He is only seven months younger than Philadelphia Phillies lefthander Jamie Moyer, but nobody has asked Randy Couture to go to his sport’s figurative bullpen just yet.

The 46-year-old Couture, who’ll take on Brazilian jiu jitsu master Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira in the heavyweight main event of UFC 102 on Saturday night in Portland, Ore., is still pitching and bringing heat. But the athlete to whom Couture most relates is another aged flinger of some note, newly signed Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre, who turns 40 on Oct. 10. Favre asked Couture to give a motivational pep talk to the Green Bay Packers a few years ago, when No. 4 was still that team’s resident idol, and the two have kept in periodic contact since. Favre is mentioned in Couture’s book, “The Natural: My Life In and Out of the Cage.”
Now that the parallels between them have become even more obvious — Couture even looks a bit like Favre, right down to the stubble on his face — the superstar of the Octagon continues to relate to what’s happening with his football-field alter ego.
“I’m not surprised that he finally made the decision to compete a while longer,” Couture said of Favre, whose waffling over the last few months became something of a national soap opera and drew a blast from exasperated former Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton.
“That desire to keep on doing what you do best ... it’s something that dies hard. It’s not something those of us who have been where Brett and I have been can walk away from without a whole lot of soul-searching.
“He still has a passion to play. I still have a passion for what I do. I still enjoy the training process, I still enjoy fight night. The competition, that’s what keeps me going. It’s not work. It’s what I love to do.”
If there is a difference between Couture and Favre, it’s that Favre might not be cheered in every stadium he plays in this season, such as when the Vikings visit Green Bay’s Lambeau Field on Nov. 1.
Couture will receive a rousing welcome in the Rose Garden, and not just because he’s returning to the state where he once lived for 13 years and was an assistant wrestling coach at Oregon State University.
From the moment Couture — a gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana and an Olympic alternate in 1988, ’92 and ’96 — quit coaching to try his hand at mixed martial arts, he has been one of the sport’s heroes, if one of it more unexpected ones. The Everett, Wash., native has been hailed everywhere from Las Vegas, where he now lives, to Tokyo, Bay St. Louis, Miss., and Uncasville, Conn.
The 6-2, 220-pounder is the people’s choice. There is a widespread agreement that Couture is among the most popular fighters ever in UFC, along with the recently retired Chuck Liddell, 39, whose next gig is on “Dancing With the Stars,” where the action might be in-close but decidedly less dangerous.
The level of support Couture always has received seems incredible when you consider that his record is just 16-9, which in boxing would consign him to journeyman hell. But upon further inspection, that mark becomes much more impressive; he has consistently fought the very best opponents, always given the fans an exciting show and won five UFC championships, three in the heavyweight division. His 15 title bouts is a UFC record, and he already is in the UFC Hall of Fame.
In short, Randy Couture is a living legend. Not bad for someone who didn’t even make his mixed martial arts debut until May 30, 1997, a month short of his 34th birthday, which supposedly is the outer limit for a sport whose fan base is concentrated in the 18-to-34 male demographic.
Even Nogueira, 33, marvels at Couture’s longevity and enduring appeal.
“It’s an honor to fight against Randy,” he said.
In truth, Saturday could mark a crossroads for one or both of the main-event fighters, each of whom is coming off a loss. True, Couture’s last outing was a title-yielding, second-round technical knockout defeat to the younger, bigger, stronger Brock Lesnar, in UFC 91 on Nov. 16, 2008. But losing to “Minotauro” could make him, or maybe UFC president Dana White, realize that time is the foe no athlete ever truly conquers. Even Brett Favre eventually will arrive at that conclusion.
Nogueira (31-5-1) also was stopped in two rounds when last he entered the Octagon, by Frank Mir in UFC 92, when he said he was limited by a knee injury he had declined to publicly divulge.
“I hurt my knee, like, 15 days before the fight,” he said. “I couldn’t move at all. But I’m all right now. I’m still very competitive, and I still love the sport.”
Now, where have we heard that before?