RYAN COUTURE, SON OF MMA LEGEND RANDY COUTURE,


TO MAKE PRO MMA DEBUT AT 


STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS EVENT IN PHOENIX, 

AUG. 13, LIVE ON SHOWTIME®



SAN JOSE, Calif. (July 29, 2010) - Ryan Couture, son of MMA legend Randy "The Natural" Couture, has signed a multi-fight agreement with world championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion STRIKEFORCE and will make his professional MMA debut on Friday, Aug. 13 at the STRIKEFORCE Challengers event at Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, Ariz., LIVE on SHOWTIME (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).  



The 27-year-old Couture, a member of the Las Vegas, Nev., based Xtreme Couture fight team, will face Lucas Stark of Chandler, Ariz. in a three-round lightweight (155 pounds) bout.  



Looking to make a name for himself in the sport his father helped pioneer, Couture compiled an amateur record of 5-1-1 competing as a lightweight with all five wins coming by way of submission.  He has had access to a who's who of MMA royalty as training partners and coaches, which, coupled with a solid amateur career, has given him the background and confidence to take his fight career to the next level.  



Couture, whose parents split up when he was in sixth grade, spent his high school years in suburban Seattle.  With his father being a former wrestling coach at Oklahoma State University, Couture naturally developed into a talented high school wrestler.  



Following high school, Couture enrolled in Western Washington University in Bellingham, where he graduated in 2004 with a mathematics degree. He worked at a local bank until he realized his desire to work in the family business.  



Couture began his MMA training in 2006, working diligently to mature into a well-rounded fighter, adding Muay Thai and a dangerous submission game to his repertoire.  In January 2008, he moved to Las Vegas to train with his father.  



In his final amateur bout on March 26, Couture fought to a draw against Sean Bollinger for the Tuff-N-UFF 155-pound title fight at The Orleans in Las Vegas.