Why Would the UFC Sign James Toney?

It certainly isn't because he's a world-class MMA fighter. So what could be the potential reasons? Let's run through the most likely possibilities:

1. Like the UFC did with Shamrock vs. Ortiz 1 and Royce Gracie vs. Hughes, the UFC will on occassion book mismatches to prove a point about the latest iteration of top-shelf MMA fighters competing when there is public misperception. In both the case of Shamrock and Gracie, there was a lingering belief among casuals that their era of competitors and their skill sets were tantamount to the most evolved, most technical fighters of the present day. White & Co. knew bettern but had to prove the most recent UFC product was the best. Boxing has had something of a resurgence or at least re-popularization of late although even without the resurgence the overall point of boxing vs. MMA (even though the odds are hardly fair) still holds sway. With the booking of the first major boxer to crossover into the MMA "big leagues", the UFC could be attempting to make an example of what is highly likely to be Toney's absymal MMA skill set.

2. The Herschel Walker effect. As White has curiously remarked (it makes perfect sense to me), ESPN and many in the traditional sports establishment still won't pay attention to MMA or the UFC, yet will when one of their favorite sons from another, more established sport gets in the mix. Toney is hardly as beloved as Walker, but the interesting mix of a former high-level boxer throwing his hat in the (ostensibly) top shelf MMA ring creates a new magic worthy of eyeballs from the same group. And if we refer to the first point, with their attention and a likely butchering of Toney at the hands of what should be a more than competent wrester, White could be killing two birds with one stone.

3. I don't find this particularly likely, but White could actually be curious about Toney's ability. Greg Savage Tweeted that Toney has been working (albeit on fundamentals) with Juanito Ibarra in recent weeks. In fact, I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears Dana White tell Chad Dukes and Lavar Arrington Toney had been training in secret for quite some time. For anyone who takes elite-level MMA training seriously that still doesn't mean much of anything, but who knows what machinations lurk in the hearts of MMA fight promoters?

As for his ability with respect to MMA, he has none commensurate with the UFC. Even with his hands I'm curious to see what he can do. I'm sure he's got KO power, but so what? Lots of UFC heavyweights or light heavyweights do. Toney's shoulder rolling style was never really predicated on power to begin with and doesn't necessarily seem that helpful among boxing styles to translate over to MMA. He throws short punches, uses a lot of trunk movement and makes guys miss with clever slips, but if no one plans on standing within punching range, who cares? And if he presents what's sure to be sub-King of the Cage level takedowns, subpar submission defense and other requisite components of a MMA game, his former world-class hands are going to mean nothing.

We can speculate ad infinitum about what the UFC is trying to do. We'll find out soon enough. As for Toney, his motives are more transparent. Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook opines:

That's what UFC is signing. A faded, 41-year-old boxer whose mouth has long surpassed his in-ring ability, and who hasn't beaten a decent opponent in four years, not counting the Oquendo scoring debacle. He's also failed two drug tests in the last five years.

By no means is James Toney a bad boxer, even now. He's still got the sort of frustrating style that can give a lot of guys problems, and there are guys in my own boxing heavyweight top 10 I'd give him a very good chance to beat.

But will he translate to MMA? It's unlikely. I don't think he's that guy.

It's also hard to ignore that Toney has flat-out run out of boxing paydays. Part of it, as his promoter Dan Goossen says, is that a lot of guys want nothing to do with James. I buy that. Again, he's still got annoying skills, plus he's not selling to TV networks anymore, isn't worth a lot of money, and has been largely out of the spotlight since the Peter rematch. With no avenues open in boxing at age 41, UFC really might be worth a crack for James.

"A lot of pro boxers have made a lot of noise about how they would do in mixed martial arts, but nobody on the level of a James Toney has been willing to back up his talk," said White. "He’s a legend whose boxing record speaks for itself, and he’s a guy who I’ve got a lot of respect for. Now he’s got every intention of matching that success in MMA, and I think he’s got the right attitude – let’s see if he can do it."

An opponent and date for Toney’s UFC debut has not been determined, and will be announced at a later date.