On This Day: Randy Couture submits World Champion Boxer James Toney in Crossover Fight – UFC 118

On this day 14 years ago, Randy Couture dominated and submitted James Toney in a huge crossover fight at UFC 118.

For so many years now, boxing and mixed martial arts fans have battled it out when arguing over which is the superior sport. As you can imagine, they both feel pretty strongly on the matter. Well, many years ago, James Toney made it known that he wasn’t a big fan of MMA.

He was such a critic, in fact, that he was willing to step into the cage to take on former UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture. The veteran was more than willing to accept the challenge, and the contest was set for August 28, 2010.

The two men finally collided at the TD Garden in Boston, and let’s just say that it didn’t take long for Randy Couture to prove that there are levels to this game.

Randy Couture submits James Toney

From the opening seconds of the fight, it was clear to see that Couture wanted to make a statement. He was quick to get Toney to the ground and from there, it was a wrap. In total, it took just three minutes and 19 seconds before an arm-triangle choke left Toney unable continue.

Ever since that night, no other professional boxers of note have genuinely entertained the idea of testing the waters. In fact, you’re much more likely to see stars from mixed martial arts in the boxing ring.

Perhaps that’s due to the lucrative paydays but either way, this was a real showcase evening for MMA. Who knows, maybe we’ll see more crossovers in the future, and maybe some boxers will be up for seeing exactly what they can do in this environment.

Either way, we still wouldn’t fancy many of their chances against Randy Couture.