Couture’s skills, style no secret

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The main event on tonight’s UFC 109 card at Mandalay Bay between Randy Couture and Mark Coleman could be greatly influenced by a man standing outside the cage.

Couture’s longtime trainer, Shawn Tompkins, will be in Coleman’s corner shouting instructions to his new pupil.

Couture, 46, downplayed the significance, saying he has been fighting for so long that everyone knows his tendencies anyway.

“There are no real secrets here. Shawn doesn’t have any inside track on me,” Couture said. “He’s been a big part of Xtreme Couture for a couple of years, and now he’s off building his own thing and doing his own thing with the fighters that he works with.

“I’m not worried about Shawn or Shawn being in his corner.”

Coleman, 45, said much the same thing but did concede Tompkins’ presence might help a little.

“It might make a difference, but there’s no secrets,” he said. “I’ve seen Randy enough. I know his tendencies. Shawn knows some of his tendencies, (but Randy is) a real, real smart guy.”

Tompkins, who left Couture’s gym in October to run his own camp based at the Tapout training center nearby in southwest Las Vegas, says that though he knows his former boss well, that knowledge can only go so far.

“They don’t seem to think it’s going to make an advantage, but I think it will a little bit. I’m not an idiot,” Tompkins said. “I think I know some weaknesses, but then again it’s a fight. When we walk to the cage, I go around the cage. Mark goes into it. It’s a matter of when that bell goes, he’s got to go in and execute the game plan, and I think we’ve got a pretty good one.”

The fight features the oldest combined age (91) in any UFC bout. It also marks the first time two members of the organization’s Hall of Fame, which includes six fighters, will square off after having been inducted. It is also the third fight in six months for Couture.

The light heavyweight says having three straight camps with no breaks has allowed him to build on each fight and continue to learn new things.

Couture continues to reiterate his belief that he’s nowhere near retirement. While there has been some speculation the five-time champion could earn another title shot with a good performance tonight, he says he is just seeking “interesting matchups.”

“I’ll be taking it one fight at a time and enjoying the competition and enjoying the intrigue of the matchups that they keep throwing at me,” he said.

The reward is much more defined for the winner of the middleweight bout between Nate Marquardt and Chael Sonnen — a shot at the winner of April’s title bout between Vitor Belfort and champion Anderson Silva.

Marquardt is more accomplished in his UFC career than the well-traveled Sonnen, but Sonnen says he is ready to prove he belongs.

“My path was a tough one, but I made it. On paper he wins this fight every time, but we’re not fighting on paper,” he said. “We are fighting on a blood-soaked canvas. Nate may have better skills than me, but we’re going to find out who the better fighter is.”

Even more could be at stake for 37-year-old Las Vegan Frank Trigg, who says he will be released if he loses to former welterweight champion Matt Serra.

Trigg spent time bouncing around smaller promotions after leaving the UFC earlier in his career. He returned to the UFC in September and was stopped in the first round by Josh Koscheck.

He says he won’t let that happen again and that if he is cut from the UFC’s roster, he will retire and turn his focus entirely to a burgeoning career in media.

“If it’s over for me (in the UFC), then it’s over for me,” Trigg said. “That’s just the way it is.”

Serra says he’s not about to start feeling bad for his opponent.

“He’s seriously depressing me. I don’t want to hear anything this guy says anymore. He’s talking about working at a fast-food place or something if this doesn’t work out,” Serra said. “You’re not getting a pity win, bro. I’ve got a family too.”

Mike Swick and Demian Maia will be in action in separate bouts, trying to rebound from losses that derailed their title hopes. Welterweight Swick will meet Paulo Thiago, and middleweight Maia takes on Dan Miller.

The 11-fight card begins at 4:15 p.m. with the live pay-per-view broadcast starting at 7. At least two fights will air on Spike (Cable 29), beginning at 6.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.