James Toney Labels Randy Couture A ‘Coward’, Claims He Refused Boxing Rematch

James ToneyFormer three-weight professional boxing world champion, James Toney has slammed former undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, Randy Couture, claiming the latter refused to follow through with plans to rematch him in a boxing match – labelling the veteran sport pioneer, a “coward”. Toney, who ended his professional boxing career back in May 2017 with a knockout […]

James Toney

Former three-weight professional boxing world champion, James Toney has slammed former undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, Randy Couture, claiming the latter refused to follow through with plans to rematch him in a boxing match – labelling the veteran sport pioneer, a “coward”.

Toney, who ended his professional boxing career back in May 2017 with a knockout win over Mike Sheppard, ended his decorated career boasting a 77-10-3(2) record since his debut back in October 1988. 

However, the Michigan native made a brief professional mixed martial arts excursion back in August 2010 at UFC 118, suffering an opening round arm-triangle defeat against the aforenoted former three-time undisputed heavyweight, and two-time light heavyweight champion, Couture.

James Toney suffered a one-sided loss to Randy Couture, eventually submitting to an arm-triangle

Recently, however, Toney has since hit out at Couture – claiming the Washington native eventually baulked at a trip to the professional boxing ring for a rematch, despite initially agreeing to the deal.

“I knew he (Randy Couture) was scared when the fight was made,” James Toney told Murder Master Music Show during a recent interview. “Randy is a great fighter in MMA. We had made a deal that we do one fight (in) MMA and one fight (in) boxing. But of course, after he (Randy Couture) beat me, he retires. What kind of sh*t is that?”

“That’s a coward move, I lost a lot of respect for him” James Toney continued. “He retired a week later. The bad thing about it is I made more money than he did. I offered to pay him more money for the boxing (match) than he made with the fight with me (in mixed martial arts).” 

Despite claims from Toney that Couture had retired a week after his arm-triangle loss to the former two-weight UFC champion, Couture would go on to feature against former light heavyweight champion, Lyoto Machida in April of the following year – suffering an infamous second round front kick knockout to the Brazilian, announcing his retirement from the sport following the fight, aged 47-years-old. 

James Toney Calls Randy Couture A “Coward” For Retiring After Their MMA Bout

According to James Toney, he and Randy Couture were supposed to battle it out in a boxing match following their MMA bout. Before and after his MMA debut, James Toney was an incredible boxing sensation. From 1988 to 2017, he competed in 92 professional boxing matches and gained a total of 77 wins. Toney fought…

Continue Reading James Toney Calls Randy Couture A “Coward” For Retiring After Their MMA Bout at MMA News.

According to James Toney, he and Randy Couture were supposed to battle it out in a boxing match following their MMA bout.

Before and after his MMA debut, James Toney was an incredible boxing sensation. From 1988 to 2017, he competed in 92 professional boxing matches and gained a total of 77 wins.

Toney fought in multiple weight classes and won championships in three of them. But in 2010, it was time for Toney to broaden his horizons and take a shot at another combat sport.

UFC 118 saw Randy Couture and James Toney as the co-main event. Although “Lights Out” lost the match in round 1 via an arm-triangle choke, he still enjoyed the experience and showed appreciation for MMA and the fans.

James Toney and Randy Couture
James Toney and Randy Couture, Photo Credit: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

He may not have remained in the sport like he originally planned, but had fun nonetheless.

Fast forward to 2022 and Toney is not happy with the way things ended between him and Couture. In an interview with Murder Master Music Show, Toney recalls a boxing match agreement with Couture that was supposed to take place after their cage fight.

“I knew he was scared when the fight was made,” Toney said. “Randy is a great fighter in MMA. We had made a deal that we do one fight MMA and one fight boxing. But of course, after he beat me, he retires. What kind of shit is that? That’s a coward move, I lost a lot of respect for him. He retired a week later. The bad thing about it is I made more money than he did. I offered to pay him more money for the boxing than he made with the fight with me.” (h/t MyMMANews)

Unfortunately, boxing and MMA fans never saw the boxing match come to fruition.

The year after their MMA fight, Couture had his final bout against Lyoto Machida and lost via kick to the head in round 2. Meanwhile, Toney continued to make strides in his boxing career until retiring in 2017.

What are your thoughts on James Toney not getting a boxing match with Randy Couture?

Continue Reading James Toney Calls Randy Couture A “Coward” For Retiring After Their MMA Bout at MMA News.

Daniel Cormier Names His Top 5 UFC Boxers Of All-Time

Daniel CormierAmid all the debate, former UFC champion turned broadcast analyst Daniel Cormier has listed his Top 5 UFC boxers of all time. Cormier is a prominent voice among MMA circles as one of the most well-known voices of the UFC. He is a fixture of UFC pay-per-view and Fight Night events and also hosts a […]

Daniel Cormier

Amid all the debate, former UFC champion turned broadcast analyst Daniel Cormier has listed his Top 5 UFC boxers of all time.

Cormier is a prominent voice among MMA circles as one of the most well-known voices of the UFC. He is a fixture of UFC pay-per-view and Fight Night events and also hosts a series of programs on ESPN.

His show with ESPN commentator Ryan Clark has become an instant hit with UFC fans. Previously, he hosted a show with MMA journalist Ariel Helwani before Helwani left the network to go independent.

During a recent episode of ‘DC &RC’, Cormier listed his top five boxers in UFC history, and the top of the list may be perplexing for most fans.

1. James Toney

2. Max Holloway

3. Petr Yan

4. Conor McGregor

5. Junior Dos Santos

Daniel Cormier Picked James Toney, Not Max Holloway, As UFC’s Best Boxer Of All Time

Cormier put former UFC heavyweight and world boxing champion James Toney at the top of his list; over former UFC champions Max Holloway and Petr Yan.

While Toney is highly regarded as one of the best heavyweight boxers of all time, his UFC tenure left a lot to be desired. He signed for one fight in the UFC at UFC 118 against Randy Couture and was submitted just minutes into the bout.

Cormier often likes to poke fun at his good friend Holloway, but this may be the biggest shot by the former light heavyweight and heavyweight UFC champ. Many fans were also stunned to know that fighters such as Dustin Poirier and Leon Edwards weren’t considered for the list.

The ‘best boxer in the UFC’ conversation rages on, and Cormier’s list is sure to add fuel to the fire to the debate. His list is sure to create all kinds of debate within the MMA community as a whole.

What are your thoughts on Daniel Cormier’s list?

[ARCHIVES] Info/Facts After Couture vs. Toney “UFC vs Boxing” Bout

Tonight will feature a modern-day UFC vs. Boxing bout when Tyron Woodley faces Jake Paul. Only this time, much like Ben Askren’s bout against Paul in April, it will be in the boxing ring. Here’s a timely look back to an article we published…

Tonight will feature a modern-day UFC vs. Boxing bout when Tyron Woodley faces Jake Paul. Only this time, much like Ben Askren’s bout against Paul in April, it will be in the boxing ring. Here’s a timely look back to an article we published 11 years ago immediately following the historic Randy Couture vs. James […]

Continue Reading [ARCHIVES] Info/Facts After Couture vs. Toney “UFC vs Boxing” Bout at MMA News.

10 Sports Stars Who Fell Flat In MMA

Many sports stars and athletes have tried their hands at mixed martial arts with varying degrees of success. For every Brock Lesnar, there’s 15 other crossover athletes who did not have such a smooth transition into the world’s most violent and dangerous sport. We here at LowKick MMA have compiled a solid list of 10 crossover […]

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Many sports stars and athletes have tried their hands at mixed martial arts with varying degrees of success.

For every Brock Lesnar, there’s 15 other crossover athletes who did not have such a smooth transition into the world’s most violent and dangerous sport.

We here at LowKick MMA have compiled a solid list of 10 crossover sports stars who just couldn’t make it in mixed martial arts.

10. Jose Canseco

Jose Canseco had a long and storied career in baseball before trying his hand at mixed martial arts. The Cuban-American was a six time all-star and won two World Series championships with the Oakland Athletics in 1989 and New York Yankees in 2000 before a steroid scandal in 2005 tarnished his reputation as a professional athlete.

Four years after the steroid scandal, Canseco attempted a career in MMA. The former baseball star took on Korean giant Choi Hong-man at DREAM 9 back in 2009. It was the perfect freak-show fight for its’ Japanese audience, which was hosting DREAM’s Hulk Grand Prix.

Canseco, while a sturdy 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, was dwarfed by Choi, who weighed in at 320 pounds while standing at a massive 7-foot-2. Canseco tried to stay light on his feet, at times running from Choi to reset at the center of the ring, but the big man eventually caught up to him, forcing Canseco to tap to strikes at just 1:17 minutes into the first round.

“That’s a big man,” Canseco said of Choi at the time. “I ran into one of his left jabs and that almost knocked me out. You have no idea how scary it was facing a man that big.”

Canseco would never fight in mixed martial arts ever again, and if his performance against Choi is any indication, he probably never will again. However, he did participate in a celebrity boxing match with former child star Danny Bonaduce in a match that went to a draw.

But, with 462 home runs to his name and 17 seasons in the MLB, Canseco will be remembered as a baseball player rather than a fighter.

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10 Biggest Mismatches In MMA History

We’ve all watched a mixed martial arts fight where one fighter seemed outclassed from the moment the bout was scheduled. Whether that fighter is facing skill or size obstacles, they still show up and fight, even when faced with insurmountable odds against them. Take a look at the 10 biggest mismatches in MMA history: 10.

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We’ve all watched a mixed martial arts fight where one fighter seemed outclassed from the moment the bout was scheduled.

Whether that fighter is facing skill or size obstacles, they still show up and fight, even when faced with insurmountable odds against them.

Take a look at the 10 biggest mismatches in MMA history:

10. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Zuluzinho

Anytime you have what might be the beast heavyweight mixed martial artist of all time in the ring, it may always seem a little lopsided.

That fact was no better demonstrated in his 36-second destruction of Brazilian behemoth Zuluzinho.

While Zulu was a formidable 6 foot 7 and over 400 pounds of human, his ridiculous size was not enough to overcome Fedor’s unbelievable win streak and skill-set.

A straight left hand planted the big man on his bottom. Fedor attacked with lightning quick instinct, and felled his foe before he was able to get to his feet from the very first punch landed.

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