A high school state champion, U.S. Army soldier, three-time NCAA All-American, international Greco-Roman competitor and six-time UFC world champion, Randy Couture is the epitome of an Outstanding American.

After winning a state championship his senior year at Lynnwood High School in Washington, he joined the U.S. Army and served six years, attaining the rank of sergeant in the 101st Airborne. Couture then attended Oklahoma State University where he was a three-time All-American, finishing sixth in 1990 and second in 1991 and 1992 while helping the Cowboys to the team title in 1990 and runner-up finishes in 1991 and 1992. He was a National Wrestling Coaches Association First-Team Academic All-American in 1991 and 1992, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in foreign language and literature.

Couture wrestled at the World Championships in Greco-Roman in 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997, when he finished ninth, and was an Olympic team alternate in 1988, 1992 and 1996 and a semifinalist at the Olympic Trials in 2000.

He was a six-time UFC world champion and was the only competitor to hold titles in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions. Couture became the fourth fighter inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2006, and was inducted into the Oklahoma State College of Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 2016.

As an actor he has appeared in the hit films The Expendables, The Expendables 2 and The Expendables 3, as well as on television. He recently completed filming Alpha Code, a science-fiction film, and Row, a murder mystery.

Couture has his own chain of gyms, Xtreme Couture MMA, and a clothing line, Xtreme Couture MMA Clothing. He also founded and runs the Xtreme Couture GI Foundation, which raises awareness and financially supports wounded veterans. Couture teamed with Jay Glazer of Fox Sports and Green Beret and NFL player Nate Boyer to create Merging Vets and Players (MVP), which is a program designed to address challenges that many combat veterans and professional athletes face when transitioning their service/professional life toward a new mission in civilian life. He and Glazer also created MMAthletics, which teaches professional athletes from various sports the training methods of mixed martial arts and how that training can be applied to their respective sports.

For his storied career in wrestling, the military, mixed martial arts, business and entertainment, Randy Couture is recognized as the 2018 Outstanding American by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.