The Greatest MMA News Column 03.09.10: MMA vs. Boxing

Posted by Dan Plunkett on 03.09.2010

411's Dan Plunkett takes a look at boxers making the switch to MMA, why the elite won't be switching over any time soon. Also, why is James Toney in the UFC and who would make the most logical opponent for him? Plus, why the UFC shouldn't counter-program Strikeforce, WEC 47 thoughts, and more!

Boxing vs. MMA

For years, fans have wondered how well a top level boxer would do in MMA. We've seen top kickboxers like Mirko Cro Cop, Semmy Schilt, Jerome Le Banner, and Peter Aerts compete in MMA. World-class wrestlers such as Karam Gaber, Rulon Gardner, and Mark Coleman have also at least tried their hand in the sport. I don't even need to mention the plethora of elite grapplers that have competed. Aside from the fact that all of these men were great at their main discipline, most never made the full time switch to MMA.

Only three of the names I mentioned had more than five MMA fights; I'm sure you can pick out those three. One of them, Semmy Schilt, has only made 3 MMA appearances since 2004, when he really started focusing on his kickboxing career. Why is that important? Because it shows that they were just experimental bouts. A big time boxer won't cross over into MMA unless the money starts drying up for them.

While we can all dream about what it would be like if Manny Pacquiao fought Jose Aldo, it will never come to fruition in reality. Top level boxers make too much money doing what they're best at to even think about MMA. While Zuffa could offer a guy like Pacquiao a boatload of money, there's too much risk on the boxer's part to take that deal. MMA is a last resort for past-their-prime boxers.

That's the situation James Toney is in.

Since being named Ring Magazine's Fighter of the Year in 2003, "Light's Out" has had his ups and downs. He holds a victory over Evander Holyfield, but has also failed 2 drug tests including right after he won the WBA Heavyweight Championship; the result of that fight was then changed to a no contest. Never a big draw, Toney now found himself in a precarious situation. He could have continued to struggle to find meaningful fights or he could get his name back out there by badgering UFC President Dana White to sign him.

For a few reasons – none of them very good – White signed Toney to a multi-fight deal that will allow him to continue to box. Unlike Pacquaio who would have put his aura of invincibility on the line, James Toney has nothing to lose. At the very least, he gets his name back out there and becomes a bigger draw for it. The 41-year-old doesn't have too many years left in combat sports, so he needs to make all the money he can.

Ultimately, people will tune in to see Toney make his UFC debut whether it is on free TV or PPV. The idea of a fighter stepping into the cage to prove his art is the best is what this sport was built around. It doesn't matter that Toney is years past his prime or that his style isn't the type that will translate well in MMA. Nor does it matter that he was never a big draw. James Toney has made this and will continue to make it about boxing vs. MMA. As stupid as the idea of that is, it's one that will sell.

Since the boxing vs. MMA theme is inevitably what Toney's debut fight is going to be promoted as, who is the best candidate to represent the MMA side? Right now, the leading candidate seems to be Kimbo Slice. That is a Gary Shaw match-up if I ever saw one.

Toney vs. Slice just doesn't make much sense. The reason you put them together is because Kimbo is a stand-up fighter and the fans will want to see a slugfest. It would be more of schooling than a slugfest though, as Toney is light years ahead of Kimbo on the feet. When Kimbo fought Ray Mercer, he took him down and submitted him right away. That's what he would need to do against Toney.

Aside from the stylistic standpoint and it reeking of a freak show, this fight doesn't make much sense from a promoter's point of view either. The UFC marketed Kimbo on The Ultimate Fighter as an up-and-comer learning what it takes to be a true MMA fighter. Why would you have an up-and-comer represent the sport? I think Toney's opponent should be a veteran. Two names that come to mind as sensible opponents are Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell.

Couture and Liddell are two respected veterans of the sport that have done everything there is to do in MMA. Granted, Liddell is fighting Tito Ortiz in June so I don't think they would make that fight. Randy Couture on the other hand is has a big hole in his fight schedule. He's very close to a title shot, but every other top light heavyweight is booked. Why not have Couture, a great ambassador for the sport, fight in a high-profile bout before getting a title shot?

It would still be a freak show of sorts, but far less of one than Toney vs. Kimbo. After all, both fighters have already expressed interest in fighting each other. Even though I think the whole idea of boxing vs. MMA is ridiculous, Couture vs. Toney is the best match-up that can currently be made to go along with that promotional tool. As for Kimbo Slice, just keep him against his already scheduled opponent Matt Mitrione. Mitrione is a fighter that actually has less experience than Kimbo but they are on similar levels.

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Is Counter-Programming Strikeforce a Good Idea?

On June 17, 2008, it was revealed that the UFC would hold an event on July 19 featuring Anderson Silva's light heavyweight debut. If you look at those two dates and find the scheduling to be on unusually short notice, you would be correct. Also on tap for July 19 was Affliction: Banned. The company's first event was to be held on PPV and would feature #1 heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko against former UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia. Coincidence? I think not!

The UFC wanted to take as much away from the Affliction show as possible, so they put on a live show featuring their best fighter on free TV. It was commonly thought that the UFC's show would take away buyers from Affliction's show and essentially kill the company after one event. However the plan backfired. The head-to-head battle of not only to major promotions but also two of the sports best fighters was picked up by outlets such as ESPN, whose main story on their website all day on July 19, 2008, featured Fedor Emelianenko.

The UFC's show helped Affliction reach 100,000 PPV buys, the most of any non-UFC MMA event ever.

On April 17, the UFC will again attempt to counter-program a rival with a live event. This time, the enemy is Strikeforce and instead of PPV, the UFC will have to draw attention away from CBS. The latter is why I don't think this is a very good tactic by UFC. While Strikeforce doesn't have a fighter the caliber of Fedor on their show, they still have some intriguing personalities such as Dan Henderson and Mo Lawal that could garner some media attention.

I wrote last week that Strikeforce doesn't have any proven draws on their card and despite Scott Coker's comments to the contrary, it remains 100% true. The closest thing to a proven draw is Dan Henderson, who didn't draw well on PPV with the UFC. I do concede that Henderson's title fight against Rampage Jackson brought in great ratings, but I don't think that had much to do with the casual fan saying "I want to watch Dan Henderson fight tonight!" Simply put, he doesn't have the name recognition of the big stars or the billings of Fedor Emelianenko.



The UFC running on April 17 will only give more much-needed attention to Strikeforce. At least in 2008 the UFC had the luxury that people would have to at least pay to watch the competition, but now all that needs to be done is the change of a channel.

Without a UFC event that night, I think Strikeforce: Nashville would do around what the second EliteXC special on CBS did. EliteXC: Unfinished Business saw a 43% drop in viewership and only 2.62 million people tuned in for the main event. That show lacked EliteXC's top draws, Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano. Nashville lacks Strikeforce's top two draws, Fedor and Carano, but does feature a stronger main event than Unfinished Business.

I don't expect the UFC show to give too much of a boost to Strikeforce, but a boost is a boost and they'll take any help they can get.

Another risk is that the battle on April 17 could overshadow the WEC's PPV debut on April 24. On top of that, the UFC runs the risk of over-saturating the MMA market so that people won't need to see the WEC on April 24 because they watched two events on the 17th.

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Jens Pulver vs. Phil Johns in the main event of the star-studded WEF 8 event.

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WEC 47 Thoughts

- Dominick Cruz looked awesome against Brian Bowles. He picked him apart standing for two rounds and left no doubt he deserved the win despite the victory coming by injury.

- Joseph Benavidez did exactly what he needed to do to win. Torres hadn't fought a wrestler since he defeated Chase Beebe for the bantamweight crown in early 2008, and Benavidez proved once again just how dangerous a great wrestling base is. Just an awesome performance.

- I think the WEC goes with the rematches as Cruz vs. Benavidez II and Bowles vs. Torres II seem like the right next moves. Benavidez was so impressive in submitting Torres that I'm not hesitant to put him back in with Cruz despite losing a clear-cut decision to the champ only 7 months ago.

- It was really sad to see Jens Pulver go out like that. I don't know why Jens kept throwing leg kicks even after I made him aware he shouldn't do that through the television screen. Lil Evil had a great career that includes championships, brutal knockouts, and he is the only lightweight to ever defeat BJ Penn. He's a Hall of Famer in my book.

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Thanks a lot for reading and I hope you enjoyed. You can leave feedback in the comment box or at the e-mail address below. You can follow me on Twitter. If I get 5 more followers, which I think would be some kind of record; I'll start updating it every day. I swear.