The 62-year-old UFC Hall of Famer has been working to make his debut on the National Hot Rod Association later this year.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Randy Couture, a former UFC star who is now a commentator, was transported by air to a burn center following a crash at a pro stock racetrack in Missouri.
According to ESPN, Couture sustained first and second-degree burns, trauma injuries, and inhaled smoke during the solo car accident on Tuesday. TMZ adds that the incident occurred during a practice session in Kansas City.
He is expected to make a full recovery, his spokesperson told ESPN. Some reports say he is already in stable condition.
The accident happened at the Flying H Drag Strip in Odessa, Missouri, which is part of the I-70 Motorsports Park, as reported by the Kansas City Star. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.
The 62-year-old UFC Hall of Famer had been working to make his debut on the National Hot Rod Association later this year. The NHRA is the largest auto racing organization in the world and mostly promotes drag racing.
Drag racing is defined as “a sport or competition in which specially built or modified cars race over a short distance as a test of acceleration,” by Oxford Languages.
It’s when two vehicles, in Couture’s case, cars, line up side by side and race to see who is fastest along a short distance — typically a quarter-mile or an eighth-mile.
Couture has been open about his love for racing, recently speaking on The Bubba Army Show a few weeks ago about his experience getting ready for his NHRA debut.
“I’ve been a fan of racing for 12, 13 years,” Couture said. “(It’s) kind of that fight or flight. Same with fighting. Walking up in that cage, or out on that mat, you know, your butt wants to pucker up and you don’t do the things you normally wanna do or you’re trained to do.”
Couture was a U.S. Army soldier and had plenty of wins in his MMA career: he’s a three-time NCAA All-American, an international Greco-Roman competitor, and a six-time UFC World Champion.
After first retiring from fighting in 2007, Couture took up acting and was in The Expendables series and The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior, among other things.
