James Toney
At 42-years-of-age, multiple-time boxing world champion James Toney showed up at UFC 108 and in Dana White’s own words “harrass him” into getting a fight with a major star, insisting that no MMA fighter could be beat him.
There was surprise in many quarters that White was even considering his offer, given that ‘Light’s Out’ was past-his-best, out-of-shape, had tested positive for steroids a few years earlier, and appeared unconvincing in his claims that he had already began training MMA.
“Front kick, back kick, all that….side check kick,” Toney laughably proclaimed in a hastily arranged backstage interview with White after asked if he’d been working on his kicking game.
White ignored the skeptics and signed Toney to fight UFC legend Randy Couture in the co-main event of UFC 118 later that year.
Few people other than the outspoken Toney gave him any chance of winning, and indeed the boxer didn’t even land a punch before Couture took him down and tapped him out with an arm-triangle choke.
It was clear Toney had no business being in the Octagon, but he should have been laughing all the way to the bank anyway thanks to his $500,000 fight purse, had it not been for the fact that the IRS were waiting to take it off him backstage due to tax issues!
