Couture used a remarkably simple takedown, put his opponent on his back, quickly took the dominant mount position, and ultimately forced Toney to tap out from an arm-triangle choke a little more than three minutes into the fight.
“I didn’t feel like he demonstrated any real solid skills once he hit his butt,” said Couture, who’s actually five years older than 42-year-old Toney. “He didn’t close his guard. He didn’t protect himself well. I was able to maneuver and get to mount pretty easily.”
Toney, a multi-weight-class boxing champ who’s posted a 72-6-3 record during an illustrious 22-year career, said he couldn’t find a boxing fight. So he chased UFC president Dana White around the country, publicly called him names, and essentially bullied his way to a contract with the world’s top MMA promotion.
But Toney showed up for the heavyweight bout at a far-from-svelte 237 pounds. And as it quickly became apparent against Couture, he hadn’t learned a single countermove that even novice MMA fighters have perfected.
Toney, of course, isn’t the first boxer to knock MMA, and the combat-sports rivalry is unlikely to end anytime soon. But outside of the likes of past-their-prime boxers such as Ray Mercer and Ricardo Mayorga, Toney has been about the only one willing to step up and enter an MMA cage. (Of course, a payday reportedly in the neighborhood of $1 million likely played a part in his decision.)
White, who reluctantly booked the fight, said he’s finished with such matchups.
“It’s just unfair to bring a guy in with one discipline (even) if he’s trained for eight or nine months,” White said. “I wasn’t the guy going out there and trying to bad mouth boxing and take boxing down and hurt the sport of boxing. James Toney picked a fight, and he got one.
“I don’t see (other boxers) ever doing that, coming out and whatever. James Toney is the guy who’s crazy enough to come out and do this. He picked a fight, he got one, and we won’t be doing any more boxing.”
Aside from Couture vs. Toney, UFC 118 also featured the highly anticipated rematch between lightweight champ Frankie Edgar (13-1) and ex-champ B.J. Penn (15-7-1). Proving the first win was no fluke, Edgar again implemented a perfect stick-and-move game plan and won a unanimous decision.
Dann Stupp is editor-in-chief of MMAjunkie.com, voted best media outlet in the 2008 and 2009 World MMA Awards. For the latest mixed-martial-arts news, go to MMAjunkie.com.
About the Author