[2] He established Team Quest with Matt Lindland and Dan Henderson, a training camp for fighters, based out of Gresham, Oregon, and headed by coach Robert Folis.

Couture is generally recognized as a clinch and ground-and-pound fighter who uses his wrestling ability to execute take downs, establish top position and successively strike the opponent on the bottom.

He is the only UFC fighter to win a championship after becoming a Hall-of-Famer and is the oldest champion in MMA history with his title victory over Tim Sylvia at age 43.

Couture immediately hit a double-leg takedown and, after some ground and pound, moved to back mount and secured a rear naked choke submission to win in under a minute.

Couture submitted to a kimura, though the loss was controversial due to Illoukhine locking the hold while they were being re-positioned on the center of the ring.

In the third round, he tripped Randleman to the mat and landed several strikes from full mount for a TKO victory and his second UFC Heavyweight Championship.

After winning an even decision over veteran Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in the first fight, he got caught in a guillotine choke by Valentijn Overeem after committing himself in a takedown and had to submit.

He was again the underdog but, after outstriking Liddell for three rounds, took the fight to the ground and won by TKO via strikes from full mount,[13] becoming the first UFC fighter to win titles in two weight classes.

Couture dominated all three rounds before winning by doctor stoppage due to a cut, and became a two-time UFC Light heavyweight Champion.

On June 24, 2006, on The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale, Couture became the fourth inductee to the UFC Hall of Fame, joining Royce Gracie, Dan Severn, and Ken Shamrock.

He appeared in the Rob Schneider movie Big Stan, with fellow mixed martial artists Don Frye and Bob Sapp.

[16] On November 17, 2006, Couture fought and drew with Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in a submission wrestling contest.

[18] Couture was featured in the season two premiere episode of the Spike TV show Pros vs. Joes, which aired January 25, 2007.

On January 11, 2007, Couture announced his return from retirement in an interview on the Spike TV magazine show, "Inside the UFC".

[22] At UFC 74 on August 25, 2007, Couture successfully defended the title against Brazilian Gabriel Gonzaga,[23] defeating him via TKO by strikes.

On February 28, 2008, Judge Jennifer Togliatti handed down the first ruling in the case, issuing a preliminary injunction barring Couture from participating in an IFL event held the following day.

On August 2, 2008, a Texas appeals court granted Zuffa's request for a stay against a motion for a declaratory judgment in a suit filed by HDNet regarding Couture's contractual status with the UFC.

The stay effectively ended the dispute in the state of Texas, and Zuffa was allowed to move forward with the Nevada suit.

[37] At first a closely contested match, Lesnar knocked Couture down in the second round and struck him with hammerfists for a TKO victory at 3:07.

[38] In a post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Couture declared his desire to keep fighting and said he felt he was still becoming a better fighter, blaming the loss on his performance, not his age.

Couture modified his training for this bout, focusing on catch wrestling and refining his boxing under coach Gil Martinez.

Couture dominated Toney, taking him down and mounting him within seconds, and quickly making him submit to an arm triangle choke.

The match achieved notoriety, though it drew criticisms of being a freak show fight, among them by UFC President Dana White himself.

[48] Many also felt that this fight had been made as an attempt to repair damage done to the credibility of MMA after Ray Mercer knocked out former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia.

Couture made a cameo appearance in the direct-to-video Steven Seagal film Today You Die and on the season finale of the CBS show The Unit, as a military guard.

He appeared on an episode of The History Channel show Human Weapon on September 27, 2007, and starred in the 2008 film The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior.

In 2012, he played the leading role of hard-bitten cop Paul Ross in Brandon Nutt's action film Hijacked, alongside Dominic Purcell.

In that episode, Vulcano, who refused an instruction during a challenge where he was posing as a Krav Maga instructor, was given a surprise punishment by the other Jokers in that he then had to wrestle Couture and attempt to “pants” him.

In July 2019, Couture appeared on an episode of the Outdoor Channel show Gunnytime entitled "Teamwork Makes the Dream Work".

[65] Asked if MMA could be improved, he suggested health insurance, retirement plans as well as more equal compensation regarding other athletes and sports.