UFC 118 Results: Frankie Edgar Dominates, Randy Couture Submits James Toney

Jordy McElroyAug 29, 2010

There is no question now. Frankie Edgar is the number one Lightweight in the world. For five rounds, Edgar outworked Penn in all areas.

The first round was a true foretelling of the direction the fight was headed. On a couple of takedowns, Edgar lifted Penn effortlessly in the air before slamming him to the mat. It was a solid performance that quickly silenced the Penn favoring crowd.

On the feet, Penn looked like he did at UFC 112. He seemed to have trouble getting off. Edgar utilized a lot of movement before exploding in and out of range. During exchanges, Edgar constantly popped off multiple combinations.

Penn was successful with some takedown attempts of his own, but Edgar demonstrated great poise and scrambled back to his feet.

Edgar came into the bout a huge underdog. Many people thought a motivated Penn would dominate and reclaim his throne. If no one else did, Edgar always believed in himself. He knew this would be a tough fight.

"I want to thank B.J. He really brought out the best in me," Edgar told Joe Rogan. "I knew he was going to come in tough again. It was close the first time. I just wanted to make that point."

A disappointed Penn was humble in defeat. It was a changing of the guard in the Lightweight division. Edgar proved his victory at UFC 112 wasn’t a fluke.

"He fought me twice. He walked away with the decision twice. What can you say? Frankie fought a great fight. He’s the man," Penn said.

Couture Embarrasses Toney

It didn’t take long for Randy Couture to sniff out a single leg takedown on James Toney. Showing zero takedown defense, Toney collapsed under the shot like a grappling dummy. From top, Couture blasted Toney with textbook ground and pound. He eventually transitioned to an arm triangle that forced Toney to tap at 3:19 in the first round.

There was a lot of talk about "UFC vs. Boxing" heading into this fight. "UFC" chants erupted throughout the TD Arena as Couture worked the fading Boxing star. Despite the trash talk, James Toney was the first Boxer to truly put his money where his mouth is. Couture is gracious for that.

"I’m a huge fan of Boxing," Couture said. "A lot of credit to James for stepping up in here. He’s the first Boxer to do that."

Toney was forced to gobble down a large slice of humble pie after this fight. For months, he has stalked Dana White and demanded a shot in the UFC. After an epic fail, we may not have seen the last of James "Lights Out" Toney.

"He caught me," Toney stated. "He got me on the ground, and I couldn’t get out of the triangle choke. I’ll be back. I ain’t no quitter."

Maia outworks Miranda

Throughout the bout, Demian Maia completely dominated Mario Miranda with takedowns and top control. Many thought Maia would favor the outside shot due to Miranda’s strong Thai plum. Early in the fight, Maia used his boxing to close the distance and clinch Miranda against the cage. From the clinch, Maia worked Miranda with short strikes and takedowns.

On the ground, Miranda was anything but an easy finish. He showed good submission defense and a nice armbar reversal late in the third round. Maia seemed to really lose a lot of steam towards the end of the fight, but he managed to hang on and snag the unanimous decision.

Maynard Finally Earns a Lightweight Title Shot

It has been nearly four years since Kenny Florian was used as a human doormat by Sean Sherk. After significant improvements, fans felt that Florian’s takedown defense was finally ready for elite wrestlers after shrugging off the likes of Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson. Gray Maynard proved them wrong Saturday night.

Both fighters seemed rather hesitant to engage first on the feet. Florian is best at countering aggressive fighters. Maynard utilized an effective gameplan of being patient and forcing Florian to be the aggressor. It didn’t look good for Florian early on as Maynard slammed him to the mat with a strong double. Florian never had much to offer from his guard. Despite attempting submissions, he really struggled in breaking Maynard’s base.

From top, Maynard never really landed anything significant. It was typical Maynard style as he grinded out the unanimous decision. With the victory, Maynard has secured a title shot against Lightweight Champion, Frankie Edgar. At UFC Fight Night 13, Maynard dominated Edgar with superior wrestling en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Diaz Submits Davis

Only the Diaz brothers can muster up this kind of mugging. For three rounds, Marcus Davis was battered by Nate Diaz on the feet. Diaz rebounded from getting dropped early and proceeded to carve Marcus Davis up like a Thanksgiving turkey. The incredible hematoma on Davis’s eye led me to think that either his face was pregnant, or he just got cast as Sloth in the new Goonies movie.

Davis winged haymakers and didn’t use any head movement during exchanges. Late in the third, Diaz secured a single leg takedown and continued to land on Davis from top. A final mistake from Davis led to him getting caught in fight-ending guillotine choke at 4:02.

Official Results
Main Card

Frankie Edgar Defeats B.J. Penn By Unanimous Decision (50-45)

Randy Couture Defeats James Toney By Round 1 Submission (Arm Triangle)

Demian Maia Defeats Mario Miranda By Unanimous Decision (30-27)

Gray Maynard Defeats Kenny Florian By Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Nate Diaz Defeats Marcus Davis By Round 3 Submission (Guillotine)

Prelims

Joe Lauzon Defeats Gabe Ruediger By Round 1 Submission (Armbar)

Nik Lentz Defeats Andre Winner By Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Undercard

Dan Miller Defeats John Salter By Round 2 Submission (Ninja Choke)

Greg Soto Defeats Nick Osipczak By Unanimous Decision (29-28)