UFC 118: Toney V.S. Couture

As a sports fan, I've been following the UFC all the way back to the beginning. Those of you that are in the same camp with me probably all stumbled on what was to become mixed martial arts in almost the same circumstances. For some reason, we went to the "other" video store that day; and right next to the copies of the Faces of Death series was the VHS of the very first UFC event. Out of curiosity, we picked it up and took it to the counter after reading that all styles of fighting would be pitted against each other in a tournament. In a damn cage no less! Back in those days, the only way to see that was either through ScrambleVision or pay Vince McMahon thirty dollars.

So immediately we run home and pop the tape in, and one of the first things we see is a professional boxer squared up against Jiu Jitsu master Royce Gracie. Gracie manhandled him and choked him out in a matter of a couple of minutes. One thing we all noticed; a man with even moderate grappling skills could probably beat a boxer with his eyes closed, and on this occasion the boxer thought the fight would not go to the ground. He actually bothered to wear one regulation boxing glove into the cage. After seeing this we all must have collectively thought that no pro boxer would ever be dumb enough to try this again. Until UFC 118, we were right.

Because you see, James Toney either lacks the cognitive ability to make decisions for himself, or he was promised a boatload of money. For the UFC 118 event, he agreed to be the first pro boxer in years to step foot in the Octagon. And who did he fight? A young fighter starting out his MMA career? No. A top rookie prospect? No? A star of a smaller MMA organization? Nope. Not at all. He agreed to take a fight against 47 year old grappling master Randy Couture. Who at age 43 became the oldest champion in UFC history.

Throughout the build up to the fight, people began asking several questions. What if Toney, a legitimate knock out artist in boxing, actually connected with Randy and sent him to the ground? If the fight did end up to the ground, which in UFC it usually does; what kind of ground game did James Toney have? After all, this is his first time at this. What were his defenses against submissions like?

Well, in around three minutes and nineteen seconds, we all had our questions answered. Toney didn't throw so much as one punch, Randy took him down like we all knew he would, and finally choked him out with his own arm. Solidifying the fact that you best not step blindly into any fight, let alone one in the UFC.