Ryan Couture makes professional debut at Strikeforce Challengers 10 in Arizona

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]The long-anticipated professional debut of Ryan Couture (0-0 MMA, 0-0 SF) is now official.

Following a successful amateur career, Couture will cash his first
paycheck following an Aug. 13 bout against Rage in the Cage veteran
Lucas Stark (2-4 MMA, 0-0 SF) at Strikeforce Challengers 10.

Couture, of course, is the son of UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture and trains with his father's Xtreme Couture camp in Las Vegas.

Strikeforce Challengers 10 takes place Aug. 13 at the Dodge Theatre in
Phoenix, Ariz., and airs on Showtime. A 182-pound catchweight bout
between veteran Joe Riggs and Louis Taylor headlines the event.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker first announced the fight on Tuesday while a guest on "Calling All Sports with Roc and Manuch" on the Arizona-based KDUS-AM 1060.

MMAjunkie.com ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
has since confirmed the matchup with Strikeforce Director of
Communications Mike Afromowitz, who said the bout was the first of a
multi-fight deal with Couture. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

A lightweight, Couture makes his pro debut at 27 years old. While his
father has long been a mainstay in the MMA world, the younger Couture
didn't know from day one that he would follow in his father's footsteps.

"I was 200 pounds and lazy and working at a bank," Couture told MMAjunkie.com in 2009. "I was thinking, 'What's my future?' ... I didn't have any idea this would happen."

Nevertheless, Couture has embraced the family business and has rattled
off five wins via submission since making his amateur debut.

Props: mmajunkie.com