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UFC legend offers to train Laila Ali if she really wants to fight Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey Laila Ali

Last week, female boxing great Laila Ali said that she could handle UFC champion Ronda Rousey in a fight. Of course, another non-MMA athlete saying they could dethrone the reigning bantamweight champ didn't play well in the MMA community.

The 37-year-old boxing champ retired from competition in 2007 with a record of 24-0. However, when Ali mentioned Rousey's name, she became another celeb/athlete to throw their name in the ‘I can take Ronda Rousey’ contest – a contest that has long since spiraled out of control.

Most dismissed the talk. Ali was a boxer – a great one at that – but she couldn’t step inside the Octagon without the proper time spent in a real MMA gym.

Ronda Rousey laughs at a question during the UFC 184 post-fight press conference. (USAT)
Ronda Rousey laughs at a question during the UFC 184 post-fight press conference. (USAT)

Well, someone with a real MMA gym is willing to help Ali if she decides to come out of retirement. And he’s not only a gym owner; he’s a UFC hall of famer to boot.

“She doesn’t need a boxing coach, she needs a wrestling coach,” said former light heavyweight and heavyweight UFC champion Randy Couture.

TMZ asked for Couture's thoughts on a potential Ali-Rousey matchup. Couture, who runs the successful MMA gym Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, has decades of experience in MMA. He is also a three-time division I All-American out of Oklahoma State – so if wrestling is an area that Ali needs to work on, there would be few, if any, better suited than Couture for the job.

“Ronda Rousey’s not gonna box with her,” he continued, “she’s going to take her down on the ground and rip her arm off like she does to everyone else.”

So, who else better to show her the ropes (or mats) than a bonafide MMA legend?

“Sure,” replied the 51-year-old former champ when asked if he’d lend a hand. “She’s a great athlete. I have a lot of respect for her.”

The proposed matchup of Rousey and Ali is the definition of water cooler talk. After all, Ali is 37 and she hasn’t competed in over half a decade. That said, neither has Gina Carano. And the UFC was looking to put that fight together not too long ago. Couple that with the fact that there has never been anyone in the UFC’s female division(s) who carry the stand-up credentials of Laila Ali, and the prospect of a potential showdown is, at the very least, fun to think about.

At 37, Ali is certainly not collecting AARP benefits just yet. So, the idea of a former boxing legend coming out of retirement to battle the “It” athlete of the moment is not really as far off as some might think.

And when you ask the man who once captured a major UFC title on the verge of his 50th birthday if age matters; well, you don’t need a crystal ball to predict his response.

“I don’t think that matters,” he said. “She’s an amazing athlete. She has half the battle whipped, in the ability she has as a boxer and the intensity that she brings to the game. She needs to learn the grappling and the wrestling. How long will it take her to get up to speed is the big question.”

There are plenty of questions surrounding who Ronda Rousey will fight next. Let’s just hope we get some answers soon, because surely Rousey would like to focus on an actual opponent, and not all of the speculation.