James Toney got destroyed by Randy Couture in his MMA debut at UFC 118 last month. Toney was unprepared to fight in the Octagon and was done as soon as he was taken down to the ground. This fact was evident to anyone watching, including Iron Mike Tyson himself.
Tyson, who appeared on The Ultimate Fighter, told the Canadian Press “You have to admit, Toney looked horrible. He looked slow. He didn’t look like a seasoned, conditioned athlete. You only had to look at his body structure. No way, Toney didn’t get ready to fight a real, professional athlete like Randy is. It was ridiculous. He had no respect for Randy.”
Tyson, ever the voice of sanity, said a boxer could succeed in MMA but would have to learn to wrestle and grapple first. He’s exactly right. Many MMA fighters have boxing backgrounds and all have to learn how to box. But that’s the thing — boxing is just one aspect of fighting in mixed martial arts. Without a wrestling and grappling background, you’re not going to do well in a fight.
Leave it to Tyson to say something that makes sense. Now if he says Toney should retire altogether, he’d be making even more sense.
