LAS VEGAS -- It was never in doubt.
In a battle between beloved hall of famers, Randy Couture reigned supreme, as he submitted Mark Coleman with a second-round rear-naked choke in the UFC 109 "Relentless" headliner on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Drifting briefly into a state of unconsciousness, Coleman went out on his sword 69 seconds into Round 2.
The incomparable Couture set the tone with his boxing but deftly moved to the clinch midway through the opening round, pressed Coleman against the cage and went to work with his patented dirty boxing. A dejected Coleman, 45, retreated to his corner after a lopsided period. He had no answers and seemed to know it. Reality bit.
Couture rocked Coleman with a left hook in tight in the third round, pushed again into the clinch and took down the former
Olympian with surprising ease. From there, the two-division champion flurried on "
The Godfather of Ground-and-Pound," seized back control and cinched the choke for the victory, his second in a row since his return to the light heavyweight division.
"
I'm having a blast," said the 46-year-old Couture. "
I feel like I'm improving each and every time I get out here. This is my third fight in seven months, and it feels good to be so active."
Coleman is 1-2 in the UFC since returning after a decade-long departure.
"
Wow, the guy's tough," he said of Couture. "
The guy's real tough. I don't know what the hell happened. I'm disappointed. I think I can do better. I won't quit. I'll be back."
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