Randy Couture
vs
James Toney
UFC 118
Fight Review and Commentary
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Randy Couture vs James Toney
I'll start my review of UFC with the most hyped and most ridiculous fight of the night first. Randy Couture vs James Toney was promoted as a fight that would determine which sport was the most effective in combat: MMA or boxing. James Toney talked a good fight but really the match was a complete let down and a waste of a fight card space as far as I am concerned. The two fighters faced each other off and moved around one another for a while at the beginning of round one, but then Randy Couture shot for James Toney, got a good grip and brought the heavier boxer down to the ground. There was no sprawl, nothing defense-wise from Toney and it was all too obvious that he was both under-prepared and way out of his depth in the Octagon. Once Randy had James on the floor the fight was all but over. Toney did what he could to protect himself from incoming shots and made a token effort to fight back, but really it was only his strength and courage that prevented the fight from ending almost as soon as it had started. Couture kept up the pressure for a few minutes and never looked in trouble, winning at 3:19 of round one with an arm-triangle choke. He left the Octagon without a mark on him, barely sweating and without having to evade (or take) a single punch delivered from an upright position. I appreciate the UFC is a business and as such it is money first and presumably this fight has paid for itself with all the hype and media attention generated (it is telling that I am starting my review of UFC 118 with this fight first and that there has been a lot more focus on the net on this fight than on the Edgar vs Penn title match) but at the same time the UFC has tried to build a reputation on MMA as being a credible combative sport and Randy Couture vs James Toney goes a long way in my opinion to diminishing that lofty goal. I have no problem with Toney getting in the Octagon, but start with an easier fight lower down on the card and stop wasting everyone's time with this rubbish.
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