Are Nelson and Couture the frontrunners to fight Toney?

Nelson said in a recent interview,

“I think I’m right in the mix. I think if you throw any of the top guys in there and we can challenge for the belt, I think they would all be exciting fights. James Toney is the talk of the town and I always gotta stay in the mix. I can sell tickets too.”

Couture also said in a recent interview he wasnt to fight TOney first

http://www.mmabay.co.uk/2010/04/06/randy-couture-still-lobbying-to-be-the-man-to-welcome-james-toney-to-the-octagon-video/
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Has anyone else really thrown their name in the Mix? I know Liddell said he wouldnt mind beating him down, but hasnt really chased after the fight. Couture and Nelson seem to be the two after the Toney fight.

Toneys signing really isnt going so smoothly, Dana said he isnt sure exactly what to do with him and its really looking that way.

I cant see Toney waiting around the guts of a year to fight Couture, I think Nelson could well be the most likely option for him.

Nelson vs Toney, two egotistical beefcakes going at it, go for it I say. If Nelson wins, he will get credit with the fans for beating a boxing world champion and if Toney wins, he beat the TUF 10 winner. Win-win situation for the UFC but I don't know who I would support. I loved Toney in boxing but his arrogance pisses me off sometimes. I don't really like Nelson.

If Nelson does fight Toney, who does JDS fight?

Joe Silva and Dana really need to get cracking on setting up some HW fights.

We have Cain, JDS, Mir, Nog, Nelson, Toney, Kongo, Struve, Gonzaga, Schaub, Tuchscherer, etc all without fights.

How do people see it panning out?

redmeanie77 wrote:Joe Silva and Dana really need to get cracking on setting up some HW fights.

We have Cain, JDS, Mir, Nog, Nelson, Toney, Kongo, Struve, Gonzaga, Schaub, Tuchscherer, etc all without fights.

How do people see it panning out?

if it was me i would set it up as such

Cain vs Mir - mir is a big name and would be a test for cain to see how he deals with mirs size an BJJ

JDS vs Nelson - apart from cain Nelson is on the longest winning streak so is the only one i can see them giving to JDS to give him another credible win.

Nog vs Kongo - Nog i hate to admit is on the decline and kongos striking and improved wrestling could make for an interesting fight against the BJJ and boxing of nog.

Struve vs Gonzaga - both coming off losses but both talented strikers with gonzaga easily having the better grappling so would be interesting to see if struve could use reach to his advantage

Toney vs Gilbert Yvel - i think dana would want to have toney built up a little as he signed a multi fight deal before sticking him with a monster and yvel could be the perfect opponent. will be willing to stand, has vast experience and most importantly is winnable for toney by ko.

schaub vs tuchscherer - not exactly fighters people want to watch fight so will be a sort of who takes the next step up the ladder fight that could be very enjoyable in the process.

any thoughts on these potential match ups?

"apart from cain Nelson is on the longest winning streak so is the only one i can see them giving to JDS to give him another credible win."

Don't you mean JDS

Thats probably exactly what I would go for though, I'd expect Cain and JDS to win there fights and then I would hope for them to fight first but I think Cain will get a shot at Cain vs Lesnar.

yer i know JDS and cain are on the longest winning streaks its just after them 2 its nelson and thats why i had nelson in against JDS as i think they dnt want JDS and cain to meet just yet so nelson is the most credible opponent at this point in time if you get me

That seems fairly good to me, Because of the draw and hype surrounding JDS and Cain I dont think dana will want these 2 to meet other than for a title fight or number 1 contender fight. If these two both win as expected then they could fight as a contender fight and if one losses then the winner gets a shot at Carwin Vs Lesner and the loser could get the loser. Definately a well stacked division though.

Ultimate Fighter” season ten heavyweight winner, Roy Nelson has revealed he’d love to square off with Brazilian knockout artist, Junior dos Santos, as well as admitting a fight with James Toney would do more for his profile in the sport than his title aspirations.
Speaking to MMAWeekly.com about who he might face next, Nelson said:
“I don’t really make those choices. I was saying I’d rather be fighting for the belt and be done with it. It’s the UFC and there’s so many great guys, there’s so many great fights to match up with.”

When asked whether he’d consider a fight with Brazilian knockout artist, Junior dos Santos, Nelson said:

“I’d love it. I think Dos Santos deserves (a title shot) over Cain (Velasquez) just cause he’s whipped some better competition. I mean his very first fight was (Fabricio) Werdum. He’s beat up some really good guys. I think he definitely deserves a good chance or a good stab at it.”

Nelson has also been very vocal about being the first MMA star to oppose heavyweight boxing champion, James Toney inside the octagon and although it might not get him a shot at the title, Nelson says it would do wonders for his profile.

“It would be bigger for PR. Technically we’re just playing for PR, we’re not fighting for money, we’re fighting for PR. So then I guess James Toney would be the better fight.”

“I know I won’t get Shane (Carwin) or Brock (Lesnar), they’re supposed to be fighting in July. Cheick Kongo is just coming off his win over Paul Buentello, so he’s out in the wind. Then you’ve got Dos Santos, he’s still out in the wind. You’ve got Velasquez still out in the wind.”

Nelson has impressively knocked out the duo of Brendan Schaub and Stefan Struve since making his full octagon debut, as well as picking up the crown of “Ultimate Fighter”. The former IFL champion will likely square off with one of the bigger names in the heavyweight division next, earning him the type of PR he so evidently wants.

Just read that on MMAbay, Cool news Im glad he is open to so many fights, I think he can rule out Cain as a potential opponent though... Cain is sitting out for a while as backup for the title fight.

JDS, Kongo, Toney are his options then?

I wonder when Duffee is back? anyone know? Gonzaga vs Duffee is a fight that needs to happen. Gonzaga is now the ultimate gatekeeper!

Juanito Ibarra, says Toney's not going to rush into the Octagon...

i want to see him fight (and by that i mean ktfo) anderson.

I want to see that fight as well. It'd be funny to see how Toney reacts to one of Silva's gimpy thigh punches.

Toney wouldn't last 3 minutes with Silva. A couple of legs kicks then a spinning back kick followed by a flying knee and goodnight Mr. Toney.



JDS vs Nelso makes a lot of sense at HW.

I think Mir will step back a level, i think Herring makes sense for him.

Struve against Kongo is an obvious fight to make.

Lesnar vs Carwin with the winner facing Cain. Although, that would be a long layoff for Cain. So maybe Cain vs Struve and Nog vs Kongo?

Does Struve deserve a fight with Cain?

It would be a very long layoff for Velasquez, thats why I don't like having TWO number one contenders in the division. JDS should fight Cain, Nelson should fight Kongo or even Mir.

No point in having JDS lose before he gets to title contender status. Nelson would be a step up in competition as it is. No point in throwing him in with one of the top boys just yet. Nelson, then Mir then Carwin/Brock/Cain whichever isn't champ and isn't coming off a loss. Then a title fight.

Mir mentioned Rothwell in his interview, that's a good fight for him.

Struve vs Kongo

Cain vs Herring.

Nobody deserves to fight Cain because he's the next in line and other than Lesnar and Carwin nobody has shown to be at his level yet. But he will need a tune up to keep busy.

Lot of Herring talk mate, do you think he will actually come back to UFC, I heard he has a contract like Couture, X amount of fights or X amount of Months/Years.

I heard somewere he is just waiting around till his contract expires. I think Herring is SF bound... Not 100% but Ive a feeling he is done with UFC.

I saw that Mir interview... Mir actually came across as Humble for once! I think rothwell is far to big a step back in competition. I think Nelson vs Mir or Gonzaga vs Mir would make more sence. Maby he can even fight the Mirko vs Barry winner? That would be an interesting fight for him.

Shame Couture is sticking at 205 I wouldnt mind Couture vs Mir.

I don't know about Herring. He's a strange individual to say the least. Hard to know what he will do. But if he does have that type of contract he may just let it run out. Although i'd imagine he probably only has one fight left on it anyway.

Gonzaga is an interesting one. I think he's a loss away from getting cut to be honest. After the Carwin fight he just seemed broken and what was still left together JDS smashed to pieces with some GnP.

I dunno about Gonzaga getting cut. Ive always had high hopes for him but accept that he is a journeyman now. I tink Stick him in with Yvel or Kongo if he is fighting for his career. UFC have a lot worse heavys on their roster.

Ye I know what you mean about JDS losing to early to a top contender but Struve seems like a pretty big step down from Nog. Plus its not good to have Struve lose two in a rwo at his age, not after the progress he made.

What about Velasquez vs the Barry/Cro Cop winner? Now that would be a good fight for him, he can see how good his hands are against two of the best and against Cro Cop he can get some good practice on takedowns. Lesnar/Carwin aren't easy to takedown but Cro Cop is a very tough guy to takedown as well so it can be a good warm up.

Problem there is that Mirko and Barry are always capable of pulling off something insane. I think Struve is a safe fight. I don't think Struve impressed against Buentello. He's been murdered by JDS and Nelson. He needs to go away for a while. Improve his stand up, consider chin implants, add some weight(if ever a person needed a pizza!) and come back.

Yeah mate Struve will probabally do better when he has a bit of weight on him, You wonder why he doest train soley with Semmy Schilt! That guy could show him a thing or 2 standup wise. And just keep at the BJJ because being so tall he is never going to be a great wrestler because guys who have a lower centre of gravity will take him down but he has already shown a decent submission game.

Yeah Chelsea like that Idea for Cain because they are about his size and its a grappler vs Striker fight. Like you say Crocop once had the best TD defence going so if his form picks up with a win over Barry this could be an interesting one.

Herrings contract either expired or is close to being expired (I cant remember which month it expires). He wont be ever fighting in UFC again after blasting how they treat fighters, i dont think.

He is making a decent living acting, i dont think he is interested in fighting MMA again. I remember he was asked on facebook when he was fighting again, he basically said he's making alot money doing movies, and ruled him self out of 2010 all together.

Fuck him then, he hasnt done a big movie full stop and no doubt the work will dry up once he isnt a recognisable figter. People like him get Movie roles off the back of being an MMA fighter, once he isnt an MMA fighter I doubt he will have the movie offers rolling in off the back of his acting skills.

Im sure if he would have taken the beating Lesnar gave him like a man and bounced back with a win he would have started to get decent paydays from the UFC. The guy nearly finished Nog and beat Kongo, Im sure he could have got a fight with the likes of JDS or even slightly lower ranked guys like Nelson.

Herring has all the tools to be top 10 in the world again, its just a shame he lacks the balls.

just looked on IMDB, he is in the angelina jolie movie "salt" as....


wait for it......


"henchman" (uncredited)



i did watch never surrender on the net when it came out and he was the best actor in the movie though, i think he has potential/

Problem there is that Mirko and Barry are always capable of pulling off something insane. I think Struve is a safe fight. I don't think Struve impressed against Buentello. He's been murdered by JDS and Nelson. He needs to go away for a while. Improve his stand up, consider chin implants, add some weight(if ever a person needed a pizza!) and come back.

Ye I can see what your saying, they have more than a punchers chance with there power, but I think they would be great fights. Struve I think is already at 247, weight wise he isn't small but he is very lanky. I think he could do with taking a page out of Mir's book, but maybe not that extent.

Do you really think Herring could be top 10? I don't think he could, Herring really isn't that great. Cro Cop, Fedor and Lesnar all kicked the shit out of him and Nog beat him three times, apart from the last time all were convincing. Has ever beaten a top fighter who wasn't past there best? Ok he beat Kongo, but it was split decision and Kongo doesn't know what wrestling means. Remember, Herring lost to "Irish" JAKE O'BRIEN

Really no one in MMA will miss Herring and I really doubt he could be top 10 again. Is there anyone in the top 10 now he can beat?