UFC Hall of Famer and former champion Randy Couture (18-10) has nothing but respect for his UFC 118 opponent James Toney, which he’s shown in not bad mouthing the boxing champion.
He’s taking this fight very seriously and, unlike many purists, doesn’t see his co-main event bout as a “freakshow.”
“I don’t think it’s a freak show,” said Couture, who is a 7-to-1 favorite over Toney. “I give him credit for the things he’s accomplished in boxing. I certainly accomplished a lot of things in wresting that nobody gave me credit for when I made my way in to MMA.
“Those combative sports count for something. James is going to be dangerous.”
Couture talked with the LasVegasSun.com recently about this fight and is so excited about the bout that he spilled the beans on how he plans on defeating Toney.
“I would love to choke the hell out of him,” Couture said. “I think that’s a big piece of MMA and certainly a big piece I’ve been working on.”
The matchup in styles favors Couture so much, he admits it’s probably why he was given the fight against Toney over anyone else.
“I suspect it’s because I tend to be a cerebral fighter,” Couture said of why UFC brass chose him to welcome Toney to the sport. “They probably realize I have a good chance of taking him down, putting him on his back and making the point that needs to be made.”
“The Natural” was asked which opponent he’d like to fight next and responded with former UFC light-heavyweight champ Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida’s name. Obviously, Couture isn’t looking for any easy fights and still wants to be competitive at age 47.
“I’ve said all along Lyoto (Machida),” Couture said. “He’s kind of been an enigma to everyone, (Mauricio Shogun Rua) was the first to kind of solve that equation. Shogun himself would be interesting. Those are two guys at the top of the heap right now.”
Check out video of Couture training for Toney after the jump