In the build-up to this month's UFC 118 event in Boston, current boxing title holder James Toney (72-6-3 Boxing, 0-0 MMA) has maintained a simple mantra: his hands can drop anyone.
Toney's opponent, former UFC champion Randy Couture (18-10 MMA, 15-7 UFC), doesn't plan on trying to outbox his foe and will likely look for a takedown at the first available opportunity.
But Toney and his camp have maintained that the boxer possesses enough thunder in his strikes to end the fight even from his back – a claim which Couture feels has little merit.
"I'm not terribly concerned," Couture said on a media call promoting the Aug. 28 event. "I've been in there with a lot of big, strong guys – and had them on their backs – who I'm sure hit just as hard as James does. Technique changes when you're laying on your back or sitting on your butt. The mechanics of a punch are different in those circumstances.
"Certainly I have a gameplan for the ground, and I'm not terribly worried about being knocked out from that position."
While Toney is making his mixed martial arts debut in the contest, the 41-year-old brings some 22 years of professional boxing experience to the cage. Toney has fought the best in the world during his boxing career, and the two-time Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year's unique shoulder-roll approach to striking has been a trademark throughout his tenure.
Toney insists the approach will transition just fine to MMA, but Couture begs to differ.
"My estimation is that there definitely needs to be some adjustments made," Couture said. "There are a couple other things that need to be accounted for with that particular stance and style of boxing, and I think that's what a lot of boxers in general, when they look at MMA, they fail to understand.
"With the takedowns and the punching and the kicking and the dirty boxing and clinchwork that takes place in mixed martial arts, you have to change your stance. You have to kind of change your fighting style a little bit in a pure boxing perspective."
Of course, we've seen a former UFC champion face a boxing champ before, and the results didn't work out so well for the cagefighter. Ray Mercer needed just nine seconds to dispatch of Tim Sylvia in a June 2009 fight under the Adrenaline MMA banner.
Couture said he doesn't expect to make the same mistakes Sylvia did.
"There wasn't a whole lot of fighting going on there," Couture said. "It was basically over pretty quickly.
"I don't think Tim's gameplan with Ray was very astute. He stepped right into range and kind of advocated that kind of a firefight. Those kind of things happen in that kind of fight."
Considered a master tactician by most accounts, Couture said he plans on nullifying Toney's strengths and taking him out of his element as quickly as possible. From there, Couture says he'll look for submissions, but he'll be equally comfortable grinding away from top position.
"I have a particular gameplan to put myself in positions that will give me the best opportunity to win," Couture said. "Whether or not my opponent presents the opportunity for me to submit him or not, it's not really up to me. It's not something that can I focus on.
"I can certainly create those situations or try and create positions that will allow me to look for submissions, but I'm just as content to sit on top of him and pound him out. If a submission comes, it comes."
While both fighters and even the UFC are comfortable promoting the co-main event contest as "boxing vs. MMA," Couture said there's no added pressure in trying to represent an entire sport. It's a position the 47-year-old has found himself in countless times before.
"I've been representing mixed martial arts in a lot of venues for a long time," Couture said. "Back when this sport was being banned all over and most people didn't understand who we were or what we did, coming from an Olympic sports background as a bona fide world-class athlete, I ended up representing the sport a lot.
"It's an honor for me to be considered for this fight and to kind of carry the mixed-martial-arts mantle."
UFC president Dana White has predicted a 14-second finish from Couture, but the UFC Hall of Famer refuses to make such bold statements. Instead, Couture carries a quiet confidence into the cage knowing that his opponent's weapons are likely just onefold.
"James poses a little bit different problems," Couture said. "I've faced a lot of strikers, but I've not faced a striker like James. James has a unique boxing style, and he sets things up a particular way, and I've had to adjust tactics and train to fit that and to try and be effective in a little bit different way.
"It's a mixed martial arts bout in my mind, certainly. The question is what are the skillsets and what are the things James is going to be able to learn and try to execute in this fight. That's going to determine how much it's just boxing versus MMA. Obviously the rules of engagement for me are purely MMA. It'll be interesting to see what other things James develops specifically for this fight."
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