UFC 118 pitches former UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture against boxing legend, James Toney, at TD Garden in Boston, Mass. Aug. 28. in an effort to answer the burning question of whether mixed martial arts is superior to boxing or vice versa.
"It's already known that boxing is better than MMA but I'll prove that and that James Toney is the best fighter no matter if it's boxing or MMA," said Toney during a live chat on Heavy.com last month.
Naturally, Couture will have the home turf advantage since the fight will take place inside the UFC octagon rather than a boxing ring. But Toney's flights of fancy apparently have him believe that he is the un-crowned UFC Heavyweight champion who will enjoy Couture as appetizer before his main course, reigning UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.
"The person I wanted to fight right off the bat was Brock Lesnar," said Toney. "He's a champion, I'm a champion and I wanted to do it. But they said I couldn't do that. Then they said, "How about Kimbo?" But I said, "That's too easy. That's like kicking a little kid's butt." But then Randy started saying he wanted to fight me, so I said, "OK, you're the first one getting it."
One can only wonder how Toney expects to match Couture's extensive pro MMA fighting experience (18-10) with a meager few months of grappling training and his experience as boxer. He might not be aware that MMA fighters train multiple aspects of their fight games such as wrestling, jiu jitsu, kickboxing, and more. Or he might just be disillusioned enough to believe that he can knock out Couture with one single punch.
Needless to say, Couture plans on giving Toney an express MMA lesson on Saturday.
“There are some serious holes in his game and it’s my job to point those out," said Couture in a recent interview with XCAP. "If James comes with that traditional boxing posture, he can expect to get the hell kicked out of his lead leg. He can expect a right to come at his head followed by a swift double-leg, a swift clinch, then we’ll tie him up, dirty box, punch, elbow, knee, shoulder, anything I need to do to put him on the floor."
With Couture focusing on his ground game while Toney will no doubt be desperate to stay on his feet this bout might turn into a grappling clinic rather quickly. Although the bout is scheduled for three rounds it is doubtful that it will take Couture this long to submit or ground and pound Toney into Neverland where he belongs.
Predicted winner: Couture via submission in round one. 
UFC 118 tickets are available online at Ticketmaster. The fights can also be viewed at select movie theaters in the U.S. for $15, for free at select bars, and via cable or online PPV for $44.95.
Comments
Word.
I can't wait to see this. Toney must have taken too many punches in the face to be brain damaged that much and think he can beat Couture.
Yep, I agree, G. One can only wonder what he's gonna say once Couture serves him his behind on a platter.
Probably incomprehensible lame excuses.
LOL. The UFC will need a translator for Toney since no one can understand him. Did you notice that they only captioned his statements in the video above? lol
Yeah. Lol. Is he only speaking English? I wonder if he himself understands what he says...
Couture has been knocked out by MMA guys-and has several losses besides that;Toney will knock him out.
@Brian Of course it's a possibility but unlike against MMA fighters, it's the only threat that Couture has to deal with.
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