Top 5 Stories of the Week

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Ultimate Fighting Championship hall of famer and former two-division titleholder Randy Couture on Jan. 29 inked a multi-year agreement with Spike TV and will serve as a coach for Season 1 of Bellator Fighting Championships’ forthcoming reality show on the Viacom-owned cable network. Spike TV has called a Feb. 5 press conference to formally announce the deal.

The extent of Couture’s role in Spike TV programming remains unknown, though he is expected to appear on the network beyond his obligations to the reality series. Couture coached opposite fellow UFC hall of famer Chuck Liddell on Season 1 of the groundbreaking “Ultimate Fighter” series on Spike TV in 2005.

A debut date for the Bellator series has not been announced, but it will likely feature lightweight and welterweight competitors. Promotion officials previously revealed that the show will be produced by “Amazing Race” co-creator Bertram Van Munster. Bellator moved its weekly live event programming to Spike TV from sister network MTV2 and averaged 938,000 viewers in its Jan. 17 Spike TV debut.

Couture, who turns 50 in June, held Ultimate Fighting Championship titles as a light heavyweight and heavyweight. He retired from active competition following a knockout loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 in April 2011. Couture’s 16 UFC victories tie him with Liddell and reigning middleweight king Anderson Silva for third on the all-time list, trailing only Matt Hughes (18) and Georges St. Pierre (17).

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