Heroes:
Aron Ralston
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aron_Ralston
Ralston was a student majoring in mechanical engineering and French at Carnegie Mellon University, as well as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. At Carnegie Mellon, he served as a Resident Assistant, studied abroad, and was an active intramural sports participant, playing for the famous 69ers. He left his job as a mechanical engineer with Intel in 2002 to return to climb all of Colorado's "fourteeners", or peaks over 14,000 feet high. While on a canyoneering trip in Blue John Canyon (near Moab, Utah), a boulder fell and pinned his right forearm down, crushing it. After five days of trying to lift and break the boulder, a dehydrated and delirious Ralston bowed his arm against the chockstone and snapped the radius and ulna bones. Using the dull blade on his multiuse tool, he cut the soft tissue around the break. He then used the tool's pliers to tear at the tougher tendons. Although he didn't name which brand (other than to say it was not Leatherman), he did describe it as “what you’d get if you bought a $15 flashlight and got a free multi-use tool.â€[1]
After being rescued, his arm was retrieved by park authorities and removed from under the boulder. It was cremated and given to Ralston. He returned to the boulder and left the ashes there.
Mike Mentzer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Mentzer
Mentzer took the bodybuilding concepts developed by Arthur Jones and attempted to perfect them. Through years of study, observation, knowledge of stress physiology and the most up-to-date scientific information available, and careful use of his reasoning abilities, Mentzer devised and successfully implemented the only theory of bodybuilding. Mentzer's theories are intended to help a person achieve their full genetic potential within the shortest amount of time.
Mentzer was an Objectivist, and he insisted that philosophy and bodybuilding are one and the same. He said "Man, is an indivisible entity, an integrated unit of mind and body." Thus, his books contain as much philosophy as they do bodybuilding information.
High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way was Mentzer's final work. In it, he detailed the principles of high intensity weight training. Weight training, he insisted, had to be brief, infrequent, and intense, in order to attain the best results in the shortest amount of time. Heavy Duty II also espouses critical thinking. In this book, Mentzer shows why people need to use their reasoning ability to live happy, mature, adult lives, and he shows readers how to go about doing so.
Mentzer was also known for his adoption of the approach that "a calorie is a calorie", and would often torment bodybuilders who were strictly dieting, by freely eating Danishes and other off-limit foods close to competitions.
Vladimir Klitschko
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Klitschko
Now known as "Dr. Steelhammer" Klitschko first achieved world attention at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He defeated Paea Wolfgramm in the finals for the Super-Heavyweight gold medal. Standing exactly 6' 7"(200 cm) in height, Wladimir is tall, even for a heavyweight, and has a muscular frame.
Klitschko turned professional with Universum Box-Promotion in Hamburg, Germany under the tuteledge of Fritz Sdunek. On October 14, 2000, in Cologne's Kölnarena (Germany), Klitschko won the WBO Heavyweight Championship from American Chris Byrd (who had won it from Vitali six months earlier). After five successful defenses of the WBO belt, Wladimir suffered an upset loss to South African Corrie Sanders on March 8, 2003 in Hannover, Germany. Wladimir was caught by a Corrie Sanders left hand in the first, and barely escaped the round. Wladimir was ultimately knocked down 4 times in total en route to a second round TKO loss.
After two minor bouts in Germany, and also obtaining the services of legendary boxing trainer Emmanuel Steward, Wladimir again fought for the vacated WBO Title on April 10, 2004 in Las Vegas against the then-lightly regarded American Lamon Brewster. For the first four rounds of the fight Wladimir easily outclassed Brewster, knocking Brewster to the canvas in the fourth round. However things turned around in the fifth when Brewster began landing heavy punches. Near the end of the round, Klitschko was floored by a heavy right hand. Barely beating the count, Klitschko fell to the canvas in exhaustion after the end of the fifth round and remained prone on the floor for several seconds. The fight was stopped by the referree when Klitschko appeared exhausted and non-responsive. Speculative accusations that Klitschko had somehow been drugged were never proven. At the hospital after the fight, low blood sugar levels were reported.
After defeating American DaVarryl Williamson on October 2, 2004 and the previously undefeated Eliseo Castillo on April 23, 2005, Klitschko faced Nigerian Samuel Peter on September 24, 2005 in Atlantic City, New Jersey in an eliminator match for the IBF and WBO number-one contender ranking. Despite being floored three times during the match, Wladimir went on to win a unanimous decision.
On April 22, 2006 in Mannheim, Germany, Klitschko again defeated Chris Byrd, this time by technical knockout, after a decidedly one-sided contest for the IBF and the previously vacated IBO world heavyweight championships. Referee Wayne Kelly stopped the fight in the seventh round after a punishing knockdown that severely lacerated and bloodied the face of Byrd.
In a decisive victory, Wladimir defeated Calvin Brock by knockout on November 11, 2006 at Madison Square Garden with a devastating right-hand in the 7th round. [1] After his impressive victories over Byrd and Brock, Wladimir was once again considered one of the finest heavyweight boxers in the world, and the "man to beat" in the division.
Wladimir Klitschko defeated mandatory challenger Ray Austin on March 10, 2007 at the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany by a second-round knockout with four consecutive left hooks to Austin's head. It was Wladimir's second successful defense of the IBF heavyweight title.
Randy "The Natural" Couture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Couture
Before entering the UFC, Randy Couture served in the U.S. Army from 1982–1988. Upon discharge, he was a three-time Olympic team alternate (1988, 1992 and 1996); a semifinalist at the 2000 Olympic Trials; a three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association D-I All-American; and a two-time NCAA finalist.[1]
Randy Couture debuted in the UFC on May 30, 1997 as part of UFC 13: The Ultimate Force. At the time, the event consisted of two four-man tournaments: one in the lightweight (under 200 lb) division and one in the heavyweight (200 lb and over) division. Couture fought in the heavyweight tournament, defeating Tony Halme and Steven Graham to win it. His next match was an elimination bout for the heavyweight title against the young Brazilian "Phenom", Vitor Belfort. Randy scored a TKO victory.
Couture won his first Heavyweight title via decision in a 1997 match against kickboxer Maurice Smith. Couture was afterwards stripped of the title when he could not come to contractual terms with the UFC and its parent company at the time, Semaphore Entertainment Group. After leaving the UFC, Couture signed with the RINGS organization, a fightsport promotion primarily based out of Japan. His tenure with RINGS would prove to be short-lived. He returned to the UFC in 2000, where he recaptured the Heavyweight title from Kevin Randleman at UFC 28 on November 17 of that year.
After two consecutive losses in the heavyweight division to larger opponents (Ricco Rodriguez and a title loss to Josh Barnett) Couture moved down a weight class to fight at 205 lbs in the UFC's light-heavyweight division. In his light-heavyweight debut, Couture took on long-time number one contender Chuck Liddell for the Interim Light-Heavyweight Championship. Couture won by TKO in the third round, and became the only UFC competitor to win championship titles in two weight classes. His next match was billed as a "Champion vs. Champion" fight in order to settle who was the rightful, undisputed champion of the division; Couture faced the five-time defending champion Tito Ortiz for the Undisputed Light-Heavyweight title. He scored a unanimous decision and became the undisputed UFC Light Heavyweight Champion at age 40.
On April 16, 2005, Couture lost his title and suffered the first knockout loss of his career in a rematch with Chuck Liddell. Couture came back in August with a win over Mike van Arsdale to reestablish himself as a top contender. He faced Liddell again for the third and final time in a championship match on February 4, 2006 at UFC 57; he did not succeed, and lost due to knockout. Immediately after the match, he announced his retirement from the sport.
On June 24, 2006, during the Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale broadcast on Spike TV, Couture became the fourth fighter to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, joining Royce Gracie, Dan Severn, and Ken Shamrock.
Couture, after retiring from the professional fighting circuit, began embarking on a variety of activities, including appearing at UFC events as a regular broadcast commentator and as co-host of Before/After The Bell on The Fight Network. He will also appear in the upcoming Rob Schneider comedy Big Stan, along with fellow mixed martial artists Don Frye and Bob Sapp. Couture would still compete athletically; on November 17, 2006, he faced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in a submission wrestling match. The bout ended in a draw.[1]
On January 11, 2007, Couture appeared for an interview on the Spike TV magazine show, Inside the UFC to announce his return from retirement. In a conversation with Joe Rogan, Couture confirmed that he would be facing Tim Sylvia for the UFC Heavyweight Championship title on March 3, 2007 and revealed that he had signed a four-fight, two-year deal with the company. He will be 45 years old when the contract expires.[2]
Randy was featured on Spike TV's reality show "Pros vs. Joes" Season 2, which premiered on January 25, 2007. His teammates on the episode were Michael Irvin, Kevin Willis, and Jose Canseco.
On March 3, 2007, at UFC 68, Couture defeated then-champion Tim Sylvia by unanimous decision to claim his third UFC Heavyweight Title, at the age of 43. Couture's first punch, at :08 of the first round, sent the 6'8" Sylvia to the mat. Couture controlled the pace of the fight for the remainder of the 5 rounds. His performance earned him a 50-45 score on all of the judges scorecards, making him the first five-time champion in UFC history.[2] He is also one of very few athletes to win a championship after a becoming Hall of Fame member.
UFC President Dana White has stated that Couture's next fight may be against Mirko Cro Cop in the summer of 2007, with the stipulation that Cro Cop is not defeated by Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 70.
