UFC 118 is in Boston on August 28th. In the co-main event of the evening we'll finally get to see James Toney square off with Randy Couture. In our sport Couture is a legend, having won both the Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight titles. Out of 23 fights in the UFC an astounding 15 of them have been title fights. He's fought the best that the UFC has had to offer in the Heavyweight division. Now he'll face James Toney, a professional boxer with a big mouth. I won't profess to know much about Toney, as I'm not much of a boxing fan. But apparently he was a pretty big deal in boxing in the 90's. Now? Not so much.

That hasn't stopped him from talking even more trash than Chael Sonnen in the lead up to his fight with Couture. In an interview he did with MMA Weekly, he's still going off. Says Toney:

"Everybody asks how are you going to defend the takedown. I’m not worried about that. How are you going to defend these punches? I’m going from 10-ounce gloves to four-ounce gloves. If I hit someone with four-ounce gloves, oh my goodness, me and my crew might go to jail for homicide."

I doubt he actually isn't worried about the takedowns as Couture as repeatedly said that he'll be looking to take Toney down and beat him up. Which also answers Toney's question about defending his punches. Randy won't have to defend them because Toney will be on his back for the first time in a fight. How is he going to react to that? Apparently the idea of getting taken down is so ridiculous to him that he's not even going to change his stance. A traditional boxing stance when applied to MMA leaves a guy open for leg kicks and takedowns. Toney doesn't care.

"I haven’t changed a thing. You’ll see. I’m here to prove a point so people know that boxing is still running supreme over any discipline out there." 

"I haven’t changed nothing. I only added a few things to my roster of offensive skills. You’ll see come Aug. 28."

"He called me out. He said he wanted to welcome me to the Octagon and break my leg and all of that," said Toney. "Hey, God bless him. I hope he keeps his word.

"When you say stuff like you’re going to break James’ leg and all that, you’re talking to a bull. I’m going to try to hurt you. I’m going to do whatever I have to do to get you out. I’m going to try to break you up."

"Now we can‘t be friends. You know what I‘m saying? You disrespected me by saying something like that. Now all gloves are off. Anything goes. I hope he comes to fight. Don’t try to hug me like a little girl like he usually does. When you‘re scared to get hit, you hug people, you stay close."

This goes back to the days of old with the boxing vs MMA debate and we all remember how it played out before. Fighters now are much more advanced as they have had to spend their entire careers honing their skills in so many different areas. You can no longer just be good at one aspect of fighting, you have to be well versed in all of them. This is what Toney will likely learn come August 28th. He also continually takes issue with the fact that Couture is considered a legend in MMA:

"A legend? I’m a legend. As a matter of fact, I’m a legend of my time. I’ve been in the game 25 years. I’ve had 84 pro fights. How can he be a legend with 28 fights? Come on dog."

"Come on man, give me a break," he quipped. "It makes me want to throw up. A legend like Randy Couture? You guys need to stop talking about the legendary Randy Couture and better start talking about the legendary James Toney, the greatest fighter ever put on the planet. Period."

I'm sure there are plenty of boxing enthusiasts who would dispute that last sentence and I know that there are plenty of MMA fans that do. Fighting isn't just about boxing and he'll find that out soon enough. As for all the critics, such as myself, heading into this fight he had this to say:

"They act like Randy Couture is fighting some bum off the streets. I tell you what, like I said, everybody pay their $49.95 on Aug. 28. Tune in and don’t be late. And if you are late, the lights might be out."

If the lights are out, I think they will be Toney's. I wonder what he'll be thinking when he wakes up?