Former UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture has long been considered the master of mixed martial arts game planning, so it's no surprise that as Couture prepares to corner Gina Carano in her fight with Cristiane "Cris Cyborg" Santos on Saturday night, he's got a plan in place.
Couture said he thinks Carano has the kind of striking power necessary to exchange with Cyborg in the stand-up game to an extent that Cyborg's previous opponents haven't.
"I definitely see her as a very straight-ahead, very explosive fighter," Couture said of Cyborg. "She comes very, very hard and I think we're prepared to deal with that. Mistakes that (Cyborg's opponents) made in the past is they try to go power-for-power head-up with her. Gina brings a certain kind of power that I don't think Cristiane has ever faced before, so even if they go head-to-head, I think she's in for a surprise: She's going to be hit and she's going to be kicked like she's never been hit or kicked before. It's going to be a more technical fight from our side and I think we'll make her work a little harder."
Carano, who said Couture warned her against over-training and urged her to focus on quality, rather than quantity, in her workouts, has also benefited from studying tape with Couture.
"We saw plenty of footage," Couture said. "There was a conditioning factor that showed itself in some of those situations, too. She was very frivolous with her energy and I think that's something that we can take advantage of and we can exploit."
I'm guessing UFC President Dana White isn't thrilled about seeing one of his fighters appearing in a promotional video for a Strikeforce fight, but I always think it's great to see Couture breaking down the way a fighter prepares for a fight. Having Couture in her corner will be great for Carano.
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