Sherdog’s Top 10: UFC Light Heavyweight Title Fights

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7. Randy Couture vs. Tito Ortiz
UFC 44
Sept. 26, 2003 | Las Vegas
Couture spanked Ortiz at UFC 44, literally and figuratively. In a unification bout turned beatdown, “The Natural” laid claim to the undisputed light heavyweight championship with a lopsided unanimous decision over Ortiz before 10,400 fans at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Couture was awarded a pair of 10-8 rounds by the judges, who scored it 50-45, 50-44 and 50-44. FightMetric statistics tell a tale of utter dominance. Couture took down “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” eight times -- twice in the first round, once in the second, twice in the third, once in the fourth and twice in the fifth -- in the 25-minute affair and outlanded him by an eye-popping 194-34 margin. Ortiz’s situation only worsened as the fight deepened. In the third through fifth rounds, Couture connected with 140 strikes; Ortiz landed only seven. To add insult to figurative injury, the three-time NCAA All-American reached down and patted a rolled-up Ortiz on his rear end late in Round 5, tying a proper bow on one of the most complete performances of his career.

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