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As he prepares for his July 3rd showdown with Shane Carwin, Brock Lesnar has joined forces with a somewhat unlikely ally — Randy Couture, who Lesnar wrecked in his first UFC title fight back in November 2008. The two heavyweig…
As he prepares for his July 3rd showdown with Shane Carwin, Brock Lesnar has joined forces with a somewhat unlikely ally — Randy Couture, who Lesnar wrecked in his first UFC title fight back in November 2008. The two heavyweight stars stayed friendly after their meeting in the Octagon, and Couture recently decided to head up to Alexandria, Minnesota, to train at Lesnar’s private Death Clutch training facility; you know, the one with all the badass tigers and jacked gladiators on the walls and shit.
Last week, before a one armed Rich Franklin (for all intensive and dramatic purposes) crushed the hopes of “Iceman” fans everywhere, we passed along word that said James Toney was taking his sweet ass time to sign the bout agreement for his UFC 118 (which prompted several Fix staffers to go into hysterics). Of course, […]
Last week, before a one armed Rich Franklin (for all intensive and dramatic purposes) crushed the hopes of “Iceman” fans everywhere, we passed along word that said James Toney was taking his sweet ass time to sign the bout agreement for his UFC 118 (which prompted several Fix staffers to go into hysterics). Of course, if you’ve even turned on your computer over the last few weeks, you’re more than aware that the charismatic boxer / soon to be MMA fighter, is supposed to fight Randy Couture at the August 28th event in Boston.
Well according to Dana White this past weekend, all this speculation about Toney possibly waffling is grade A bs, as the UFC boss man not only confirmed the fight to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, MMA Junkie is also reporting that the fight is set. If you’re a huge or old school MMA fan, who’s grown desperately tired of debating with boxing purists that MMA fighter’s aren’t legit, let the Mr. Burns saying ‘excellent’ impersonations fly.
So, there you have it, and with the rematch between BJ Penn and newly minted lightweight champ Frankie Edgar scheduled as the headliner, Boston’s made out pretty good on this thing huh?
(“Go ahead and strap that black belt on right here, Deano.”)
Amid concerns this week that James Toney may not yet have signed his formal bout agreement to face Randy Couture at UFC 118, reports surfaced that the former boxing champion had t…
(“Go ahead and strap that black belt on right here, Deano.”)
Amid concerns this week that James Toney may not yet have signed his formal bout agreement to face Randy Couture at UFC 118, reports surfaced that the former boxing champion had tabbed one-time Xtreme Couture affiliate Dean Lister and Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed Lawal to help shore up his ground game. To this, I say: Bullshit. Toney might be rolling with Lister and Lawal a bit just to keep up appearances, but there’s no way he’s making an honest effort to learn to grapple.
Look, in his day James Toney was nothing short of an unmitigated badass. He was a guy who took on all-comers in numerous weight classes and more often than not came out on top. Even at his advanced age he can still hit very, very hard. But Toney has never, especially in recent years, been overly committed to training. The idea that he would suddenly attempt to augment his skill-set three months before his MMA debut is far-fetched. The notion that – even if he did – he could close the grappling gap on Couture in that short amount of time is, well, ludicrous.
As James Toney continues to prepare for his expected, August 28th, UFC debut against Randy Couture, the boxer’s training camp continues to receive a lot of scrutinizing attention. Guess when you declare publicly that, despite having little to no experience in mixed-martial-arts heads of fighters may go “into orbit”, people are going to be real […]
As James Toney continues to prepare for his expected, August 28th, UFC debut against Randy Couture, the boxer’s training camp continues to receive a lot of scrutinizing attention. Guess when you declare publicly that, despite having little to no experience in mixed-martial-arts heads of fighters may go “into orbit”, people are going to be real curious as to whether or not you’ll back that sh-t up.
Well, recently it was revealed that not only is Toney training with Strikeforce champ “King Mo” Lawal, but reports surfaced that Toney may have actually tapped out the accomplished wrestler (could it have been a deliberately leaked bit of ‘counter intelligence? Dum, dum, dum, dum). Now in a recent story from MMA Fighting, the outlet is reporting that Toney has hired Dean Lister to help him out with his ground game; yeah, we’d say a former ADCC champ would probably do the trick. Although the story cited anonymous sources for the report and that Lister did not respond to MMA Fighting’s inquiries, the article points out that Lister is also Lawal’s BJJ coach. Connect the dots now….
On the flip side of all the Toney hype, it was reported in the latest episode of MMA Live, that the UFC newcomer is reportedly “dragging his feet over the bout agreement signing with Randy Couture.” Temporary hiccup or…?
Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsWith his mixed martial arts debut about two months away, former multi-division boxing champion James Toney has enlisted ex-UFC star and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Dean Lister to tutor him in a crash course …
With his mixed martial arts debut about two months away, former multi-division boxing champion James Toney has enlisted ex-UFC star and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Dean Lister to tutor him in a crash course on the ground game, MMA Fighting has learned.
According to two separate sources, Lister has been working with Toney for about one month in preparation for his August UFC 118 bout against UFC legend Randy Couture. Lister did not respond to messages seeking comment.
With his mixed martial arts debut about two months away, former multi-division boxing champion