There's only one way to know for sure. Keep reading.
What Randy Couture (17-10) brings to the table: Couture is a superior wrestler and perhaps the greatest ground and pound fighter in the history of MMA. Along with this, his takedowns, takedown defense, ground control skills, and knowledge of how to hurt people from the top position are simply historic.
Couture is also outstanding in the clinch and has the kind of cardio that makes younger fighters envious. Though he has solid stand up, he sometimes doesn't employ as much head movement as he could. This may have played a part in his getting tagged by fighters like Chuck Liddell and Brock Lesnar in the past.
What James Toney (0-0) brings to the table: We're talking about a once elite boxing champion that has won 76 fights, including 44 by knockout. In other words, Toney is going to have better overall hands than anyone that Couture has ever faced. He will also be very difficult to hit.
However, that's where Toney's skills end as a fighter. Though he has recently begun training in grappling, he has no ground skills or kickboxing experience to speak of in his past.
Randy Couture vs. James Toney Prediction: Make no mistake, Toney is a real threat from a distance against the man they call "The Natural". His hands will seem lightning fast to Couture. What's more, even in the clinch he will be dangerous, though less so, due to the uppercuts that he has honed over the years. But if we're being honest, Couture is one of the smarter fighters in MMA history. In other words, he is going to be very careful not to get into a slugfest. Expect him to slowly stalk his opponent until the time is right to shoot. Then expect a short time in the clinch or a simple single or double leg takedown before Toney is put on his back. Once that happens, it should be over pretty quickly.
Randy Couture defeats James Toney by submission in round one.
