Interviews
UFC QUOTABLES: James Toney says he's going to be a two sport athlete, says he's not worried about takedowns from MMA opponents
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Mar 9, 2010 - 9:00:01 AM

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"I'm still a boxer. Boxing is my No. 1 goal. ... This is something that's going to keep me invigorated. Unlike most boxing people, I'm a fan of MMA. Why not give it a chance?... I'm going to go back and forth. I'm a two-sport guy. I'll fight in the UFC, then boxing, then another UFC fight, and then boxing. I'll do as much as I can, whatever fights I can get... If I were out of shape I'd be getting knocked out and beat up real bad. I've had more than 80 pro fights and I've never been knocked out.... There are a lot of guys in the UFC who can take me down, but I'm learning how to defend the takedown. I'm not even worried about that. They've got to worry about that when they get in with me -- how are they going to take me down? They've got to take risks when they take me down. They're taking a risk that they're going to get knocked out. ... There ain't no one in the UFC that can go blow-to-blow with me. You know that... Randy Couture is a legend. He's a great dude. If we fight I'd have to take my time and pick him apart. If that's my first fight, it'll be a huge fight."

-James Toney talks to MMAFighting.com about coming into MMA and continuing to box as well, along with how he feels he'll fair against the takedown abilities his opponents are likely to possess.

Penick's Analysis: I think Toney is highly underestimating how effective some of these guys can be in close, especially if he ends up getting matched up with Couture in his first bout. The clinch work that some of the higher level fighters would bring against him is exactly the type of thing that boxers don't have to deal with in their sport, and more than anything Couture's dirty boxing proficiency is something that would provide the advantage he'd be expected to have in the Octagon. Toney is correct that his opponents will have to worry about his hands in order to get in close, but it's not as if he's guaranteed to knock anyone out with one punch quickly, so whomever he fights will be taking a risk but the threat of his hands won't be stopping the attempts to take him against the cage and to the ground.

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