UFC 118 Preview

James Toney is among the best from the greatest in the world of boxing. With more than 70 expert wins and world championship belts in three weight classes, he may be the very first true boxing superstar to ply his trade towards 1 from the best MMA fighters of all time inside the Cage. Watch UFC 118.

Other former expert boxers have created the transition with plenty of success. Chris Lytle and Alessio Sakara are 3 who immediately come to mind. But remember that those guys put in lots of time cross training several required skills, including Muay Thai, wrestling and, of program, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, before going in the hallowed eight-sided cage.

Toney will do it following just several months of preparation.

Whether that’s a wise decision remains to be seen. It is undeniable, although, that “Lights Out” is inside a various league from every other pugilist who dared stand opposed from an elite mixed martial artist. He would defeat any man within the sport in a boxing match. There’s no question about that because boxers are the best within the world at what they do – striking the front half of the upper body and head of an opponent with a closed fist covered by a fingerless globe.

Toney is no exception. “Lights Out” can deliver knockout striking from angles which are inconceivable for even the very best standup MMA fighter. I don’t care that he won’t be wearing shoes, unlike throughout his boxing matches. This guy has sufficient strength to generate knockout power wearing wingtips on an oil slick. He can also anticipate punches and deflect or slip shots that would land towards elite MMA defensive artists like Muay Thai superstar Anderson Silva or “The Dragon” Machida.

But this isn’t boxing.

Background has proven that boxers turn out to be like a fish out of water when trying to deal with kicks of any kind, knees, elbows, takedowns, submissions and, of course, ground-and-pound attacks.

The very best analogy that comes to mind is Toney is moving from checkers to chess. That is not a knock on boxing. Not in any way, shape or form. It’s reality.

Toney plans to put that version of reality towards the check when he squares off at UFC 118 with fellow living legend Randy Couture, the single-most decorated champion in UFC history. Toney hopes to prove that a probable future Hall of Fame boxer, such as himself, can use his natural athleticism and otherworldly fists to thwart a diverse MMA onslaught. He wants to prove that the skill differential with his hands is so massive that it’ll nullify all of his other MMA deficiencies.

Couture, by contrast, wants to continue proving towards the world that MMA is the more effective approach to combat sports. He really wants to take down Toney, crowd him about the ground and literally pound him into oblivion.

There is 1 kicker: each round starts on the feet. That means Toney will have at least 1 chance to land a fight-ending straight right, left hook or uppercut with either hand.

Such a game plan is usually reserved for woefully overmatched foes who, at the end of the day, have absolutely nothing much more than a lottery-winning opportunity to land a battle ending punch in the beginning of a round. Keep in mind, though, that we are talking about 1 of the greatest boxers from the final 30 years, pound for pound. That changes the odds a bit. We know that simply because history tells us so.

A couple of many years ago, Ray Mercer, himself a high-level former expert boxer, decided to test himself in a mixed martial arts match, although not a UFC-caliber bout. His opponent was fading former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia. It is a matchup that Sylvia wins 29 out of 30 times, in my opinion, even if he isn’t in top form.

But he made a critical mistake at the beginning from the bout – throwing a lazy lead leg kick. And he paid for that mistake by suffering 1 of the most brutal knockouts that I’ve actually seen following Mercer countered the kick with an overhand right for the ages. The bout lasted barely longer than it takes to read the preceding two sentences. And Mercer is basically a boxing journeyman compared to Toney in terms of overall boxing skill, punching precision and career fistic accomplishments.

Couture might really well suffer the exact same fate if he makes a mistake in the opening moments of his battle with Toney. A telegraphed or haphazard kick, rushing in with out being completely covered up, shooting for a takedown from as well far away, slipping about the canvas during his initial attack, or a myriad of other mistakes could easily result in Couture eating that single blow that instantly renders him unconscious.

Also, there’s no obtaining around the fact that Couture is now 47 years old. Believe about that for any moment. Couture is nearly 50 many years old.

1 day soon Couture will step inside the Octagon and resemble a mere shadow of the guy who thrilled fans with multiple championship runs at heavyweight and light heavyweight. He will no longer be able to defeat opponents who would have posed little or no danger to him a decade earlier. That day is coming. Everyone knows it, such as Couture, simply because it happens to every athlete at some point in his life. The fact that Couture has continued to compete at a high level over the last six or seven many years is nothing short of awe inspiring.

Of program, I’m not suggesting that Couture is going to be a shell of himself at UFC 118. There is nothing to suggest that will happen. I’ve spoken with guys who have seen him prepare for this fight, and they state with out reservation that “The Natural” is as good as he has actually been, which isn’t surprising considering that he hasn’t yet shown the adverse impacts of a battle with Father Time throughout his MMA career. Couture looked as spry in his final fight against Mark Coleman as he did when he shocked the globe by coming back from a brief retirement to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship for a record-setting third time just several many years ago.

But again, Father Time is lurking in the not too distant shadows. Probably even lurking close by. Possibly standing correct in Couture’s face.

Toney is well aware of the deleterious affects age requires on a world-class expert athlete. He is no spring chicken, either. But he is really a strapping young guy compared to Couture, and that’s why he wants this fight. Couture presents the perfect opportunity for Toney to score a shocking upset victory, if, indeed, Father Time has finally started collecting on Couture’s athletic debts.

There’s no have to break down the mechanics of how each guy will strategy the fight, other than to point out the obvious fact that Couture really wants to prevent a fistic exchange with Toney like a pre-Revolutionary naval officer wanted to prevent scurvy. If he has any delusions of wanting to test his standup towards Toney’s fists, this is going to be a short fight – one that lasts far less time that the loquacious boxer’s post-fight verbal celebration.

Of course, if Couture can get Toney to the ground, the battle will final as long as Couture wants it to, and it will end by submission or knockout at his leisure.

MMA vs Boxing – UFC 118

James “Lights Out” Toney vs Randy “The Natural” Couture

The 1st time I saw a person discipline of fighting styles pitted against an additional discipline was practically twenty years ago. It was like seeing the movie BloodSport except this was the real issue – real fights, real blood, all to choose which fighting style was far better. I didn’t even know what Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was at that time – almost certainly thought it had been some ninja schtick – even though the mention of wrestling automatically produces a mental image of Hulk Hogan flying and doing a leg drop.

Watch UFC 118 online.

Now this type of factor is common; Mma in general and also the UFC in particular have released the standard public to cross-discipline fights, and – for better or worse – that selfsame community has had the opportunity to form their own opinions as to which design is “better”. And it is a lttle bit of a misnomer, seriously; you cannot seriously say which is a “better” martial fine art, simply the much better fighter. However the comparisons persist, in large component due to the fact we don’t see very much crossover to blended fighting styles through the quite ideal of any specific sport. With Sonnen’s unpredicted manhandling of Anderson Silva in UFC 117, it is not tricky to determine why. Mma demands cross-training, and being a purist in 1 fine art is typically detrimental since you leave yourself open to as well quite a few things – like the takedown.

Pure strikers – because the glut of failed K-1 fighters making the transition on the UFC has shown – are typically disadvantaged by the truth that it is a great deal simpler to land a takedown than protect towards it. Plus the very same is true with boxing. Practitioners with the “Sweet Science” – in specific James Toney – have usually gone on record as saying that the boxing in Mma pales in comparison to boxing in..
. properly… boxing. And Mixed martial arts proponents have generally contended that it can be that way simply because of everything else you need to look at while from the cage. Boxing is really a portion of Mma, but it really is only just one particular part. And for as lengthy as each sports have co-existed, the notion of an elite boxer facing off against an elite Mma fighter was nothing additional than a highly anticipated pipe dream. Effectively, till UFC 118, when IBA heavyweight champ James Toney creates his Mixed martial arts debut against UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture.

The Boxer:

James “Lights Out” Toney will be the current IBA and NABO heavyweight champion who also held titles in 5 unique weight divisions.

Professional boxing record

Wins	Losses	Draws
72	6	3

(T)KO Wins	T(KO) Losses	Submission Wins	Submission Losses	Decision Wins	Decision Losses
44	0	0	0	28	6

No Contests: 2

Pros:

1. Toney has fought a virtual who’s who in the boxing globe which tends to make him a quite experienced and risky striker. He has legit one-punch knockout energy in each hands. He is an elite boxer in the boxing world; that’s some thing no Mma fighter can say, or has faced just before.
2. Despite being hit inside the face for decades that is enough to crack a wall in all directions, he has never been knocked out. Certainly the guy possesses adamantium chin. All those hits to the head have impacted his speech patterns, but not his ability to remain up regardless of taking a beating.
3. His camp claims that Toney may be a quick study in BJJ as well, and can apply the guillotine and rear-naked chokes – fundamental BJJ submission moves. Even so, he has supreme confidence in his capacity to knock Couture out standing up, which may be the case in the vast majority of his gains.
4. He’ll also be utilizing smaller gloves; if he can knock men and women out with all those pillow-sized gloves they use in boxing, I shudder at the imagined of individuals hammer fists connecting with Couture’s chin.

Cons:

1. James is going to be fighting on his feet and not on his Lights Out boxing shoes. The traction variation are going to be a issue that would certainly affect his striking momentum.
2. James will probably be battling in the cage instead of inside ring. Mirko Crocop imagined that the two cage and ring makes no variation to him then Napao Gonzaga enlightened him through head kick. James is within the path to enlightenment.
3. He’ll be applying a 4ounce gloves to defend punches. Okay I admit that James Toney having a four ounce gloves is like arming a rogue nation with nuclear warheads. If he uses it to protect punches then those people punches will pass through like butter.
4. James disses leg kicks due to the fact it really is for girls. Dismissing any aspect of the fight is a sure-fire solution to shed.
5. James thinks he can still produce knockout power while on his back. He must have a jack from the box fists.
6. James consider all he requirements is his boxing expertise set and absolutely nothing else to cement a gain. Either he’s 100% clairvoyant or telepath to determine each imagined and motion prior to it occurs or his 100% delusional due to chronic head trauma.
7. James is pretty darn brief each in height and achieve compared to Captain America and this is not boxing. He might wind up receiving mopped on the canvass by pure unadulterated Greco Roman wrestling.
8. James thinks he can carry on Brock Lesnar following he retires Captain America from active duty. The identical Lesnar who, in UFC 116, took anything Shane Carwin had to give prior to taking Carwin down and submitting arguably the most harmful heavyweight inside UFC due to the fact of his knockout power.

The Wrestler:

Randy “The Natural” Couture is often a Division I and Olympic alternate wrestler who also held the UFC heavyweight title thrice and the UFC light heavyweight title twice.

MMA record

Wins	Losses	Draws
18	10	0

(T)KO Wins	T(KO) Losses	Submission Wins	Submission Losses	Decision Wins	Decision Losses
7	5	3	4	8	1

Pros:

Randy is a wise tactician. He nullified Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga’s sizing and energy, the guy who decapitated Crocops head. Despite getting the older person against younger and bigger opponents, Couture has often found a method to gain.

Randy is quite excellent around the clinch and his wrestling skill is one from the very best inside business.

Randy’s dirty boxing is legendary. He had some success with it in opposition to the present UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar before he ate a ham fist.

Randy’s wrestling can give him great placement within the terrain. I do not consider James knows how to obtain on guard, a great deal less protect against a pass. Once Randy takes him towards the ground, full mount is as effortless as sitting on a couch.

Randy’s one or double leg takedown will be unstoppable unless James understands the best way to sprawl. Sprawl is not discovered from the boxer’s dictionary, which indicates James wouldn’t bother learning it. If that is the case, touchdown for Couture.

Cons:

Couture could possibly (unlikely, but may possibly) stand toe to toe with Toney. Couture shocked the globe when he stood up and fought in Chuck Liddell’s playground and out struck the feared striker in his heyday. Toney is usually a distinct striker though, and his combos may well be as well a lot for “Captain America”. If Couture doesn’t go for any takedown at the early part with the round he could possibly end up like Tim Sylvia receiving knocked out by Ray Mercer in only 9 seconds.

If glove dimension can pose a threat to James striking defense, the reverse is even a lot more applicable. James is appropriate on this matter that he could possibly get arrested for committing a homicide.

Verdict:

Whatever can occur in Mma, correct, but there’s a reason Couture could be the -700 favored to earn this matchup. Couture may perhaps be older, but Toney is coming into this with zero Mixed martial arts experience, and relying on striking alone is usually a difficult lesson that several other people, like Stefan Leko, Masaaki Satake, Mirko CroCop and a lot of other people. A minimum of James “Lights Out” Toney is no Kentucky Floyd Chicken. If Couture is wise – and he’s – he requires this a person to the soil at the initial chance, and makes Toney consume his wo

Watch Penn vs Edgar 2 UFC 118

At long last the UFC is coming to the home of Celtic pride in one of the controversial do-over of the year! Former lightweight stalwart BJ Penn is once again squaring off against young gun Frankie Edgar in a rematch of their much debated 1st meeting in April at UFC 112, which saw Edgar amaze the globe by winning even though he was the serious underdog.

Also inside the card is the fight between UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture and IBA boxing champ James “Lights Out” Toney, in among the more interesting matches in Mixed martial arts history. Toney – a skilled boxer with serious knock out power – has openly mentioned he embraces the “boxing versus MMA” point of view in the fight, and he’s prepared to stand for the sport where he’s been contending professionally since 1988. Whilst Toney is creating his mixed martial arts debut inside the contest, the 41-year-old brings some 22 years of professional boxing experience to the cage. Toney has fought against the best inside earth during his boxing career, and the two-time Ring Magazine Fighter in the Year’s unique shoulder-roll approach to striking has been a trademark throughout his tenure.

Watch UFC 118, Saturday, August 28 at UFC 118: EDGAR VS. PENN 2

BJ Penn vs Frankie Edgar 2

It’s one of the most highly anticipated rematches of the year as lightweight kingpin BJ Penn seeks to regain his gold from Frankie “The Answer” Edgar in UFC 117: Edgar vs Penn 2.

Following UFC 112, when Edgar won a controversial unanimous decision victory over BJ Penn, this fight has been in MMA fans’ radars. Penn has had a history of decisions not going his way dating back to the days when he was squaring off against GSP and Matt Hughes in the welterweight division, and his UFC 112 headliner was no exception. Can Penn retake old glory? Or will The Answer silence his doubters once and for all? Watch UFC 118 to find out!

Watch UFC 117 Online – Silva vs Sonnen

Seneca the Younger attributes to Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus – that’s Caligula, if you forgot Roman History 101 – the saying: Allow them hate, so long as they dread. Not too long ago, these sentiments had been every thing Anderson Silva was not. He is scary, certainly, and deservingly so: Anderson Silva might be simply the best pound for pound fighter – better than even Fedor and GSP. He is a striker without equal, and armed with a deceptive soil game as nicely. With no a doubt, he is among the most feared MMA fighter in the world today. The hate though, that’s a new thing.

His work aside (exactly where he knocks individuals out regularly), Silva seems to be a fairly cheerful person. He’s often is soft-spoken and frequently well intentioned whenever speaking about his peers, and would routinely bow to them before their matches. He owns an infectious grin that belies his vicious persona within the Cage, and this duality he’s been cast in the role of the villain for his antics in the Octagon recently.

This duality isn’t much more apparent in his main event vs Patrick Cote; the fight was pretty even right up until Cote injured his ACL early within the third round, forcing him to concede the fight, prematurely ending the match. Visibly upset at the boos becoming directed at his opponent, Silva admonished the crowd, in essence expressing that Cote was entitled to more than that, simply because it was nevertheless a great fight, till that sickening moment when his calf betrayed him. Some people would say a win’s a win, but that moment showed how classy Anderson Silva could be.

But public approval of him began to sour right after the Thales Leites fight in UFC 97 – the very first time any of his fights were decided by the judges. Both men were booed for being cautious, but Silva was uncharaceristically mindful in the course of the fight en-route to some win. Things peaked in UFC 112, the infamous Demian Maia battle, where Silva dominated Maia in the very first couple of rounds but pretty much refused to engage in the following 3, dancing around and generally avoiding contact. Despite winning once again by way of Unanimous Choice, Dana White called Silva’s overall performance “an embarrassment”, casting doubts on the Brazilian superstar’s heart and attitude, even going as far as to say that Silva doesn’t “deserve” to fight Gsp.

And now in UFC 117, Silva is going up versus his most expressive detractor, Chael Sonnen, and the UFC may be hyping Sonnen up as the man to beat Silva… just like they hyped up everyone else prior. And like everybody else, he will fail. Look into his most recent fights: the only fighters that posed a risk were Brazilian JiuJitsu artists; each other fighter, he puts to sleep. While he has a great wrestling background, Sonnen is ultimately flawed, and whose dependence on Lay and Pray brings out his greatest weakness: he can’t knock folks out. And give some thought to how great Silva is in taking non-submission punishment: he took a beating about the soil from Dan Henderson in UFC 82, but he still hung on to win, and by a choke, no less.

Long story short, Sonnen has a terrible matchup with Silva; styles make fights, and his style is a thing that Anderson Silva just breezes through. But that’s apparently what Dana White wants. Silva is too good a fighter to overcommit to some BJJ practitioner, which makes the struggle “boring”. So the UFC is pitting him against Sonnen – and later Jake Shields – due to the fact they’ll stand up with him. Is that a bad point? It definitely depends on wherever you sit; the UFC is carrying out for Silva what Floyd Mayweather Jr. did: only choosing the very best fights, not fighters, for him. They’re fascinating as hell, but with the outcome all but assured, they truly do not resolve anything. I’ll watch UFC 117 online, without a doubt… but even betting men ought to feel a bit guilty picking Anderson Silva. But then again, they’d be pretty silly not to.

Silva vs Sonnen prediction

Why UFC 117 is gonna Rock

As if you needed more incentive to watch UFC 117 online, headlined by Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen, here’s a few reasons why UFC 117 is can’t-miss for MMA fans:

Anderson “The Spider” Silva vs Chael Sonnen

Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen will be an interesting contest, to say the least. Had this occured prior to the UFC 112 against Demian Maia, The Brazilian superstar might have been the ridiculous favorite. After that however, Anderson Silva has never been so unpopular for his silly manoeuvres inside the Octagon, and quite a few fighters have called him out for this. Most vocal of those has been Chael Sonnen, the main middleweight after Silva himself and trash talker extraordinaire. Despite Silva keeping quiet for the most part, Sonnen has been relentless verbally, and hasn’t let up. Can he back up his talk though? Sonnen is primarily a ground fighter, relying on his superior wrestling ability to out-pont and outlast his opponents – his last five wins were from unanimous decisions where he totally dominated the ground game. Unfortunately, even when he’s been in a dominant position, Chael Sonnen wasn’t capable of complete his opponents. Silva, on the other hand, has been through most of his career a knockout specialist. It wasn’t until recently – the Cote, Leites, and Maia fights – that the match up actually lasted beyond a bell. And even then, he was dominant.Is it his time?Maybe, I don’t know – but he hasn’t looked this vulnerable in, well… ever. And when you consider the streaks that were ended this year: Mashida’s, then Fedor’s, then Carwin’s… maybe 2010 is the year of the streak-enders.

Watch UFC 116 Replays!

The match was billed as the biggest heavyweight event in UFC history, and the fighting event of the year – and they were totally right. UFC 116: Lesnar vs Carwin lived up to buzz, and so much more. By the time the final bell rang, there were 4 genuine possibles for the FOTN award, and a pair of candidates for Submission of the Night. As excellent as the main card between Lesnar and Carwin turned out to be – yes, every bit as good as the hype – I take my hat off to two fights: Leben-Akiyama and Bonnar-Soszynski. Each made a case for Fight of the Night, and I’m glad they didn’t waste time trying to decide which is which by awarding both fights with it. Classic, edge of your seat matches that left me holdign my breath the entire way – and I wasn’t even pulling for any particular combatant. I said it before and I’ll say it again, this was an event no fight fan should miss, and I hope you didn’t. But just in case…

I can give you a play-by-play, but a video replay would be so much better, so here’s the link: Watch UFC 116 Replays!

Watch UFC 116 Now Live!

The fight of the decade is eventually here, and it’s surely worth the wait! The fight looks to begin in an hour or so so make sure you have everything you need for nonstop martial arts action and watch UFC 116 live now!

Reminder: Where to Watch UFC 116 Online

If want to know where to watch UFC 116, you’ve come to the right place! I’m always on the lookout for free streams on the ‘net, and I’ll be posting links to them as soon as they become available. Remember, if the videos go away, refresh your browser after a minute or two; I’ll most likely have a new one for you then 🙂

From the Official UFC website:
The undisputed UFC heavyweight championship will be on the line when Brock Lesnar makes his long-awaited return to the Octagon to defend his world title against interim beltholder Shane Carwin in a clash of titans nearly a year in the making.

Carwin has destroyed each of his 12 opponents in less than a round; Lesnar has been just as devastating in his victories over Randy Couture and Frank Mir. When these two heavyweight giants meet in the main event of UFC 116 for the most prestigious title in mixed martial arts, don’t blink.

Pellegrino vs Sotiropoulos My Prediction

Watch UFC 116

Watch UFC 116

Juijitsu buffs are sure to be there to watch the fight between Aussie Sotiropoulos and New Jersey’s own Pellegrino. The match up between Aussie George Sotiropoulos and Pellegrino is the stuff of jiujitsu dreams come true. Besides being a potentially spectacular match up of jiu-jitsu artists, both martial artists are sporting impressive winning streaks and find themselves possibly one win away from a win unquestionably puts either over the top, finally becoming a serious challenger for the title.

Kurt “Batman” Pellegrino has been here before but could not thrive. Avoiding that fortune once again will mean that he has to find a way to out-grapple the wily Aussie; hardly an easy feat, especially when you consider that no one in the UFC has been able to do it yet. One of the best submission artists in the sport currently, the Australian Sotiropoulos is a spectacular guard-passer and works a beautiful rubber guard that is concurrently intense and stifling.

This is a frightening matchup for Pellegrino. He has good enough takedowns , but his grappling style has the same issues that kept Joe Stevenson from generating any offense against Sotiropoulos. He doesn’t have a good enough guard-passing skill to get the space he needs to ground and pound. Sotiropoulos’ jiujitsu renders Pellegrino’s wrestling advantage meaningless, and off his back, I don’t see him getting free of a submission against the Aussie like he did with Fabricio Camoes.

My prediction: Sotiropoulos with a submission.