PHOENIX — Before he became a six-time UFC champion, an actor and one of the most iconic names in mixed martial arts history, Randy Couture served in the U.S. Army.
On Tuesday, he will go back to his roots and serve as the celebrity grand marshal for the Phoenix Veterans Day Parade.
Couture, who served in the Army’s 101st Airborne Division from 1982 to 1988, said that fighting for his country helped pave the road for his future accomplishments.
“I think in many ways it set me up for success down the road after service, and led me to my college career in wrestling — (I) wrestled for the national team, fighting in mixed martial arts, all of those things kind of grew out of that competitive spirit that I developed in the Army,” Couture said on Monday.
He said it is an honor to help lead the parade because of what the military has taught him.
“You learn to pay attention to detail. You learn that you’re going to get out of it exactly what you put into it, which is certainly life in a nutshell,” Couture said. “It’s not a switch. Once you take that oath and get indoctrinated into that mindset, you look at the world a particular way because of that experience, and it’s certainly been that way for me.”
Couture sits on the board of directors for Merging Vets and Players (MVP), an organization that helps reconnect combat veterans to their veteran community. Members of the organization will be joining Couture during the parade on Tuesday.
Couture joked that he won’t be on a float for the parade. Instead, he’ll be in a red, white and blue-draped Corvette.
“I’ve been practicing my parade wave and hopefully stay in the car and don’t fall out,” the UFC Hall of Famer said.
The Phoenix Veterans Day Parade will begin at 11 a.m. It will start at Central Avenue and Montbello Drive and end at Seventh Street and Indian School Road.
For more details, including the full parade route and a list of road closures, click here.
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