Kim Couture -- wife of UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture -- has the second fight of her professional mixed martial arts career against Lina Kvokov (0-1) coming up next Friday night, November 21, at the HP Pavillion in San Jose, Calif., on the Strikeforce: "Destruction" card.
Couture suffered a loss in her pro debut back in June to Kim Rose, but she showed tremendous heart after battling back from a severely broken jaw sustained in the opening seconds of the bout. While the showing garnered her plenty of respect, it also drew it's fair share of criticism from those who don't support female MMA.
But that's just a taste of what she's got going on -- Kim is one very busy individual.
On top of her fighting career, she's a savvy business woman, too. In fact, she's a fighter, a fight promoter, a business executive and the wife of the heavyweight champion of the world all in one.
We recently caught up with Kim to discuss her upcoming fight, her previous loss, the broken jaw, female MMA, her husband's return to the UFC to defend his heavyweight title, whether or not Brock Lesnar deserves the opportunity to fight him and much more.
Here. We. Go:
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): What's the deal with this Todd Beard situation? At what point did it get to where you needed to get a restraining order?
Kim Couture: Yeah, whatever is out there is accurate. I'm not going to comment on any of that.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Ok, no problem. We can change the subject. Talk a little bit about why you decided to become a professional fighter and how much your husband Randy influenced that decision if any.
Kim Couture: Well I was training in this sport before I ever met him, but I didn't get inspired to fight until Gina came into our gym. So it actually had nothing to do with ... well I wouldn't say it had nothing to do with Randy because obviously I'm always around him and what he's doing, but Gina's what inspired me. When she started, I just wanted to give her an extra body to work with. She didn't have many girls to work with here. So, I figured I'd run as much as I could as quickly as possible so I could be valuable to her.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): So you and Gina are really close I assume. Have you heard of where she might possibly land in wake of Elite XC shutting it's doors?
Kim Couture: We're very close, but no, she doesn't even know. Nobody knows until that whole thing shakes out.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): How long have you been training and what kind of fighter do you consider yourself? Are you a striker, a wrestler, grappler, what?
Kim Couture: I've been training for a little more than a year and a half. I do everything. I've learned everything equally the same through this whole period.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): You debuted in June against Kim Rose and broke your jaw very early on in the fight. Are you completely healed up from that injury now?
Kim Couture: Yep.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Were you skeptical at all to fight a second time after going through such a painful injury?
Kim Couture: Nope, not at all. I wouldn't be doing it if there was any skepticism (laughs).
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Well I think it was badass that you kept fighting for two and a half more rounds with a broken jaw.
Kim Couture: I think it was a bigger deal to everybody else than it was to me. To me it really wasn't that big of a deal. It's all a matter of perspective. I mean, if I was somebody who had never been hurt before in my life I might have freaked out, but I've been hurt a lot. I grew up breaking horses and training horses and I've had several broken bones and several injuries, but you still have to deal with the issue that's in front of you, so you just work through it. Crying about it is definitely not going to get you anywhere (laughs).
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): So you obviously don't agree with the people who say women shouldn't fight, and that the brutality of that fight is a prime example of why not?
Kim Couture: Not at all, you know, they need to get over that. If they can't handle blood then maybe they shouldn't be watching it. It should be up to the fighters. It wasn't a big deal to me.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Did you learn from any mistakes you made in the Kim Rose fight that you'll use to help you in your second fight?
Kim Couture: Well I think I was naive in the fact that I thought I could just walk out to the middle, you know, touch gloves and start the fight. I'm not going to make that naive mistake again. I'm going to be prepared from the moment the referee says lets go. So, that was it, just kind of naive on my part, but it won't happen again.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): There's not much information on your opponent. Do you know much about her?
Kim Couture: No, I don't know a thing about her besides her stats. I know she's an inch taller than me, and same record, two amateur fights and one pro fight, so we should be equally matched.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): How has your training camp been going for this fight?
Kim Couture: It's been fantastic. I've had a great training camp. My coaches are awesome and things are going well. Randy is there everyday, obviously he's been doing his own thing for this training camp, but he'll watch if I finish or if I go first, he'll watch and look and tell me what he sees and what he's noticing. But I've got four other coaches I work with consistently, so I'm listening to them and listening to the techniques they're teaching.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): How do you like his chances against Brock Lesnar this Saturday?
Kim Couture: Oh, I think he looks great. I think it's going to be a good night.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Do you think Brock is deserving of a title shot or do you think it's too early for him to be facing a guy like your husband?
Kim Couture: Oh, I definitely think it's too early. There's a lot of other guys out there that have put the time in and paid their dues that have been around and have the experience in the sport. I definitely think it's too early.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Do you guys get nervous when the other one is fighting?
Kim Couture: No, not at all. There's nothing to be nervous about. If you're nervous about something, it just tells you that you have fear, and there's no fear going into this or we wouldn't be doing it. You know, it's exciting. And if you think about it being an exciting time then you go into it with a positive attitude and you're ready and you have a clear head. If you're nervous and you're afraid of something then more than likely something bad will happen.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): What's it like in the Couture household this close to both of you fighting?
Kim Couture: Nothing changes. We're the same people all the time. We might be more tired, you know, we get done eating and we go home and go to sleep, so we might get to bed a little earlier than normal, but that's probably the only thing that changes.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Do you guys ever talk about having kids? With those genes, you guys could make some superstars.
Kim Couture: No, we're both fixed. (Laughs)
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): You're still young, only 32. How long do you plan on fighting? What are your goals in this sport?
Kim Couture: I'm just doing it for fun. It's my outlet. I have a lot of business transactions going on. It just brings good balance to my life. If I'm capable and able to do it without it interfering obviously with our family business, then I'm gonna keep going. I've got a lot going on with my promotions as well. I've put two shows on already, and I have six planned for next year, so we'll see how I juggle all that.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Anything specific coming up?
Kim Couture: Nothing solid yet. We're shooting for the end of January and the end of February. Then we'll probably take a little break, a month or two off, then have another one.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): This is your first fight with Strikeforce. Are you under contract with them, or what's the deal with that?
Kim Couture: So far it's a one fight deal. Well, actually I haven't even signed anything yet, so I don't know what it is (laughs). I'm good friends with those guys so I haven't done any paperwork yet.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): I assume your fight will be on the televised portion of the card.
Kim Couture: Yes.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Do you think women's MMA was effected by the collapse of Elite XC?
Kim Couture: I think women's MMA will be fine. I mean, Strikeforce just might get that CBS deal. We don't know yet. I don't know who the CBS deal is going to go to, but I know it's available. I would like to see Stirkeforce get it. They're putting on women's fights obviously. I'm going to continue to put on women's fights on our cards as well. So, I don't think it's going to hurt us at all.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Do you have anybody you want to thank or is there anything you want to say to your fans.
Kim Couture: I just thank everybody for their support, the people that stuck by me, especially my coaches for believing in me and helping me out.
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Thanks again Kim, and good luck in your fight.
Kim Couture: Your welcome and thank you. Have a good day.
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