The UFC comes to Boston on Saturday, August 28 at the TD Banknorth Garden the continuation of “The Answer” Frankie Edgar (12-1) vs. “The Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-6-1) at UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2. Dana White and the crew have provided the fans with a card filled with interesting fights featuring top ten fighters like Demian Maia (11-2), “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (13-4), and “The Bully” Gray Maynard (9-0), but perhaps the most interesting bout on the card is the heavyweight tilt between “Lights Out” James Toney (0-0) and ”The Natural” Randy Couture (18-10). This bout has all but stolen the limelight from the main event lightweight title fight for a number of reasons. The first is that this marks the first time a current major boxing title holder has stepped into the Octagon under the unified rules. The second reason is the parallels between the two men’s careers. Toney is a four division boxing champion and is the current IBA heavyweight champion, Couture is a former heavyweight and light-heavyweight UFC champion. Both men have won five major titles (though Toney has also won a multitude of lesser boxing titles as well) and both men have participated in at least 15 major title bouts, and both have won three of their last five fights. The third and perhaps most intriguing reason is that both men are at very similar places in their careers. At 42 and 47 years of age, both fighters have proven ageless but most certainly feel fangs of time snapping at their heels, and it has shown in their most recent performances. While this fight is certainly not the top pound for pound boxer vs. the top pound for pound MMA fighter, it is also far from the failing fighter switching sports to get a few more novelty fight pay days. Here we have two fighters who may be facing the twilight of their careers, but are still very relevant in their respective sports.
At First Glance: The obvious pick in this fight depends entirely on who you ask. Any boxing fan will point out that Toney has been fighting 10 and 12 round fights for the past two decades and is five years younger than Couture. This would imply that Toney will stay fresh longer. They would also say that while “Lights Out” was never known as a one shot power puncher, he certainly hits harder than most MMA fighters and Randy has been known to lack a strong chin. Ask a long time MMA fan on the other hand and you’ll see the vast holes in Toney’s fight game pointed out. He has only six months of wrestling training, no where near enough to stop an Olympic level Greco-Roman specialist like Couture.
Inside and Out: Randy Couture has a vast number of ways to win this fight where Toney has only one. To make matters worse for Toney, he was never an offensive boxer. Toney’s striking is a rolling counter punching style that relies on the openings created by his opponent’s attacks. This works strongly in Randy’s favor. As long as he looks for the clinch and the takedown and doesn’t get it in his head to try and box the boxer, Randy should have no trouble picking and choosing his shots. A more aggressive boxer like Mike Tyson or Vitali or Wladimir Klitschko would be a far more dangerous opponent for Couture. As it is, even if Toney had trained wrestling for six years instead of six months, he will have no answer for Captain America’s takedown and clinch assault and he certainly won’t be able to rely on counter boxing to stop it.
The Wild Card: James Toney is certainly not an opponent to be taken as lightly as the majority of MMA fans believe. While Randy is certainly the more well rounded fighter, he has a glass jaw that has only grown more fragile with time. Toney may not be known as a power puncher, but he hits more than hard enough to turn out Couture’s lights if he lands. Randy has shown a tendency to box his way into the clinch that may provide the counter punch opportunity Toney needs, the same way it provided “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-8) the opening he needed to KO Randy, twice.
The Verdict: On August 28, it will be Randy’s game plan that decides the night. If he decides to dance Toney’s dance for any length of time, he will wake up staring at the lights. However, Randy is known as a master strategist and this will certainly not be the case. Look for “The Natural” to put on a wrestling clinic that ends in something that falls along the same lines as when he spanked “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-7-1) at UFC 44 before securing the TKO victory early in the fight. Don’t take your eyes off Toney’s right hand as it always has the potential to end the fight, but don’t place your money on it doing so either. Randy Couture by TKO in the 2nd.
