Couture training with "Axe Murderer"

Speaking of Couture, the champ recently stepped up his training by enlisting former PRIDE middleweight champ Wanderlei Silva in his training program.

Silva, who is planning to relocate to the US and is very near reaching a contract with UFC, spent time in Las Vegas helping "the Natural" train. Though he is renowned for his aggressive standup attack, Silva is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and might have helped Couture construct a plan against Gonzaga's ground game.

"It's been kind of nice having him in the gym," Couture said. "It's been fun. I've been training in jiu-jitsu for 10 years, and I have my ideas about how [Gonzaga] will operate on the ground. I've spent time with top jiu-jitsu guys formulating positions and attacks from the top and bottom specifically for Gabriel. It's his area of strength, and it's where I like to put guys, so it will be a battle."

Silva is likely to sign with UFC soon and is aiming for a December matchup, quite possibly against Chuck Liddell.