MMA Star Randy Couture Airlifted to Burn Center After Race Track Crash: Reports ArticlePure

MMA star Randy Couture was reportedly airlifted to a burn center this week following a crash on a Missouri race track.

The 62-year-old retired UFC fighter was transported to a Kansas City burn center on Tuesday, July 8 after doing practice runs to prepare for his National Hot Rod Association racing debut later this year, TMZ initially reported.

The accident, described as a single-vehicle crash, left him with first and second-degree burns, trauma injuries and smoke inhalation, per the outlet. The crash took place at the Flying H Drag Strip in Odessa, Missouri — part of the part of the I-70 Motorsports Park, according to the Kansas City Star.

Sources have since confirmed the news to ESPN, adding that the “initial hope and belief” is that he’s expected to recover. A spokesperson told MMA Junkie, per USA Today, that he’s expected to make a full recovery.

It is unclear what caused the crash. A rep for Couture did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for further information on Thursday.

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Per ESPN, Couture had recently started the licensing process to compete in his first NHRA race. Appearing on the Bubba The Love Sponge Show in June, the fighter called racing “a whole different animal” as he spoke about the similarities between the two sports.

“Sitting in the stands, it looks easy. They say, ‘Oh, he just goes fast.’ But there is so much more involved,” Couture said.

He told the NHRA in April that it was a “new way to tickle that competitive spirit that I’ve had most of my life.”

“A new place for me to get competitive and make a mark in racing,” he added. “I’ll bring all the things I developed as a wrestler and martial artist into this realm and see what we can do. I have no idea how it’s going to go, but I’m excited about the opportunities.”

Couture was inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame in 2006 and is a former two-weight UFC champion. He officially retired from MMA fighting in 2011.

Back in 2020, Couture was also injured in an ATV accident alongside former girlfriend Mindy Robinson on his ranch just outside of Flagstaff, Arizona.

A rep for the fighter told PEOPLE at the time that he had to get orthopedic surgery as a result and was expected to make a full recovery.