Randy Couture: Ex-UFC Champion With Karina Smirnoff on Dancing with the Stars Season 19

Jack Phillips
9/15/2014
Updated:
7/18/2015

Randy Couture, the former UFC heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion, will appear on Dancing with the Stars.

Couture, dubbed “The Natural” during his time as fighter and who has a net worth of $17 million, retired in 2011 after suffering a front-kick knockout by Lyoto Machida. He’s also starred in The Expendables franchise and Spike TV’s Gym Rescue.

The 51-year-old compete with Karina Smirnoff, a former Dancing with the Stars champion.

“Preparations for this week have been going amazingly. I’ve been a fan of my partner, Randy Couture, for years. My dog, Randy Smirnoff, is named after Randy Couture! When I saw he was my partner, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, my dad will be so excited.’ Randy’s his favorite fighter, too,” she wrote for People magazine.

She added: “We’ve had fighters on the show before – Floyd Mayweather Jr., Sugar Ray Leonard, Chuck Liddell, Victor Ortiz – and they are not known to be the dancers of the season. None of the guys was natural at it, but I feel like because Randy’s better known for being a wrestler, he has a different way of moving. He’s quite agile.”

The biggest challenge is, I don’t think Randy realizes how strong he is, because if he goes full out 100 percent, I have to cling onto him like a koala bear, because if I don’t, I'll be flying away. We need to really concentrate on being gentle.”

According to oddsmakers, he has a 20/1 chance to win the entire season.

The show premieres at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Here’s the odds:

Alfonso Ribeiro -- 3/1
Janel Parrish -- 5/1
Antonio Sabato Jr. -- 6/1
Jonathan Bennett -- 7/1
Lolo Jones -- 7/1
Sadie Robertson -- 9/1
Bethany Mota -- 10/1
Tavis Smiley -- 12/1
Lea Thompson --15/1
Randy Couture -- 20/1
Betsey Johnson -- 33/1
Michael Waltrip -- 33/1
Tommy Chong -- 50/1

 

MORE: Bethany Mota: Pictures, Photos, Age, Facts for YouTube Star Partnered With Derek Hough on Dancing With the Stars 2014

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Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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