Stephen Thompson targets UFC legend’s record ahead of UFC Nashville as the oldest fighter on the roster

Stephen Thompson says it would be ‘cool’ to surpass Randy Couture and fight in the UFC past 47 years old

When many think of the oldest fighter to have competed inside the Octagon, a lot of minds will jump to the great Randy Couture.

‘The Natural’ was still achieving success at heavyweight and light heavyweight late into his forties before stepping into the final fight of his career at UFC 129 at 47 years old.

While there is, in fact, a fighter that competed at an even older age inside the UFC than Couture, which Stephen Thompson made reference to, the UFC Hall of Famer remains the most famous example.

At 42 years old, ‘Wonderboy’ has two fights left on his current UFC deal and while he has won one in his last five, he’s still competing against the best guys in the welterweight division.

Thompson told MMA Junkie in a recent interview that while he’s taking each fight as it comes, and he’s prepared to walk away from the sport if he needs to, he sees Couture’s accomplishments as a fun target to aim for.

“It would be cool to beat Randy Couture’s record… It would be cool but I’ve got two fights left man and we’re gonna see them through, gonna honor them, and we’ll go out there and win these next two fights in great fashion and see if we’ll keep going. It depends on what the UFC wants to do for sure. God forbid that if it doesn’t, I’ve got other routes that I can take.”

Stephen Thompson did acknowledge the real oldest fighter to have ever competed in the UFC

While Stephen Thompson did specifically speak about breaking Randy Couture’s record, he did stop himself to state that there was a fighter from the early days of the sport who is the oldest competitor to have fought in the UFC.

That spot is reserved for former UFC 4 participant and martial arts movie actor Ron van Clief.

Van Clief was an acclaimed karate and kung fu champion whose only UFC fight came against the legendary Royce Gracie, which he lost via submission, when he was 51 years old.

The New York native went on to work as a commissioner for the UFC having retired from competition in 2002 when he was 60.