Randy Couture dominates, submits James Toney at UFC 118

I’m confused. You were upset all week about the fight taking place because of how unfair it was to James, and now you’re upset that when he was put in a situation with very little chance to win he was paid handsomely for being willing to take that chance?

Being that I deal with MMA fans day in and day out I touch base with people on a daily basis who do not like boxing. Yet, I’ve not seen one single comment over the past few weeks from anyone (outside of the depths of the worst of internet forums) who thought that there was any significance in this fight regarding boxing. I don’t think anyone whose opinion matters in the grand scheme of things really has presented this as a failure for boxing and a triumph for Toney.

As for the ability use the cage for leverage, it’s the grappling version of cutting the ring off and trapping someone in the corner. There are plenty of ways to avoid it happening but someone better than you will probably still put you there if you forget basic techniques. When they were first in the choke position against the cage with Toney somewhat sitting up, that actually is a position where the escape back to your feet is fairly easy, but Toney (quite understandably) panicked and allowed himself to be pulled slightly away from the cage where Randy could re-secure the choke and walk out in a way that secures it.

More troubling than anything to me is the fact that it appears that Toney’s trainers didn’t seem to teach him how to handle himself. He was spending way too much time talking to the ref and chose to verbally submit rather than tap out. A tap on the other fighter lets him know you give up and signals to the ref, trying to speak while you’re being choked (it’s a blood choke, not air but still hard to speak when it’s happening) and having a mouthpiece in leads to possible problems in communication. In an arm or leg lock type situation a few seconds of communication problems can mean an injury while a tap is clear.

Toney’s choice of working with Juanito Ibarra (who has some notoriety in boxing) was like if Couture agreed to a boxing match with Toney and going to train with Jack Loew. They’ve each trained one fighter of note in the respective sport (Quinton Jackson for Ibarra, Pavlik for Lowe) and then Toney left Ibarra to go train with Trevor Sherman. Which is like if Couture were to train for a boxing match by going to the first boxing gym listed in his yellow pages.

But wouldn’t fast footwork be a prerequisite for trying to avoid a takedown? I noticed Liddell used to fight onthe balls of his feet , looking to use his footwork to sidestep or counter any takedown attempts . Is that a fair point Ghosty? A 41 year old Toney who never had great feet to begin with and who fights off the backfoot seems a pretty poor style for the UFC . Cheers Mate.