Becoming the Natural: My Life In and Out of the Cage
by Randy Couture
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Book Summary Information
Author: Randy CoutureContributor: Loretta Hunt
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-07-22
ISBN: 1416957804
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9781416957805
- Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
- Notes:
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Book Reviews of Becoming the Natural: My Life In and Out of the Cage
Book Review: Randy has forgotten more about MMA than most will ever know
Summary: 5 Stars
Randy has forgotten more about MMA than most will ever know. I'm not just talking about the actual skills but the history of the sport as well. The guy started off in UFC 13 and is about to fight in UFC 102. Have you even watched as many UFC's as Randy has attended?
The forward by Kevin James is the best for any book I've ever read:
"They say the hardest thing to do in professional sports is to hit a fastball. I might have to disagree."
This intro grabbed me from the beginning and I even showed it to some non-MMA fans and they were impressed. I started following MMA in 2005 at which time Randy had already secured a spot in the Hall of Fame. With many other MMA biographies they talk about their childhood and how they got into MMA. Randy was a full grown man in his 30s who had been in the army, started a family, trained for the Olympics multiple times, and started coaching by the time MMA found him. I really have a much better understanding of the early days of MMA not found many other places due exclusively to this book. We are talking pre Dana White UFC days for multiple chapters of the book. I felt like I was looking at old family photos this book when I saw the pictures of both Dana and Randy with hair.
One things that he talks about in the book are all the great friendships in the Wrestling/MMA community. It does suck to have to fight your friends sometimes, but hey these guys get paid a lot to do it. I was shocked to find out Randy and Tim Silvia were friends before Randy fought him. Randy talks about this aspect of his job during a few chapters of the book. While I am even more impressed with Randy as a fighter reading his story did take him down a few pegs as a person. I think his nickname as Captain America comes from his military background. However, Randy really does personify the American to a T. Never giving up on your goals no matter what anyone else tells you. But it also goes to show how flawed America has become. Granted he sounds like a great guy, but all the drama surrounding his early life and his 3 wives was very surprising. I definitely have to go back and rewatch the UFC 51 where he brought Kim the first time to see his reaction when they flashed him on the big screen.
The old adage "It took 10 years to become an over night success" certainly applies here. Randy failed to make the Olympic team 4 times over 13 years. How crushing, that must have been. MMA was almost a side note on his wrestling career, something that he did for fun. I think the first season of the Ultimate fighter is what pushed the modern era of MMA into the mainstream, especially after the Griffin/Bonner fight. It amazes me to think of Randy's time as a coach for the first season of the Ultimate fighter, as the end of his career instead of the beginning. This guy has been around forever.
I would recommend reading this book before any other MMA biography as it covers the largest portion of the MMA time line.
If they were giving a college course on the history of MMA this would be required reading. It was weird to hear Randy admit he actually felt fear walking into the cage for the first time. I just assume all these guys are fearless, but overcoming this fear is what makes so many of them great.
Summary of Becoming the Natural: My Life In and Out of the Cage
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.
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