04/20/24
August 29, 2010
Couture makes short work of boxer Toney: As almost everyone expected, mixed martial arts legend Randy Couture dominated and then defeated boxer James Toney at UFC 118, causing the heavyweight boxing champion to tap out with an arm triangle that choked Toney in 3:19 of the first round.
posted by sgtcookzane to boxing at 10:19 AM - 12 comments
Utterly one-sided.
10 seconds into the fight Couture shoots for the first time, gets an ugly single-leg that Toney didn't know what to do about. Couture into full mount, worked a number of undefended punches to Toney's face, turned that into an arm-triangle that Toney survived.
Couture lands a couple more punches from full-mount, back into the arm-triangle and Toney taps out before he falls asleep.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 11:57 PM on August 28, 2010
Really, about as one-sided as a fight can get. I assume Toney did some takedown defense or ground training but it sure didn't show in the fight.
Couture, when asked if he would box Toney:
"I would respectfully decline such an offer,'' the 47-year-old Oklahoma State graduate said. "It would be about as silly as James coming in here. If I did it, I think it would go pretty much the same way. I'd probably get knocked out in the first round. It's crazy to think because you're a world champion you can just come and cross over into another sport. ''
posted by tron7 at 03:21 PM on August 29, 2010
Just watched it on YouTube. I thought a boxer had a shot. Silly me.
posted by rcade at 04:54 PM on August 29, 2010
To be fair to boxers, at this point, Toney is barely one of them. He took this fight because he can't get one in boxing. He's a crafty guy. Took a payday from Dana White that he couldn't get in his own sport. But he looked like shit and was a good twenty or thirty pounds heavier than he was for his last fight.
If this was seven years ago, I'd say it would be worth discussing as a clash of skills and techniques. But in 2010, it's a sideshow.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 05:27 PM on August 29, 2010
I'm not sure how long this link will work. That was worse than I imagined the fight going. I would be shocked if Dana White gave Toney another fight.
posted by sgtcookzane at 06:06 PM on August 29, 2010
The link worked for me. Toney never had a chance.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 10:57 PM on August 29, 2010
Toney is punch drunk from boxing, he can't even speak coherently anymore. He was out of shape and said he was looking for a payday yet still an IBA Champion. That is the sad part. Randy Couture at 48 showed what a MMA athlete can still do. Referring back to the link about Canada banning MMA, I believe it is wrong. Look at the skill set and MMA is more about body movement and positioning for the win rather than turning brains into jello from repeated punching. Think of the great boxers, Ali, and Holyfield, Spinks (not bright anyway), Holmes and they all speak much worse today than in their prime because of brain damage.It is called Dementia pugilistica.
In addintion, Jimmy Ellis, Floyd Patterson (who resigned from the New York State Athletic Commission because of his deteriorating memory), Bobby Chacon, Jerry Quarry, Mike Quarry, Wilfred Benitez, Emile Griffith, Willie Pep, Freddie Roach, Sugar Ray Robinson, Billy Conn, Fritzie Zivic, and Meldrick Taylor appear to have been genuinely affected by the disorder. (Wikipedia)
Perhaps in time, MMA will prove the same, but due to the multiple skill sets and not the constant head beating, I believe in the long run it will become the most popular and "safest" of the "blood sports."
posted by gfinsf at 10:00 AM on August 30, 2010
"To be fair to boxers, at this point, Toney is barely one of them."
And yet he's still a World Champion. Which is a sad statement about the sport for a couple of different reasons.
"I assume Toney did some takedown defense or ground training but it sure didn't show in the fight. "
Allegedly he did nine months of training, though you couldn't see it on his waistline.
In facing Couture, mostly a wrestler, those nine months should have been spent almost exclusively on takedown defence and then escapes, especially from choke holds, as when Couture does finish someone with a hold, it's usually a rear naked choke.
It didn't look like he'd done any work on either... Watching the fight live I thought Couture's shoot was ugly, (Couture himself has said anyone who knew what they were doing would have stepped out of it), and then once the fight was on the mat, (I won't say "in guard", as Toney didn't have one), it was done.
If your sole chance in a fight is in the stand-up game, then it would be an idea to be standing up as much as possible.
Having said which, even if Toney had applied himself night and day, nine months of training against ~30 years of wrestling from Couture would still have been a sizeable mismatch. This year we've seen Dan Hardy and Paul Daley - both of whom have significant MMA experience - get dominated by high level wrestlers, because they had no answer to being put on their backs.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 12:39 PM on August 30, 2010
Canada banning MMA.
OK, just to be clear - Canada is not banning MMA. In fact, the CMA's announcement came about five days after Ontario (sports are provincially legislated in Canada) approved MMA contests (short version). The CMA is not a legislative body, it is a civilian organization. It is a a collection of 70,000 doctors. It does not set, nor make, policy. It lobbies.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:12 PM on August 30, 2010
Can't believe none of you have mentioned The Expendables!
posted by billsaysthis at 04:38 PM on August 31, 2010
If anyone wants to watch the top of the card fight from 118 you can find it here.
Just enter the password from above the display into the box with the Cyrrilic.
Penn is allegedly the best lightweight in UFC history and was disdainful when he lost to Edgar earlier this year. This is the rematch.
[NSFW] for colourful language in places
posted by Mr Bismarck at 09:37 AM on September 01, 2010
For anyone interested in such things, UFC 118 is starting now. The card features the MMA-v-Boxer matchup of Randy Couture against James Toney.
Both are old enough that whoever wins, the "other camp" probably won't have their minds changed about which sport produces the best fighter, but hopefully it'll be any interesting clash of styles.
Top of the card is the Frankie Edgar - BJ Penn rematch for the Lightweight belt Edgar took from Penn earlier this year.