James Toney Wanted Brock Lesnar, Turned Down Kimbo Slice Before Getting Randy Couture at UFC 118
James Toney will make his MMA debut against hall of famer Randy Couture at UFC 118 on August 28, but the outspoken boxing champ initially requested a matchup with heavyweight title-holder Brock Lesnar, then turned down a bout with brawler Kimbo Slice before settling on Couture as his first opponent:
“The person I wanted to fight right off the bat was Brock Lesnar,” Toney said in a recent chat with MMAFighting. “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.’
“I told Dana my goal is to hold the heavyweight championship of the UFC and in boxing at the same time.So as long as it takes me to get Brock Lesnar, that’s how long it’ll be. If Lesnar gets by Cain Velasquez, I’ll fight Lesnar in February or March. … Lesnar ran away from Shane Carwin like a girl, but then Carwin ran out of gas and quit. But I’ll fight any of them, any time anywhere. That’s my motto.”
The UFC 118 fight card is headlined by a rematch between lightweight champ Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn and also features Kenny Florian vs. Gray Maynard.
For complete UFC 118 coverage, including UFC 118 results on Aug. 28, stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.
Pictured: James Toney
Tags: James Toney, Randy Couture
Loading ...
I can’t wait to see Randy dump this guy on his arrogant butt and gnp him unconscious. The only thing better would be a sub. It would be poetic justice to see Toney tap after running off at the mouth like this.
Agreed agreed!!
It would be justice to see this idiot get dropped on his head, and I personally would much prefer a sub to anything else. I know a lot of people would like to see Randy finish this bum in the first, but not me. I know the longer it goes, and especially because each round starts on the feet, the greater the chance of Toney knocking Couture out. BUT, I would love to see…First round Couture dumps him on his head and spends the remainder of the round pounding the f… out of his face… Second round Toney has some life back, thinking this is the round I am going to ko this old dude, then next thing he knows Couture has him mounted and turning his face to mush, Toney rolls over and Couture sinks in a rnc and puts him to sleep. Then, HOPEFULLY, Toney realizes this sport may be just a tad too much for him and goes back to the fading sport of boxing.
I think this may be more of a publicity thing than anything else, he’s probably trying to get more people back to boxing and in particular watching him box. Only problem is more and more people are watching mma now because it has so much more to offer. I have been such a big fan of mma for so long that the last time I remember watching a boxing match (which was at least a couple of years ago) all I can remember thinking was leg kick, go for the take down it’s right there. Now I can’t watch boxing because I find it tooooo boring. Some are asking why is Couture taking this fight? Money may have something to do with it, but I think he just wants to be the one to introduce this a-hole to mma, and show him what it’s really all about. MMA RULES!! go home Toney
Well he knows the business of selling and I’m sure his deal involves PPV $$$…….
As long as Randy grabs a hold of him, the fight is over in the first round, maybe by submission, Toney will prob give up his back and like that little guy says in that skittles leak commercial ” Thats it”
if its a stand up fight toney knocks him out but randy wont do that he will get him down and ref will stop fight has he wont be able to get up
Is this dude serious??? Couture will destroy this guy, I can’t believe Couture would even waste his time on Toney. This dude is a joke, it wouldve been very entertaining to see him fight Kimbo. Oh well, should be fun to watch him get owned by a Hall of Fame fighter.
MAN he is talking so big………
Every time James Toney opens his mouth he makes the argument for MMA promoters exercising better judgement before allowing someone from another sport to compete in MMA.
And I find it funny that he waved off Kimbo Slice, seeing as how Slice has actually, y’know, fought and won some MMA fights, and didn’t walk around looking like the Nathan’s hot dog eating champ instead of a pro boxing champ.
Then again, doesn’t pro boxing have some guy that smokes coffin nails after fights or between rounds or something?
Maybe I’ve been missing the point, and Toney IS in fact truly representative of their “sport”.
Either way, I’ve changed my POV here.
Originally I thought his inclusion in MMA in general and the UFC in particular was repellent, and that POV got slammed by people who saw things differently.
Now I want Toney getting as much camera and mic time as he can find, because he makes my point WAY better than I ever could, and places proponents of an “open door” policy on the side of guys like Toney…
dont know why everyone is killing Toney.. is not like his a bum.. he got a good chance to win.. he could shoot up his needles and go buck wild on Randy.. just blame Dana he signed him
Believe me, I hold Dana White VERY responsible for subjecting his fans to this sideshow attraction, especially his longtime fans that have spent literally thousands of dollars in support of his effort to make MMA huge and the UFC its premiere org.
And almost everyone is “killing Toney” because the guy is a disrespectful sh!t-talker who has accomplished ZERO in MMA and thinks he doesn’t have to pay his dues and earn his opportunities like everyone else has to in the sport.
Or am I supposed to be impressed because the guy achieved success in a sport that has only a fraction of MMA’s degree of difficulty?
I don’t think boxing is a walk in the park compared to MMA. I think the degree of difficulty is equal. Boxing goes 12 – 15 rounds, and it takes ton of cardio to to throw as many punches as they do in a fight. If boxing is considered a discipline in MMA then Toney has a chance to win the fight.
I loathe boxing. It bores me to death. But, even though there is only one fighting discipline represented in boxing, it’s still incredibly difficult to be one of the best. The top MMA strikers in the world wouldn’t last in boxing, and vice versa, so really, this “experiment” is just an exercise in proving what everyone already knows.
The problem in boxing lies in the fact that there are 97 different titles per weight class and a different weight class every five pounds. That = 3,212,496 titles total by my rough math. Most people don’t even call MMA by the name MMA. They call it UFC. That’s where it has the advantage. If boxing had one organization running it and a bunch of minor leagues no one cared about, it would surely be a lot more interesting, well-managed, and garner a return to its glory days. Can you imagine that instead of saying “boxing” people said the WBC. What a world that would be!
Of course, that has less of a chance of happening than James Toney submitting Couture.
All in all, Toney is an out-of-shape boxer who holds a title that matters very little. But, he unquestionably has lethal knockout power, especially with MMA gloves on.
There’s not a lot I can say that the two above me haven’t already stated. Though that’s a very strange statement coming from someone who appears well versed in MMA. The level of skill required to be a truly successful boxer cannot be underestimated.
I have a perference for MMA because I find the sport doesn’t often produce a dull fight. Though I feel that’s simply because there are so many options for a mixed martial artist e.g. can’t stand with the guy? Try and take him down.
Boxers don’t have that luxury and must find the holes in their opponents game to exploit, which is often easier said than done.
I don’t mean to discredit MMA in anyway here but I think boxing is most definitely on a par with MMA in regards to difficulty.
Also the comment about a global boxing body is absolutely spot on.
i hope randy knocks him out instead.
that would be crazy hah
Side show attraction, Yes. I feel this has a purpose of cross-marketing boxing and mma, kudos to Dana and company for bringing more exposure to MMA. Think about all the media outlets that are all over this, great exposure!
War Captain America!
i hope he gets subbed in under a minute….so we can be done with all this
I just hope Randy doesn’t try to beat him with his boxing. This should be a clinic of how much more complex and complete MMa is as a sport – I hope Randy shows some leg kicks (unlikely), get the clinch up against the fence for sme dirty boxing (almost certain), gets the takedown, and ground and pounds Toney until he gives up his back foor a RNC. As a blue-print, I think that is a solid plan, but there is always a chance father time will catch-up with Randy or his ego will try to keep the fight standing. This should be a statement win for MMA, not for Randy. Randy has nothing to prove on a personal level but he has the chance to represent an entire sport by utilizing the multiple facets MMA allows. I just hope he takes advantage of this opportunity instead of allowing it to be the carnival act it has the potential for.
Randy will NOT try to stand with Toney….that’s like Anderson Silva saying “I want to fight on the ground with Damien Maia”. It just won’t happen. I see Randy dumping him and either tko’ing or subbing him…..leaning slightly towards the sub(choke). Unless Randy gets caught shooting in, this should be a walk in the park for him.
Still, I sure would like to see how James Toney would do against guys like Shane and Cain who do a lot of standup fighting. It would be interesting to see how MMA standup compares to a pro boxer.
No comparison at all. The only thing that factors in against Toney is age.
There is a huge hole in Toneys game plan.. And to anyone else who thinks randy cant stand with him I suggest watching toney box.. Hes a counter puncher.. He takes a shot to give a shot.. Thats fine for 16 once glooves but with little 6 ouce bandages taking a punch is a stupid way to fight..
I doubt Randy will keep it on the feet for the whole fight.. If I was in randys shoes I would take him down and beat on him a bit.. then do it again .. and again.. and finaly when toneys spirit is broken KNOCK HIS blank OUT..
I really dislike toney.. He has a 2% chance of winning.. But we have all seen that being enough in MMA.. I hope Randy isnt taking this fight easy.
In a perfect world, for every mma fan, Captain America stands with Toney and knocks him out, finally silencing boxing fans that think mma is a sideshow attraction. The reality is, regardless of Toney’s boxing “style” he is a world class boxer and for Couture to win the fight he will have to take him down asap and not fight Toney on Toney’s turf. Both Couture and Toney’s best days are behind them, but in a standup war, my money’s on the boxer. It’s a moot point though, because I believe Couture will take the fight to the ground from the opening bell and either tko or sub Toney.
Toney has one good thing going for him and thats his mouth…If he could harness any fighting ability in comparison to the way he runs his mouth he would be a good fighter..Randy is Randy and he will fight at his highest caliber which means he will wear Toney out by putting him on the mat for the 1st rd then Toney will collapse before he can make it to rd 2. After Toney loses this fight he should do something he is good at….like maybe stand-up comedy because he is the joke..
its a fight we all want to see ,has we dont know whats going to happen we think randy will take him down but if he gets caught by toney like when brock it randy who knows if randy had a pair of boxing gloves boxing toney would knock him out but toney needs to catch him before randy shoots
Who does this guy think he is? In boxing there is only 2 things. Hands and movement. In MMA its endless. A man can beat you with jiu jitsu, wrestling, slams, ground and pound, submissions, or the only thing that Toney has which is hands. Randy will end this circus and then Dana will cut this guy. Later Toney.
It’s really unfair, when your weigh all the factors..
Couture could probably come in as a legitimate Light Heavyweight and still take Toney apart.
A badly disguised circus act is all it is..I wish the UFC hadn’t made this fight. Couture should be fighting someone for real.
In other words, he’d better not lose.
im just ready for randy to dominate this guy so this story will go away
i think couture will leg kick toney out of the fight in round one… then stand with him a lil in the 2nd since toneys movement is hugely impaired by the legs kicks of round 1… if it goes to a 3rd couture will slam him to the ground mangle his face for a bit then submit him with an armtriangle from side control…. maybe an americana
um couture does not have a super chin so i dont get why people are writing off toney.. if this fight ended with toney knocking out randy i would not even be suprised. people give credit to divison one national champion wrestlers or brazilian ju jit su black belts, but not to champion status boxers who have some of the best punches in fighting as a whole, cause thats their bread and butter. im not writing off toney at all im givning him a 30% chance, but toney is a fighter and has the mentality of a fighter and u cant teach that
disgraceful that toney’s on the card against couture.
toney is largely unknown to today’s mma fans.
mma has already conquered boxing as a biz.
so all this media time for someone who brings nothing except a punchers chance. if toney gets a lucky ko punch it still i meaningless to me. and in terms of mma being different therefore hard for boxers – ah… it’s 2010!
lame.
i’d rather see couture fight other past prime legends like cro cop,
sakuraba or big nog again.
ok though i admit i’ll watch it just to see randy again though
besides if you want a freak show he should fight his son before he gets too good and randy gets too old -
Toney will get schooled in the first round, and then forgotten by next month. Go Captain America!
Hey im right with you on the downward spiral of boxing. What i would really like to see is for Randy to ground and pound this clown to submission rather than choke him out. What i fear is the proverbial “lucky punch” on a old mans chin that could prolong the argument for boxers fighting in the MMA. Let Jon Jones fight any boxer in the world and there would not be those concerns.