True Grit: Randy Couture Approaches the Fight of his Life Against James Toney at UFC 118

Randy Couture is a fighter, an actor, an ambassador of the sport, and he runs his own gym.  He doesn't complain, and he doesn't make excuses.  He's a five time UFC Champion across two different weight classes, and he's been in 15 total title fights in his career.  He is a UFC Hall of Famer, and he's still competing at 47 years of age.  Randy Couture is legendary, there's no argument against it.  He is by far one of the busiest men in the sport of mixed martial arts, and still he finds time to put into training for his next fight, laying his body on the line for the fans, when he's got nothing left to prove.  For that, I am thankful.

When Randy Couture steps into the cage on August 28th, he'll be facing a brand new challenge, a champion from a completely different sport, James "Lights Out" Toney.  Randy has remained humble throughout the pre-fight hype, although Toney presents himself as an easy target for criticism.  Toney on the other hand, says that it's laughable for Couture to be considered a legend, and a hall of fame inductee, with 10 losses on his record.  That is one of many, many insults Toney has slung at Couture, and the sport of MMA in general, and it has not gone overlooked.

Some people will scoff at the idea that this fight is the biggest of Couture's career, but I feel that this is easily the most important milestone the former champion has yet to pass.  Toney may be an aging boxer, but it's foolish to underestimate a man who's spent 22 years in a sport that focused solely on punching people.  The boxer may not have been a power puncher, but with the difference in gloves, it would be ill advised for Couture to test his chin against Toney's come fight night.  Toney is also 6 years Couture's junior, although, Couture has aged like wine, Toney...not so much.

Yet, there's more to this fight than simply not being a sure victory for Couture.  Randy's most recent film, "The Expendables" just opened at #1 at the box office this past weekend.  He starred along side the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, and Jet Li, to name just a few.  "The Expendables" is only his seventh film, quite an accomplishment for a man who didn't try his hand at acting until he was over 40 years old.  Certainly, Couture made a great deal of friends, and connections while working on the set, who will open up many more doors for his acting career.  A victory, in a fight of this magnitude, only two weeks after the opening of his first #1 film, will definitely make him a more lucrative figure in Hollywood.  Everyone loves a winner.  Especially when that winner shuts up a loud mouth.

Couture is entering the final stretch of his fighting career, and he's set himself up for great success outside of the sport when the time comes.  It's a positive story, in contrast to how another UFC Hall of Famer, Chuck Liddell, has ended his career.  "The Natural" looks to end his flight through the sport with a smooth landing, whereas Liddell...crashed and burned.  Don't misunderstand me, Couture could never win another fight in his life, and he'd still be the same man who destroyed Tim Sylvia when he was too old, and too small...but closing out his career as successfully as possible means he doesn't leave MMA as damaged goods.

As easy it is to visualize Couture coming across the cage at James Toney, shooting a double leg, and the fight ending a minute later, anything can happen.  It's the variables in this fight that get the fans excited, the "what if's" that make us ponder the possible outcomes.  The thought of what sort of commentary could follow if James Toney beat Randy Couture makes my stomach churn.  The expected satisfaction of watching Couture pound out Toney is thrilling.  Although some will cry "freakshow", I will simply be content with watching two men fight in a cage, one of whom, has a great deal of my respect.  I suspect that come August 29th, we'll all be talking, one way or another...so let's enjoy the ride.

Photo via www.cdn.sherdog.com