Chael Sonnen is at it again

 So, here's the back story:

Leading up to UFC 127, Jorge Rivera made a number of HILARIOUS videos that were meant to get under the skin of Micheal Bisping (said videos are on a previous article.  I highly recommend you check them out.)

Although Bisping claimed that the videos would have no affect on his mindset, he was suitably inflamed at the weigh ins. Bisping got in Rivera's face and even called him a "faggot."  All of this took place on the UFC's dime, as well as being in front of a live crowd and broadcast over the internet.

During the bought, Bisping delivered an obviously intentional (and illegal) knee to the head of a downed Rivera.  At the cessation of the fight, Bisping went to Rivera's corner, hurled insults, then proceeded to spit on the cornermen.  After which, he approached the still dazed Rivera, demanded an apology, then told him to "Go home, Loser."

The fallout has been great, and his behavior has prompted UFC fighters Demian Maia and Vitor Belfort to call Bisping out.  But it also caught the attention of the greatest MMA smack talker of all time:

Chael Sonnen, that kooky little bastard.

Frankie Edgar serves notice: Don't ever doubt him again.

12 seconds; that's all it took for Frankie Edgar to take his opponent down.

BJ Penn, long vaunted for his amazing take down defense, found himself taken down multiple times in his rematch for the UFC light weight championship.  Not only did Edgar manage multiple (5) take downs, but absolutely destroyed Penn on the feet.

I remember the first time I saw Micheal Johnson run. Initially, I was unimpressed at Johnson leading the pack.  Then I took a look at the landscape flying past, providing a way to measure exactly how fast Johnson was moving.  This is a rough equivalent to what happened last night.

Edgar is fast, but it wasn't until I had BJ Penn as a measuring stone that I realized how fast.  Edgar, looking like the youngest sibling fighting the eldest brother, blurred through combination after combination.  What most impressed me, however, wasn't what he landed; it was how he closed.

Standing corrected; Diaz looks spectacular in victory over Davis

Everyone makes mistakes.

Whether it's a mistake, an action, or a statement, big or small, everyone does it.  But it takes true integrity, sometimes, to step up unprovoked and address that mistake.  Now that I have built myself up...

Nate Diaz has proven me completely and utterly wrong.

Due to my personal experiences with Nate, I will admit that I have a negative view of whatever he does.  I feel that his boxing is over rated, he has no striking power, he has been fed tomato cans and can't win when he faces a step up in competition.

Last night, he proved otherwise.

Maynard grinds out a decision over Florian; Secures title shot

Well, it wasn't exciting, but it was a win.

Last night Kenny Florian faced Gray Maynard for the opportunity to fight for gold in the UFC lightweight division.  I, personally, was very vocal on a) How Kenny should be the one pushing current champ Frankie Edgar in his first title defense, and b) how there was any/ no way that Gray could win this fight.

Tie: Randy Couture no surprise vs. What the hell did Toney even say?

 Sorry; I didn't know which title I wanted to go with, so I "tied" them.

Despite all the build up and trash talk leading up to this "MMA vs boxing" spectacular, things went exactly as expected.

Couture, smiling widely before the fight even began, shot and secured the takedown within seconds of the bouts opening bell (so much for Toney's self proclaimed take down defense).  Couture quickly and easily moved to full mount, giving Toney a healthy taste of those four ounce gloves, while smothering any sort of offense Toney tried to put togethter.  Still smiling, Randy secured a head and arm choke, forcing Toney to tap.

The Big 3, Part 2: Randy Couture vs. James Toney

Ah, shit; here comes round two.  Let's go.

While UFC 118 may be head lined by the rematch between Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn, Randy Couture and James Toney have stolen the show.

After watching "Countdown to UFC 118", my first instinct was to call this article:

James Toney: My Big Fat Belly
But that would just be silly. 

I understand that the countdown is filmed well before the fight.  I further understand that the producers will edit the production at their own discretion.  I have witnessed (through web casts) both Mike Tyson and Dana White saying that James is in great shape.  With all of that being said,

James, are you out of your fucking mind?

James spent half of the broadcast talking about how much of a beast he is. "Randy Couture ain't never faced no one like me", and I am a real fighter.

Really?

Let's take a look at James.

Beat Randy Couture? I thought you said "eat" Randy Couture. Shit, my bad; Let's go to McDonald's.

Toney is now representing Trevor Sherman as his head trainer.  This prompts me to ask, "who the hell is trevor Sherman"? (Seriously; even Wikipedia doesn't have a listing for him).  James probably has more money than God, but rather than enlisting the aid of a Greg Jackson, Dan Henderson or Jeremy Horn, he gets Trevor Sherman.  Here are some other gems I picked up:

In the show, Sherman says that "Toney is a sponge; he sucks up everything". My first thought is: I believe you. he does suck up everything: pizza, burgers, chicken and waffles (c'mon now; you gotta switch things up).

Next, we get this from Sherman: "We don't want to change his game, we just want to add more tools to his tool belt". 

My wife immediately asked: "why add tools to the tool belt when you are already a tool"?  You hear that? My wife knows that Toney is a joke.

Finally, we finish with Sherman talking about how "James may not know the nomenclature of [ certain moves], but he can pull them off".

Now, Trevor...

We're dealing with a native born English speaker that needs sub titles to elucidate whatever the hell he is saying.  He may not know the "nomenclature"? He doesn't know what "nomenclature" means!

Now that I've got my rant out of the way, let's actually get to the break down.

TONEY
James Toney has proven himself to be one of the most durable and long lasting figures in professional boxing. His habit of smoothly rolling with punches make incredibly slippery and hard to hit. Combine this ability with the fact that he is one of the best counter strikers the game has ever seen and you have the recipe for trouble for anyone who attempts to face him in a stand up war.  This concludes all the positivity I have to offer Mr. Toney.

I am not the first to say it, but it can't be said enough.  Boxing is not MMA.

Just because you happen to be a famous classical violin player doesn't mean you can pick up a guitar and play rock and roll.  James Toney thinks that his boxing will be enough to make him legitimate in MMA.  After all, he's been working on his take down defense for a whole 6 months.

COUTURE
Randy Couture is blah blah blah, yadah yadah yadah.  We all know who Randy Couture is, what he is capable of, and what he will do to James Toney.  I give it less than 30 seconds before Randy goes for the shot (and if strong wrestlers Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell couldn't stop him do you think Toney can?), takes Toney down and finishes it by rear naked choke.

This fight has nothing to do with Randy or James and everything to do with MMA vs boxing.  It's a move, a statement, a power play.  The way I see it, James embarrassed Dana White by following him around the country and calling him out.  So Dana welcomes James to MMA by stacking him against one of the most experienced, well rounded, and competitive fighters that the UFC has to offer.

But here is where Dana has gotten sneaky.

If Dana wanted to make a statement, why not stack Toney up with Frank Mir? Roy Nelson?  Hell, Brock Lesnar?  Why pull Randy up from light heavy weight to the heavy weight division?

Because it's about spin control.

Let's say that Toney accomplishes the impossible and knocks Randy out.  How much damage will be done to the reputation of MMA?  So Dana has hedged his bet.

While no one can argue that Randy is in fantastic shape and remains very competitive, the fact of the matter is that he is almost 48.  If Toney manages the win, it can be argued that he didn't beat a top contender in the prime of his life; he beat an "old" man closer to 50 than 40.  Dana has made Randy the UFC's fall guy.

With that being said, Toney has been almost Sonnen like in the trash talk leading up to this fight, preaching his own prowess and demeaning Randy at every turn.  As if the always respectful Couture didn't have enough motivation for this fight, Toney has managed to piss him off.

Randy said it best: "I don't care about knocking him out; I'm here to kick his ass".