When World’s Collide: Randy Couture vs James Toney:
By Henry Walter
In the early nineties, boxing legend James Toney was one of the best middleweight boxers of his time. By 2010 Toney (all five feet, nine inches of him) had ballooned up to over two hundred and thirty pounds and was competing in the heavyweight division.
Brutal back-to-back losses to contender Sam Peter had seen the then forty-two-year-old Toney relegated to something of an afterthought in the boxing world. Struggling to get fights, Toney began taunting UFC head Dana White claiming he could beat any of the UFC champions in a UFC match. Sensing an opportunity to tap into fight fans’ curiosity, Dana signed Toney to a three-fight contract.
Toney was quickly scheduled to fight the former UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture who was fresh off a spectacular one-minute and nineteen-second win over former UFC Heavyweight Champion Mark Coleman.
The fight took place on the UFC 118 card. Couture was extremely wary of Toney’s punching power especially after fellow former UFC champion Sylvia’s loss to boxer Mercer the previous year. He rushed Toney early, taking him to the canvas and using his wrestling skills to try to out-manoeuvre him. After struggling futilely on the ground Toney was submitted by Couture after just three minutes and nineteen seconds.
Toney was subsequently released by the UFC and resumed his boxing career but suffered several more heavy defeats.
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