The UFC brought us UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2, held on August 28, 2010 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. This fight event also coincided with the third UFC Fan Expo. From all accounts, the Expo was a success. UFC 118 brought fight fans a rematch between Frankie Edgar, who defeated B.J. Penn at UFC 112: Invincible on April 10, 2010 to become the fourth UFC Lightweight Champion; as well as the much touted match between MMA fighter, Randy Couture, and boxing champ James Toney.
The local Regal Cinema at West Town Mall 9 in West Knoxville was showing the fights on the big screen – and it was a real treat for die-hard MMA fans and noobies alike. Especially those who were too late to join in the fun at our local Hooters, where it was standing room only. Pretty much if you got to Hooters or any sports bar past 9pm, you might as well go home and order the fights on PPV, or do as several other people did, and head on over to the mall to enjoy the fights on the big screen! At only $20 per person, it was worth it! No long lines, and less than 20 people showed up, so the theater was ours!
Just like their last fight, Penn appeared nervous, before and during the match. Several people in the audience mentioned that he didn’t just look nervous – he looked scared. Maybe it’s because he knew what the outcome would be: after going 5 rounds in which Edgar made mince meat of Penn, the win went to Edgar via unanimous decision. Not surprising to anyone watching. And sadly – now there will be no Rubber Match between the two. I think pretty much BJ Penn will be moving on.
And the MMA fighter vs. Boxer heavyweight bout? Not surprising to most of the MMA fans, Randy Couture defeated James Toney via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:19 of round 1.
At the beginning of the round, the fighters met in the middle, and Toney put his dukes up and got in a real nice fighting stance – which we never got to see again. Couture immediately shot in and took Toney down, and proceeded to do some down-on-the-ground boxing lessons of his own. Try as he could, well, maybe not “try”, but let’s just say no matter how hard Toney covered up, he couldn’t get away from Couture’s onslaught of fists. Sadly, in spite of training in MMA for 9 months, he didn’t seem to possess any defensive or ground skills whatsoever…the man didn’t even try to shrimp out from underneath Couture, buck and roll, or try for an armbar.
Randy Couture finished the boxer with an arm triangle in 3:19 of Round One.
“I worked on that triangle for over a year,” said Couture, 19-10. The arm triangle that finished James Toney, and helped Couture to save the face of MMA in front of boxing and MMA fans throughout the world, is what led him to obtain his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu just seconds after that statement. During his interview, Neil Melanson surprised Couture by presenting him (very unceremoniously) with his new black belt in the Octagon after the bout.
And in typical fashion, Randy continued speaking on the fight by saying: “A lot of credit to James for stepping up.” To see what he had to say after the fight, go here.
So now perhaps all the boxing fans and boxers who keep telling MMA fans how much better their sport is will realize that MMA is not better, and boxing’s not better – they’re different. Something we’ve been trying to explain for a long time. Hey Princess, and I’m talking to you Toney, has this feud been put to bed now?
And while Toney has been very gracious and humble in accepting his loss to Couture, he’s just really off the mark by challenging him now to a boxing-only match. Randy Couture is an MMA fighter, and he’s never claimed to be a boxer. As a boxer, Toney could use any other of the MMA skills he supposedly was learning during his 9 months of training. In a boxing ring, Couture could only use what little boxing skills he has – nothing else. Where’s the competition in that?
With all due respect to Toney, I think he’s looking for a Payday, and I don’t mean the candy bar!
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