If you thought Randy Couture was bound to be a little clunky and awkward on "Dancing with the Stars," you might want to check out his debut and think again.
Couture made his first appearance on the show on Monday night, the dancing competition’s 19th season premiere on ABC. Dancing with pro Karina Smirnoff, Couture may have been the biggest surprise of all 13 stars out of the gate.
A taped package showing Couture and Smirnoff in rehearsals leading up to their first dance implied that the 51-year-old UFC Hall of Famer and now actor might be a lot of muscle and brawn, and perhaps lacking in smoothness and musicality.
But, donning a tuxedo, Couture’s foxtrot with Smirnoff got a standing ovation from the studio audience and high praise from the show’s four judges. Couture and Smirnoff got three 8s and a 7, giving them a score of 31 out of a possible 40 – and putting them in fifth place of 13 heading into tonight’s first elimination.
Judge Bruno Tonioli said Couture was “haute Couture,” while female judges Carrie Ann Inaba and Julianne Hough entered swooning territory, with Inaba saying the dance made her “weak in the knees.” Head judge Len Goodman, typically the most grounded of the judges, called the dance “lovely” and “well done.”
Dancers are eliminated based on the combined scores of the judges and audience voting. The leaders after the first show were actor Alfonso Ribeiro and pro Witney Carson with 36. Heading into the season, betting odds on Couture and Smirnoff to win the coveted Mirror Ball Trophy were 20-to-1 – fourth lowest of the cast. Ribeiro and Carson were favored at 3-to-1 before Monday night’s season premiere.
Couture is one of just two fighters to win titles in two divisions for the UFC. Couture is no stranger to the small screen. Along with an ever-growing filmography that includes all three “Expendables” movies, the three-time college wrestling All-American was a coach on Spike TV’s lone season of “Fight Master,” Bellator MMA’s reality competition series, and currently can be seen in Spike TV’s “Gym Rescue” along with Frank Shamrock.
He’s the second MMA fighter to be cast on the long-running show, which airs Monday nights on ABC. In Season 9, in Fall 2009, then-active UFC fighter Chuck Lidell was on the show. He and pro partner Anna Trebunskaya were the fifth pair eliminated that season.
This season's cast of celebrity dancers also includea a fashion icon, a YouTube sensation, a NASCAR legend, and a movie star, to name a few. For the first two weeks viewers may cast their votes for their favorite couples via phone on Monday nights during and up to 60 minutes after the end of the Dancing with the Stars broadcast in each time zone. Online voting at ABC.com and on Facebook is open for 15 hours, beginning from the start of the episode on the East Coast at 8:00 p.m., ET/5:00 p.m., PT and closing at 11:00 a.m., ET/8:00 a.m., PT the next day. From week three until the finale, viewers may cast their votes for their favorite couples via phone on Monday nights during and up to 60 minutes after the end of the Dancing with the Stars broadcast in each time zone. Online voting at ABC.com and on Facebook is open for 24 hours, beginning from the start of each episode on the East Coast at 8:00 p.m., ET/5:00 p.m., PT and closing at 8:00 p.m., ET/5:00 p.m., PT on Tuesday evenings.
Hosted by Emmy® Award-winning host Tom Bergeron (America's Funniest Home Videos) and Erin Andrews (sports host & <="" i=""> Season 10 finalist), Dancing with the Stars is the hit multi-award-winning series in which celebrities perform choreographed dance routines which are judged by renowned ballroom judge Len Goodman and dancer/choreographers Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba and ballroom dancer and Emmy®- Nominated choreographer Julianne Hough.
Here's Randy foxtrot video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PNJFtLgk_g