sport and I do the best that I can do and train as hard as I possibly can so I’m prepared for wherever the fight might take it.  It really doesn’t matter what her background is.  I feel like every side of the sport has been a strength for me.”

On whether she still is able to work with Randy now that he’s training for a fight at the same time: “I’ve been going with him for my wrestling pointers.  Sometimes we have to do it at home.  Luckily we have a big bedroom and I’ll be like, you know, I was working on this today in jiu jitsu (and) I know there’s a move you showed me before in wrestling that I could have reversed him here.  So I’m always picking his brain and rolling around with him every chance I get.  It’s not as set in the schedule as the other guys (trainers) are.

Her greatest strength as a fighter: “Probably my mind.  Nobody’s gonna break me.  You better knock me out if you want me to stop.  I’m just not a head case.  I’m pretty solid, pretty confident.  There’s not too many things that are that big a deal to me.”