• UFC 118

Couture vs Toney confirmed for UFC 118 in Boston

Randy Couture has won his last two fights © UFC

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Very rarely is the main event overshadowed on a UFC supercard, but that will be the case at UFC 118 after it was officially confirmed that Randy Couture will fight former boxing world champion James Toney. The heavyweight bout will act as the co-main event to Frankie Edgar's lightweight title rematch with BJ Penn.

The UFC confirmed the August 28 card late on Thursday, and the organisation's first visit to Boston promises to be an electric one. Also on the card is a fight for the lightweight No. 1 contender spot between Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard, while in the middleweight division Nate Marquardt takes on one of the most dangerous submissions artists in the game, Rousimar Palhares.

Couture v Toney is the major draw though, in a bout that pits an MMA legend in direct competition with a world class boxing veteran. Toney has won world titles at multiple weights, and he is coming to prove that the noble art wins out against the multi-faceted ground game of mixed martial arts. Quite simply, five-time UFC champion Couture is batting for MMA.

"Toney is a real fighter, a future Hall of Famer, and the most accomplished boxer ever to fight in the UFC, and I think everyone's curious to see what he can do against Couture's wrestling and ground and pound attack," stated UFC president Dana White. "Toney promised me that he's coming to win, and knowing him like I do, I would never count him out."

The main event hands BJ Penn the chance to erase the errors of UFC 112, when he was outworked over five rounds in a shock defeat to new champion Frankie Edgar. The more stationary Penn, who had not lost a lightweight bout for eight years prior to the fight, looked far from his best and will be expected to recapture his crown against a man who has lost only one of his 13 career bouts.

"Frankie fought a great fight the first time and I'm expecting him to come back at me just as hard in this rematch," said Penn. "But I'm more determined than ever, and I hope he's ready for me because I just have one goal in mind - getting my belt back."

The winner of Edgar v Penn will already know who his next opponent will be, after Gray Maynard and Kenny Florian trade off for the right to contest the title. Maynard is the only man to have beaten the reigning champion and is yet to lose, while Florian is targeting a third crack at the belt after eight victories in nine fights.

Also on the card, the hugely intriguing prospect of Rousimar Palhares, a man who comes covered in controversy after being accused of holding submissions way past the tap. The Brazilian did it to Tomasz Drwal in his last fight, holding onto a heel hook for far too long, so Nate Marquardt has been warned going into UFC 118.

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