A lot of people say fighting is in their blood. When it comes to Ryan Couture, it’s not just a catchy soundbite; it’s the truth. How else would you explain a young man in his mid-20’s abandoning his Math degree from Western Washington University and a steady gig as an Operations Supervisor for Washington Mutual Bank to chase glory in prizefighting?
It’s got to be the bloodlines, and if the last name didn’t tip you off, Couture’s father, Randy, did a little fighting himself, eventually winning five UFC titles and earning induction to the UFC Hall of Fame. Yeah, that Randy Couture.
Yet despite having a better idea than most about the ups and downs of the fight game, Ryan Couture decided that this was the path he wanted to travel, and he didn’t need for his father to warn him about what he was stepping into.
“He didn’t really have to because I had such a front row seat for how it happened for him, and also around the time I moved out here, Kim, his ex-wife, was trying her hand at fighting, and I saw how crazy that got,” he said. “So I saw up close, pretty much exactly what I might have in store for myself, so I really got to weigh those options and think about if it was something I could put up with and something I wanted to undertake.”
Seven amateur and two pro fights later, he’s still here.
“It just didn’t make sense to pass up the opportunity to make a living doing something that I loved so much,” he said. “It’s an adjustment process, but one that I was ready for. I don’t expect to ever really reach the level of notoriety that he (Randy Couture) has because I’m not looking to get into Hollywood and I don’t think anyone will have the kind of impact he has on the sport again, so odds are I’ll never end up on the level that he is where you can’t go anywhere, so I’m comfortable with it and kinda looking forward to seeing what the future has in store.”
The immediate future has Couture traveling back to his roots in the Pacific Northwest to battle Matt Ricehouse on the Strikeforce Challengers card in Kent, Washington. It’s Couture’s third pro outing, and perhaps his most difficult, as Ricehouse enters the bout with a 4-0 record that includes two Strikeforce bouts. Couture’s last opponent, Lee Higgins, also came in with a “0” on the end of his record, and it’s clear that the 28-year old wants to push himself early in his career.
“I’m trying to take logical steps up in competition every time out, and until I show with my performance that I need somebody who’s not a step up or who has a little weaker record, then we’ll keep fighting tough guys,” he said.
And it’s not easy doing that. If his name was Ryan Smith, a steady stream of cupcakes and confidence builders would be passing across his plate and no one would blink an eye because he was just another up and coming lightweight getting his feet wet in the pro game. But as Ryan Couture, there will always be an extra pair of eyes on him, wondering if he’s being moved too slow or too fast, and it will be that way until he reaches contender-level in the sport.
“There’s a line there that I’m trying to walk,” he said. “Obviously I don’t want to rush into anything because I shouldn’t be fighting a top level guy yet. I’ve only got two fights under my belt, so I still have kinks to work out and things to learn, but I understand that the name that I’m carrying around is gonna lead to a little steeper learning curve for me because of the fan recognition and the following that I’ll have that I may not have technically earned with my performances yet. We’re trying to find that balance of taking the right fights while knowing that we’re never gonna be able to slow play it and maybe do it the way some other people have or the way that might be ideal.”
That’s a heavy duty dose of maturity right there, and it may be why he didn’t go from wrestling in high school straight to mixed martial arts. Even though he had thoughts of one day jumping to the sport, he got his degree, got a job, and then, almost by chance, he started going from taking jiu-jitsu to stay in shape to getting a more pronounced itch to compete. Everything snowballed from there.
“I never had any intention of doing it professionally,” he said. “Even when I was just wrestling back in high school and going and watching fights, I was curious if I might have what it takes to try it, but never really thought I’d get around to it. And when I started training initially, it was just as a way to get back in shape and have some fun. I liked it better than a treadmill for keeping the pounds off. (Laughs) But the more I did it, and especially when I had the opportunity to come work with the family business (Xtreme Couture) and help around the gym, that’s when I really caught the bug. Being around all those top level fighters day in and day out at such an elite gym really made it hard not to have to satisfy that curiosity about whether I could do it myself. And once I jumped in the ring and gave it a shot, I was hooked and I knew I had to change course and make that my priority.”
But what about making the switch from the Northwest to the almost polar opposite lifestyle of Las Vegas? He laughs.
“It was a massive culture shock for sure,” said Couture. “It took some getting used to, but I was lucky to have a built-in group of friends and good people at the gym, and obviously having family in the area helps. But it’s definitely not for everybody out here. I love it and I’ve grown to feel at home here, though there are parts of the way of life out here that I try to avoid and could do without. But I’m very comfortable here now and I definitely consider this home. I was ready for a change of pace. The Northwest was great, but I was there for over half my life and I felt like it was time to get out and try something new, so this has been awesome for me.”
In August of last year, Couture made his pro and Strikeforce debut with a 75 second submission of Lucas Stark. Higgins made it to round three before getting submitted, and now Couture will look to make it three in a row against Ricehouse, and the gameplan for his unbeaten foe is clear: let him worry about me, and not vice versa.
“At this point I’m mostly focusing on my strengths because that’s gonna give me the best chance of winning, regardless of what the other guy’s good at,” said Couture. “I need to improve everything still and I’m so new at this, but I kinda have my situations where I’m best and we always try to steer towards that unless we see something really glaring in the footage that leads us to something else.”
Spoke like a true pro, and that’s what Couture has become in a short time. Let’s just say he won’t be going back to working at a bank anytime soon.
“Everybody’s been supportive of me and recognize that I’m sort of following the path that makes the most sense to me and that’s what I want to do,” he said. “I don’t think my mom was thrilled when I first started getting into it, but she’s gotten used to it and become one of my biggest supporters. It was definitely a roundabout path that I took, but I’m happy with where I’m at now and wouldn’t change a thing about how I got here.”
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