Author: Michael David Smith

Toney Wanted Lesnar, Turned Down Kimbo, Settled on Couture

Filed under: UFCWhen boxing champion James Toney first signed with the UFC, he didn’t see any reason he shouldn’t get a heavyweight title shot. And so, Toney says, he asked for Brock Lesnar as his first opponent inside the Octagon.

But the UFC had oth…

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When boxing champion James Toney first signed with the UFC, he didn’t see any reason he shouldn’t get a heavyweight title shot. And so, Toney says, he asked for Brock Lesnar as his first opponent inside the Octagon.

But the UFC had other ideas.

According to Toney, when the UFC told him he wasn’t just going to waltz right in and fight the heavyweight champ, that set off an interesting negotiation with the promotion, which floated the idea of having him fight Kimbo Slice before settling on Randy Couture as his first UFC opponent.

Chat Live With James Toney

Filed under: UFCJames Toney, the soon-to-be 42-year-old pro boxer who was a two-time Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year, is preparing to take up a new sport when he steps inside the Octagon for a mixed martial arts fight with Randy Couture on Aug. 28 at…

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James ToneyJames Toney, the soon-to-be 42-year-old pro boxer who was a two-time Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year, is preparing to take up a new sport when he steps inside the Octagon for a mixed martial arts fight with Randy Couture on Aug. 28 at UFC 118. But he’ll take some time out of his preparation on Wednesday to participate in a live chat with MMA and boxing fans here at MMAFighting.com.

If you want to know why Toney decided to give MMA a try, where he stands on the “boxing vs. MMA” debate, and how he views Couture as an opponent, this is your chance to ask him. The live chat begins Wednesday at 1:25PM ET.

Kazuyuki Miyata Fires Back at K-1 Announcers

Filed under: MMA Media Watch, K1, News, JapanOn Saturday I praised K-1 announcers Michael Schiavello and Mike Kogan for their candor in calling the recent Kazuyuki Miyata vs. Kazuhisa Watanabe fight, a fight that wasn’t on par with the caliber of kickb…

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On Saturday I praised K-1 announcers Michael Schiavello and Mike Kogan for their candor in calling the recent Kazuyuki Miyata vs. Kazuhisa Watanabe fight, a fight that wasn’t on par with the caliber of kickboxing that fans have come to expect from K-1.

Now Miyata has responded, and he’s not pleased with being called out.

“K-1 USA’s commentator Mike Kogan insulted me,” Miyata wrote on his blog, as translated by MMA Fighting’s Japan correspondent, Daniel Herbertson. “He knows me but he’s still saying these kinds of things about me?”

A Refreshing Piece of Candor on a K-1 Broadcast

Filed under: MMA Media Watch, K1One of the problems that plagues combat sports broadcasting is that the television announcers are so closely aligned with the promotions whose fights they call that the broadcasters often start to sound like promoters th…

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One of the problems that plagues combat sports broadcasting is that the television announcers are so closely aligned with the promotions whose fights they call that the broadcasters often start to sound like promoters themselves. The fans are told that every fight they’re watching is great, even if their two eyes tell them something different.

That’s why Michael Schiavello and Mike Kogan deserve a ton of credit for the way they called the Kazuyuki Miyata vs. Kazuhisa Watanabe K-1 World MAX tournament fight that aired on HDNet Friday.

As Matyushenko Touts Experience, Jones Says He’s Not Young

Filed under: UFCMost UFC fans who will tune in to Versus on Sunday night to watch Vladimir Matyushenko fight Jon Jones are probably unaware of the wealth of experience Matyushenko has in the sport: The UFC has so many new fans that it sometimes seems l…

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Most UFC fans who will tune in to Versus on Sunday night to watch Vladimir Matyushenko fight Jon Jones are probably unaware of the wealth of experience Matyushenko has in the sport: The UFC has so many new fans that it sometimes seems like there’s hardly anyone left who remembers Matyushenko losing to Tito Ortiz in a light heavyweight title fight at UFC 33 in 2001.

But Jones himself says he’s keenly aware of everything Matyushenko has accomplished in the sport.

“I think he’s very underrated,” Jones said of Matyushenko. “I’ve watched a lot of his fights — pretty much all of them — I’ve watched them over and over and over again, and I’ve seen him do some great things.”

Sarah Kaufman KOs Roxanne Modafferi With a Slam

Filed under: StrikeforceIn one of the most stunning endings to a women’s fight that mixed martial arts has ever seen, Sarah Kaufman knocked out Roxanne Modafferi by picking her up and slamming the back of her head against the canvas in the third round …

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In one of the most stunning endings to a women’s fight that mixed martial arts has ever seen, Sarah Kaufman knocked out Roxanne Modafferi by picking her up and slamming the back of her head against the canvas in the third round of their Strikeforce title fight.

Kaufman used it as an opportunity to tell her promoters that they need to do a better jof of promoting her.

“Get me on main cards on Showtime,” Kaufman said afterward. “I think I deserve it. Put me on there.”