UFC 118 REVIEW PART 2: COUTURE VS. TONEY

Who honestly thought this was going to go any other way? In an industry first, current boxing champion James Toney fights UFC fighter Randy Couture in order to see if boxing really is better than MMA, and vice versa. Most people accurately predicted the outcome of this fight the moment it was announced.



Couture took Toney down within the first 30 seconds of the match, controlled him on the ground for about 3 minutes while administering some ground and pound, and choked him out with an arm triangle with 1:42 left on the clock. I'm actually really surprised that the fight lasted that long. All in all, though, it's a pretty great month for Randy, what with this win, a hit movie, and finally earning his BJJ black belt!

LACK OF SKILLS

Because, honestly, Toney's an incredibly talented boxer who has legitimate power and speed in both hands and is a genuine legend in his sport. But he's basically challenging a legend of a different sport with only 9 months total training here. There really was no match. Now, if Dana White had matched him up against someone who would have stood toe to toe with him, he could have had a chance. Cro Cop? Kongo? Nah, Toney would have still lost, but he would have probably had a better chance since he can definitely knock out pretty much anyone with his punches.

ALL TALK?

I gotta admit, though, Toney made this match one to watch because of how entertaining he made the hype out to be. He talked up a sport that was incredibly funny to watch. Some people compared it to the smack that Sonnen spewed against Silva, but I say that there's no comparison. Sonnen's was genuinely negative and hate-inducing; Toney's was purely for entertainment value and laughter-inducing. It was always a party when that guy opened his mouth.

SO WHAT'S NEXT FOR JAMES TONEY?

So what's next for "Lights Out"? well, he says that he's not going to give up on MMA and that he's still on his quest to prove that boxing's better, but we'll see. But in all honestly, if he does improve drastically enough to progress in the UFC, then he'll be playing an MMA game, and not a pure boxing game, so the point's moot. In short: you can't fight in MMA with only pure boxing skills. If you really want to see more of that, then go watch UFC 1or something. The early events were all about different styles against each other, but now, everyone's a true mixed martial artist. You have to be if you want to last long in this sport.

So what do you think? Think James Toney will become a legitimate mixed martial artist and be a force to reckon with in the UFC heavyweight division? Think he can one day avenge his loss against Couture? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts!

And check out more great photos of UFC 118 over at the official UFC website!