James Toney to try his hand at MMA ?!

[Beanflicker]

You can't just go into MMA on the highest level with just boxing. Boxing is a huge asset, as guys like BJ Penn and Anderson Silva have shown, but its a whole different ball game.

First of all, there is an entirely different range and stance. You don't fight at punching range like boxing, you fight at kicking range. MMA guys utilize a wider stance to avoid double leg takedowns. Toney won't be able to stand in the pocket with guys like he does in boxing, because they are either going to take him down or put him in a muay thai plum.

Speaking of takedowns and kicks, you need to know how to defend these. Realistically, no one is going to box with Toney. They will either a) shoot for the takedown or b) try to pick him apart with leg kicks. Those leg kicks you see on TV don't look like much, but they're the "bodyshots" of MMA in a sense. They do tremendous damage to the leg if you don't know how to block them, and what good is Toney's punching power if he can't put weight on his leg? Many a boxer in MMA and K-1 have been picked apart and neutrilized by only a handful of low kicks.

Toney is old, he's rather stationary at this point in his career, and he has absolutely no grappling/kicking experience as far as I know. Unless he finds someone stupid enough to trade with him (like TIm Sylvia was against Ray Mercer), then he's going to be in for a rude awakening.

And being that TOney is one of my all time favs and one of the most underrated fighters in history IMO, I really don't want to see him get embarrassed like this.

[Gandalf]

It's not going to happen. Toney has never given any inclination that he wants to compete in MMA and as has been pointed out earlier, there are rumours of possible boxing contests in the works. I wish Toney had stayed busy and gone the George Foreman route, but he's waiting again and the truth is that he doesn't have the time to waste.

Come on Toney, get back in the ring!!

[erik_corrales]

i have read on another forum that james toney has some wrestling/grappling experience because i think the gym he trains at and people he trains with also wrestle/grapple. need to confirm though.