James Toney Signs With the UFC

[desflood]

James Toney Signs With the UFC

by Nick Thomas on Mar 3, 2010 4:18 PM EST in News 323 comments

According to fiveouncesofpain.com and MMAFighting.com's Mike Chiappetta:

Sources close to the situation say that James Toney has recently been signed to a multi-fight contract with the UFC.

Juanito Ibarra, the former trainer of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, told Sherdog.com Wednesday that he has been working with the 41-year-old MMA novice on the fundamentals he will need to add to his repertoire if he hopes to be successful in the UFC.

"We have been working on stretching, sprawling and movement, all the things he will need to get a handle on," Ibarra said.




May Dana White be turked by a syphilitic bear.

[DBryant88]

:rollin

[resistanze]

*Cue the circus music*

[polandprzem]

NO way that happened multi fight deal? So at least three or what?

[dbreiden83080]

Terrible move by the UFC. So much for Dana not going with the freak show aspect. So give James a few guys with zero ground or wrestling to KO and look good.. Big Deal..

[desflood]

Maybe Silva could take an idea from the WWE: Toney and Kimbo have a "Loser Leaves Town" Match.

[Destro]

If he lands a clean punch he will easily kO just about any MMA fighter. Of course thats a big "if", get him to the ground and its over quickly. Several televised fights have been mostly stand up lately so if someone tries to stand with him they will get KOed. Not to knock MMA, i love the sport but alot of the knockouts are due to lazy boxing, not keeping a chin tucked, dropping their arms, arms too far apart etc... A good boxer will quickly expose and take advantage of any flaw in during stand up. Toney is old though and MMA is a different sport. I'm very curious to see how this goes, i was a boxing fan before MMA and I've always wanted to see a good boxer mix it up. I'll admit that i'm a casual MMA fan.

[polandprzem]

his leg will be kicked till the end of this legs life

clen punch? you need to have some speed and dumb opponents

[8FOR!3]

First leg kick from most fighters will jack this guy's leg so bad he won't even be able to generate any KO power anyways.

[Stringer_Bell]

There's no way Dana would sign him if the contract if there wasn't some kind of termination loophole. Toney last fought in September and apparently looked in good shape, so the man can train. He's 72-6-3-2, so let's see how his progress is over the next few months. You can bet he's on a short leash.

I assume he can fight at Lightheavy and Heavy, so it'll be interesting to see if they do a match with Kimbo at some point.

[Blackjack]

I love me some James Toney, but this leaves me conflicted . . .

Hopefully he's taking it seriously and not allowing this to turn into the freakshow most expect; if he's at heavyweight, he's too heavy.

[cornbread]

God bless anybody stupid enough to do anything but immediately attempt a takedown against Toney.

[dallaskd]

Toney doesnt know how to check a kick..

[Blackjack]

... or mix in a salad. But I still love the dude.

At this point, I'm hoping for a reasonably fit Toney and someone like Alexander as his opponent; I'm a fan just hoping this ends somewhat respectably.

[Blackjack]

"Kimbo Slice" manager welcomes James Toney fight but says nothing currently in works (http://mmajunkie.com/news/18168/kimbo-slice-manager-welcomes-james-toney-fight-but-says-nothing-currently-in-works.mma)
by Steven Marrocco

http://mmajunkie.com/dyn/images/fighters/kevin-kimbo-slice-ferguson-9.jpg

Hold your horses.

Amid rabid speculation this morning that Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson (5-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) may be James Toney's first octagon opponent, his manager told MMAjunkie.com (http://mmajunkie.com/) (www.mmajunkie.com) on Thursday afternoon that it's business as usual for the bearded brawler.

Slice, who is expected to face Matt Mitrione at UFC 113 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is absent from the promotion's official event page. But Mike Imber, Slice's longtime manager otherwise known as "Icy Mike," said his client was never on the page to begin with.

And Slice's absence does not mean he has other plans.

"I really don't think that's got anything to do with us," Imber said.

UFC president Dana White confirmed Slice's rumored fight with Mitrione at a gathering of reporters following the UFC 109 pre-fight press conference, and the bout was advertised as a part of the Montreal card as part of the recent UFC 110 broadcast.

Yesterday, White told Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=ApSErGapEyusoYF5q6ZI8iM9Eo14?slug=ki-toney030310&prov=yhoo&type=lgns) that he is still working out plans for Toney's debut and has no idea who the boxing champion will face in his first UFC fight.

However, he assured fans that he is not working the "freak show" angle he often criticizes in other promotion's matchmaking.

"I'd be the first to scream if someone else did that, so I'm not going to do it," White said.

"I don't want this to be seen as a joke, and it's not like Herschel Walker or Canseco or any of those guys. James Toney is a fighter. The worst thing anyone can ever say to me is that they were watching one of my fights and they changed the channel. That's why I'll never put [expletive] fights on."

Imber, for one, is among many who are excited to see what Toney can do in the cage. But "Icy Mike" insists his client's fight plans are unchanged.

"Kimbo would of course fight [Toney], but I think there's a lot of other guys who want to fight him now," Imber said.

Slice, 36, shot to internet stardom in 2003 for a series of unsanctioned street fights filmed for YouTube. In 2007, he signed a deal with EliteXC and drew a record U.S. television audience for his fight with James Thompson on CBS.

This past June, he signed a deal with the UFC and participated on "The Ultimate Fighter 10" which drew record ratings for UFC broadcast partner Spike TV.

For the latest on UFC 113 (http://mmajunkie.com/event/676/ufc-113-in-montreal.mma) event, check out the UFC Events (http://mmajunkie.com/Events.aspx) section of MMAjunkie.com.

[Blackjack]

UFC insists Toney signing isn’t ‘freak show’ (http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=ApSErGapEyusoYF5q6ZI8iM9Eo14?slug=ki-toney030310&prov=yhoo&type=lgns)
By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports

Follow Kevin Iole on Twitter at @KevinI (http://twitter.com/KevinI)

http://l.yimg.com/a/p/sp/tools/med/2010/03/ipt/1267669559.jpg?x=250&y=400&xc=1&yc=1&wc=250&hc=400&q=100&sig=ImnLCmZN6j5JFhR2TEouYQ--

The Ultimate Fighting Championship didn’t become a billion-dollar enterprise by having its executives take crazy risks. The company was built methodically, with the larger goal always in mind.

But on Wednesday, the bus swerved sharply in a different direction when UFC president Dana White confirmed that the company had signed boxer James Toney to a multi-fight contract.

White conceded he’s certain of very little about his plans for Toney other than that the future boxing Hall of Famer will compete in the UFC as a light heavyweight. Toney, being the contrarian he is, said he wants to fight as a heavyweight.

As for when Toney will fight, the level of opposition he will face and other pertinent details, White admits he hasn’t mapped it out yet.

“We’ll figure something out,” White said. “I’m not really sure. Here’s the thing with James: We were sitting around finishing the deal and talking and he told me that he’d been talking to Strikeforce. He said they were talking to him about a fight with Herschel Walker. James said to me, ‘Do you know what I’d do to that [expletive]?’ He looked at me and said, ‘You know, I have a lot of pride and I’d never do anything to embarrass myself. I’m a fighter. I want to fight. And don’t ever underestimate me.’ ”

White, who remains a diehard boxing fan, clearly is infatuated with Toney, who is one of the greatest pure boxers who ever lived and among the five finest boxers of his era.

But Toney is 41, has twice tested positive for steroids and in recent years he’s often had a belly that has hung over his waist. And though the UFC has come a long way in convincing the masses that it’s a world-class sport and not some kind of a carnival sideshow, it’s hard to see much of an upside in this signing.

If Toney gets blown out in his UFC debut, his opponent won’t get much credit. Most of the talk will be that the opponent beat up an aged, over-the-hill boxer.

On the other hand, if Toney were to win, it would cause plenty to question the quality of fighters in the UFC.

There doesn’t seem to be an upside for the UFC unless Toney shows up in peak shape and puts on several quality fights in a row.

Toney insisted his weight would not be an issue and said he has no concern about adjusting to MMA.

“Don’t make wise cracks about my weight, because I’ve been working hard and the next time you see me, you’ll be shocked,” said Toney, who said he would probably box sometime in the next six weeks to get the rust off. “Dana put his foot in his mouth and said UFC guys are better fighters than boxers. We’ll see. Everyone who knows anything about fighting knows I’m the purest fighter in the game. There ain’t no secrets.

“I’ve been fighting a long time. I was born fighting. I know what I’m doing. Boxing is still my main focus, but them guys are a bunch of (expletives) and they don’t want to fight. So I called Dana after he put his foot in his mouth and I’m going to prove he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

Dan Goossen, Toney’s long-time friend and promoter, was disappointed to learn the news. The contract with the UFC allows Toney to continue to box and Goossen said he had conversations with Toney earlier this week about a boxing match next month.

Toney has been doing some MMA training, Goossen said. While he’s no MMA expert, Goossen understands Toney will be at a disadvantage fighting against men who have been training in the sport for many years.


UFC president Dana White insisted that signing boxer James Toney was legit: "What we won't do is make a freak show out of it."

“Let’s face it: There are some bad – meaning good – fighters in MMA, no ifs, ands or buts about it,” Goossen said. “There are a lot of wrestlers who are fighters now and James is not a wrestler. He’s a standup fighter; he’s a boxer. His skills are standing up. There’s not an MMA fighter in the world who could fight James on his court, in the ring, and be able to stay with him.

“But this is like something I said to Pete Rose the other day: As great a hitter as Pete was, and he’s one of the greatest who ever lived, do you think he would be the all-time hit king in cricket? It’s still hitting a ball with a stick, but they’re completely different sports.

“Boxing and MMA are fighting sports,” Goossen said. “They’re related, but they’re different sports. You need different skills in each of them. As great as James is, he’s not going to be as good of a wrestler as the guys he faces. He can’t cram into a six-, eight-, 12-week training camp what they’ve been doing all their lives. He’s definitely going to be at a disadvantage and I don’t want to see him being used.”

White insists he didn’t sign Toney to be a freak show and said he’ll avoid gimmick fights like Toney against Walker, the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner, or Toney against former baseball MVP Jose Canseco.

White is not sure against who or when, but he said Toney will be just another UFC fighter when he debuts. Toney said he isn’t sure when he’ll debut, but said he thought June or July would be a fair guess. And he said he expects to be the main event.

“I’m a main event fighter and I’ve been a main event fighter since before a lot of these punk-(expletive) fighters were out of the crib,” Toney said. “Don’t give me that (expletive) about fighting on the undercard. People want to see James Toney and I’m going to give them what they want.”

White gave former NCAA Division I wrestling champion and ex-WWE superstar Brock Lesnar one of the stiffest challenges possible when he was matched against former heavyweight champion Frank Mir in his UFC debut in 2008.

If the UFC were to pull a similar move with Toney, he might be paired against someone like former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin.

Toney, though, is such an X-factor that it’s difficult to match him evenly. His boxing skills are first-rate and he’ll probably have the best chin in the UFC the minute he walks into the cage for the first time.

But even if he’s paired with a striker, how will he defend against kicks? If he’s paired with a grappler, like Lesnar was, will he be able to escape without having his arm broken?

There are a lot of hard decisions White is going to have to make with this signing.

“We threw the kitchen sink at Brock when he came in,” White said. “Are we going to do that same thing with James? I don’t know. To be 100 percent honest with you, all [expletive] aside, I haven’t thought it out.

“I like James Toney. He’s one of the greatest boxers ever. I have tremendous respect for him. He said he wanted to fight in the UFC and I was interested. Now he’s here and I have to figure out what to do with him. What we won’t do is make a freak show out of it. I’d be the first to scream if someone else did that, so I’m not going to do it.”

Toney is still a big enough name in boxing that he’s been mentioned as a possible opponent for World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko. Goossen insists that with Toney’s ability to sell a fight, it could set a European record for ticket sales, if it occurs.

For the first time, the UFC will have to manage the schedule of one of its fighters with someone else, since Toney’s contract allows him to box.

There are a lot of variables that are going to make this a difficult proposition. White, though, is undeterred.

“Hey, I don’t want this to be seen as a joke, and it’s not like Herschel Walker or Canseco or any of those guys,” White said. “James Toney is a fighter. The worst thing anyone can ever say to me is that they were watching one of my fights and they changed the channel. That’s why I’ll never put [expletive] fights on.

“James is an interesting case. We know how much talent he has as a boxer and he insists he’ll surprise people by how much MMA he knows. I’ve still got some thinking to do. But if we promote him and he does well and that raises his profile and he gets a Klitschko fight and makes a lot of money for himself and Goossen, I’d be cool with that. But James came to me and he literally chased me around the country to do it, so I’m giving him the chance. We’ll get it figured out one way or another.”

[polandprzem]

I would bet Hershel would win the fight

[Blackjack]

I'd bet you a large piece of beef he wouldn't.:hat

[polandprzem]

You would have to come to poland to consume this beef

[Blackjack]

Kinky . . .:eyebrows

[polandprzem]

Fuck whaaa?!

[Blackjack]

:lmao

[8FOR!3]

lol he says he expects to be in the main event, read it somewhere yesterday. That's pathetic, just as bad as Lesnar headlining his first fight and unlike James Toney, we all knew there was a good chance Lesnar would be able to decide where he wants the fight to go.

[Blackjack]

lol he says he expects to be in the main event, read it somewhere yesterday. That's pathetic, just as bad as Lesnar headlining his first fight and unlike James Toney, we all knew there was a good chance Lesnar would be able to decide where he wants the fight to go.

Post #16


“I’m a main event fighter and I’ve been a main event fighter since before a lot of these punk-(expletive) fighters were out of the crib,” Toney said. “Don’t give me that (expletive) about fighting on the undercard. People want to see James Toney and I’m going to give them what they want.”

If he's really taking this as seriously as he says (color me skeptical), he's going to make someone look bad; it's a pretty safe bet they'll give him a standup fight to start.

I'm glad to hear it's going to be at light-heavyweight and not heavyweight, though. He needs all the pressure put on him possible to keep the weight down.

[Rip-Hamilton32]

not a big fan of freak fights but this is going to be interesting

[scottspurs]

I hope Toney wins because I've always been more of a boxing fan over MMA.

[dbreiden83080]

Signing Toney gets the UFC at least one big pay per view but other than that not much. He's 41, has been on the downside of his boxing career for many years and is a bit of a head-case. I don't see Toney having it in him to train like a mad man in the other areas without getting hurt all the time. Weight issues for years combined with age, are awful rough on the body..I give this 3 or 4 fights and he'll be out..

[Stringer_Bell]

I give this 3 or 4 fights and he'll be out..

I feel his first loss gets him terminated, and even though Toney is not a total freakshow like a football and baseball player trying to fight in a relatively old age...Toney is a fighter by nature and after all the talk he's done to get in this position, I find it hard to believe he'd just fall right on his ass in the first fight. I say he wins the 1st, loses then 2nd to Kimbo, bye bye Toney thanks for coming out. :hat

[Hooks]

Prime JT was a muddafucken BEAST! Prime Toney had a granite chin, good power, very good defense, very good boxing skills, and was actually in shape!

Today JT is getting out-boxed buy guys like Sam Peter (JT was robbed in the first fight though). No MMA fighter is stupid enough to try to trade, as soon as they get Toney to the ground it's pretty much over.

JT has been out of shape for years, the last time he was any good was at cruiser weight. JT is a stubborn bastard too, I'm not sure how seriously he'll take the mma training.


All Toney has is a puncher's chance, dude can still slip punches but as I said before, no MMA fighter is stupid enough to stand up with him.

Also, I heard Randy Couture wants to fight JT.

[cornbread]

All Toney has is a puncher's chance
That's all Ray Mercer needed against Tim Sylvia.

Old, fat James Toney is still going to be the best striker (not including feet) in the UFC. Anybody who plans to test their stand up may be setting their self up for an upset.

[dallaskd]

That's all Ray Mercer needed against Tim Sylvia.

Old, fat James Toney is still going to be the best striker (not including feet) in the UFC. Anybody who plans to test their stand up may be setting their self up for an upset.

yeah, not best striker... best puncher. Im really wanting to see what he does when someone leg/head kicks him..

[dbreiden83080]

I'm getting the feeling Kimbo will be James first opponent

Why not milk this for all it is worth, since Toney is not likely to be around long?? I know Kimbo has a fight with Mitrione set but that could change with this signing..

[dbreiden83080]

LOL here we go


By Brett Okamoto (contact)

Friday, March 5, 2010 | 6:47 p.m.

When news broke Wednesday that the UFC had signed 41-year-old professional boxer James Toney to a multi-fight contract, it probably was inevitable that Kimbo Slice would be tagged as a potential opponent.

Both fighters are pure strikers, relatively new to the sport, with little interest in taking a fight to the ground. Both are committed to competing as heavyweights, even though many believe they would be more successful as 205-pounders.

There's just one problem. Slice (4-1) already has a fight to worry about — a previously signed agreement to face fellow TUF 11 contestant Matt Mitrione (1-0) May 8 at UFC 113.

So when Mitrione started receiving phone calls Thursday, asking him if he was worried about losing his main card bout, it's safe to say the former NFL player was caught a little off-guard.

"I have no clue what's going on; the last 15 hours have been pretty crazy," Mitrione said. "To be truly honest, I haven't heard a thing from the UFC, and it's frustrating me. It's my understanding that it took awhile to get his paperwork signed, but I'm sure it's signed.

"Then again, that doesn't mean (expletive). When I was in the NFL I signed a contract, they signed a contract, and they can cut you whenever they want. I know that from first-hand experience."

As of Friday morning, Mitrione said he still was expecting to face Slice in May, even though the bout does not appear on the UFC 113 fight card on the organization's Web site.

However, Mitrione did admit that the rumors and phone calls had him a little worried because, as he put it, "Where there's smoke, there's usually fire."

He also said he had received a somewhat generic response from UFC matchmaker Joe Silva when he tried to find out if the original fight between he and Slice was still on.

"I texted Joe Silva (Thursday) night and asked what was happening, if there was any danger of this being cancelled," Mitrione said. "His response was basically that nothing was official and that I should keep preparing — that I'm still fighting in Montreal."

Although Mitrione said he would accept a change in opponent if that were what the UFC decides, the 31-year-old fighter also would hate to lose the opportunity to fight such a well-known opponent under that type of spotlight.

Mitrione is well aware of the negative perception fans may have of him, after he was clearly portrayed as the heel on the most recent season of the UFC reality television series.

Comfortable in saying he's probably one of the, "Top five villains ever on the show," Mitrione's antics in the house included leaking his team's strategy to its opponents, complaining of a "swollen brain" after his first-round fight and admitting that he competes in MMA because it's the only way to silence voices he hears in his head.

Mitrione laughs when reminded of those moments now, chalking them up to his boredom towards the end of the show and select editing by Spike TV.

"They show what happened, but it was a very slanted view," Mitrione said. "Like that part about me hearing voices — they took the setup of a joke and then didn't use the punch line.

"They want you to give exciting answers. So they sit you down and ask you, 'Why do you fight?' And you say, 'Dude, I've been fighting for six months. I fight because it's new and exciting.' Then they give you this look like, 'C'mon. Really?' So you say, 'OK. I fight because I hear voices and it's the only time I can be peaceful in my mind.' That's totally nuts and insane. But they take out the part where you laugh after and you say, 'Man, I'm sorry. I totally made that up.'"

Mitrione remembers being close to quitting towards the end of the show because he was so sick of living in the TUF house, a complaint fighters from previous seasons have made before him.

After defeating Scott Junk in the first round of the competition, Mitrione said he faked his head injury just to go to the hospital where they allowed him to call his wife and two sons.

Although he says he and Slice became friends on the show, Mitrione couldn't deny the fact the Internet sensation received special privileges on the show — laughing when asked if he agreed with complaints made by Roy Nelson that Slice's entourage was allowed at the UFC gym.

"Roy's a smart guy," said Mitrione with a laugh. "He's very observant. That's my answer. I think Roy is very observant."

Despite the fact Mitrione pretty much was miserable by the end of filming the show — sleeping in his closet so he could have privacy at night — he understands the positive effect it's had on his career.

For a fighter without a single professional contest before entering the reality show, a heavyweight bout against Slice on a televised pay-per-view card is a big step in exposure.

Mitrione is planning an eight-week camp under trainer Duke Roufus in Milwaukee to prepare for the fight and believes his standup offers a bad matchup for Slice.

He just hopes he'll still get the opportunity to find out.

"Fighting Kimbo is a phenomenal fight for me, and I think it's a bad fight for Kimbo," Mitrione said. "I'm still preparing for Kimbo, and I firmly feel I would knock him out. Once I turn his chin and put him to sleep, that would be a great amount of exposure and a great stepping stone for my career.

"If it doesn't happen, it's not up to me to get pissed about it. It's not like I'm five days out of the fight, I still have a full camp ahead of me. But I would like to know so I can sit back and re-evaluate how I'm preparing."

[dallaskd]

Bad fight for Kimbo.. He better take this to the ground. But i know he will want to throw and is gonna get KO'd. Im pretty excited to see Toney in the UFC. They needed this. Hanvnt had any eye grabbing fights in a while and need something like this to pull in more people. Roy Jones Jr vs James Toney is one of my favorite matches of all time.

[cornbread]

yeah, not best striker... best puncher. Im really wanting to see what he does when someone leg/head kicks him..

Out of all the new shit Toney needs to learn, checking leg kicks should be one the least complicated parts of the game for him to pick up. Then again, it will be completely foreign to him so who knows. His strategy may be to just eat the leg kick and fire a straight right.

[Blackjack]

Out of all the new shit Toney needs to learn, checking leg kicks should be one the least complicated parts of the game for him to pick up. Then again, it will be completely foreign to him so who knows. His strategy may be to just eat the leg kick and fire a straight right.

So his weight problems could be an asset?:hat

[Blackjack]

Is boxer James Toney an MMA freak show? Many UFC heavyweights say no (http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AmJtf7fQzoW.2yIGgljzow89Eo14?slug=mmajun kie-Is_Toney_an_MMA_freakshow&prov=mmajunkie&type=lgns)
Steven Marrocco, MMAjunkie.com

Purists have cried hypocrisy over news (http://mmajunkie.com/news/18156/41-year-old-boxing-champ-james-toney-signs-multi-fight-agreement-with-ufc.mma) of boxing champion James Toney's new Ultimate Fighting Championship contract.

The 41-year-old boxing veteran got the usual line on Wednesday for well-known outsiders who make their way to MMA: he's an opportunist just looking to make a buck, he couldn't make it in his sport and can't go anywhere else, and he'll be obliterated by the "real fighters."

He is, in short, a freak show.

But several UFC heavyweights MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) spoke to Wednesday didn't condemn Toney for the move. Most, in fact, had more positive things to say than negative.

Pat Barry, a former kickboxer who's felled more than a few opponents with his leg kick, said the signing could raise the level of striking in the UFC.

"It's awesome, man," he said. "It just widens the pool of fighters. If it was up to me, I'd rather see someone get stung and knocked out versus submitted any day. If he hits you, you're going to get hurt. I'm looking forward to seeing him do damage if he can make the adjustment."

Todd Duffee, who scored the fastest knockout in UFC history this past August at UFC 102, said he understands purists' arguments but feels Toney's presence is a good business move for the promotion.

"I think the UFC's going to make a lot of money," he said. "There are people in the UFC he stands to beat. Yeah, it kind of makes a mockery of the sport, but James Toney is a fighter. I definitely respect him.

"I think it's kind of being blown out of proportion. There's world champion jiu-jitsu players that fight in the UFC. You don't tell them, 'Oh my god, you're going to mixed martial arts. Are you sure about that?'"

Paul Buentello, a former top UFC heavyweight contender, admires Toney's brazen campaign to earn his contract.

"I like the way he got the fight going," Buentello said. "He got in Dana White's head. He's a warrior. I think it's a good fit. He's just true. He brought it all out there and called everybody out. I think his actions are showing what he wants to do."

Even Brendan Schaub, a veteran of "The Ultimate Fighter 10" who initially criticized the decision to add former bareknuckle brawler Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson to the cast, is far more charitable to Toney's move.

"He's 41, so it's kind of a late start to get into it, but with is boxing background, it's trouble with those four-ounce gloves on," Schaub said. "Honestly, I'm surprised the UFC signed him with zero MMA fights. But with the right matchups, he could be exciting in the UFC. Even his jab can do damage do guys."

Heavyweights Chris Tuchscherer and Gilbert Yvel don't know who Toney is.

"That just goes to show you how much I follow boxing," Tuchscherer, a collegiate wrestling standout, said Wednesday evening with a laugh.

All of the heavyweights MMAjunkie.com spoke to agree that Toney faces an uphill battle inside the octagon.

"I always said you can bring a wrestler to an MMA fight, but you can't bring a boxer to MMA," Tuchscherer offered. "Most fights end up on the ground, and wrestlers are more comfortable when they're on the ground."

Schaub, a former arena football player who trains with heavyweight contender Shane Carwin, put it more bluntly.

"Someone would be stupid to trade with him," he said. "Once he goes to the ground, he's screwed."

Then again, Duffee said, stranger things have happened inside a cage. Former boxing king Ray Mercer knocked out five-time UFC champion Tim Sylvia in one punch this past June.

"We don't know anything about him," Duffee said. "We know how his boxing is, but we don't know how his [MMA is]. We don't know how he's going to react to a double leg or any kind of wrestling. He may be really friggin' good at it. There's just a lot of question marks around it."

Buentello said it will be hard for Toney to erase years of physical training centered toward boxing.

"It's going to be a different rhythm," he said. "It's a different pace. Boxers like to run five miles every morning. MMA is a sprint sport. It's going to take him a while to get adjusted to that. There are too many variables.

"I think he'll do just fine with the right opponent. If you get the wrong opponent, like Randy Couture or Rashad Evans, these good grapplers and wrestlers, he's going to have a hard time."

UFC president Dana White said on Wednesday that he has yet to formulate a plan for Toney's first octagon appearance.

The heavyweights were unanimous in their willingness to fight Toney. None, however, was opposed outright to his presence.

"It's dope, man," Barry said. "I want to fight him. Tonight."

[dbreiden83080]

IT really to me just comes across as a desperate attempt by Toney to make some noise now that his boxing career is at an end.. He is a good 5 or 6 years past his best days in his best sport. But he obviously thinks that MMA boxing is bad enough he'll KO a few guys with ease if he can just work on a little takedown defense..

[dallaskd]

i really really want to see someone kick him in the head

[cornbread]

So his weight problems could be an asset?:hat

:lol