Dana White talks to 8CN: UFC presser and video clip

Great Hall at Faneuil Hall in Boston is normally home to the Boston Classical Orchestra.Wednesday afternoon it was home to the UFC 118 press conference and featured UFC President Dana White and fighters Frankie Edgar, BJ Penn, Randy Couture, James Toney, Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard.

Despite the lightweight championship rematch between Frankie Edgar (12-1, 2 KO’s, 3 submissions) and BJ Penn (15-6, 6 KO’s, 6 submissions) being the main event in Boston this Saturday night, much talk centered around the co-feature pitting UFC hall of Famer Randy Couture (18-10,7 KO’s, 3 submissions) against former three division world boxing champion James Toney.

“Some people were saying ‘why would you make this fight? Does (Toney) belong in the UFC? “, Said a Red Sox T-shirt clad Dana White.
White than answered his own question and said, “He’s got more knockouts than Randy does fights. He deserves to be in there. He’s a great boxer and he’s dabbled, I guess we’ll say, in Mixed Martial Arts. “



White continued, “James Toney is a real guy and anything can happen in a fight. Believe me, you take mixed martial arts and boxing out of it and there’s going to be a fight Saturday night. And when two guys get in there and start fighting, anything can happen." Interestingly, if Toney wins, he could find himself “in the mix” with UFC heavyweight contenders. However, if he loses, it’s likely his last fight inside the Octagon.

“If Toney loses, he’ll probably be cut”, White told 8countnews.com, “He’s not one of these guys who went through the minor leagues and fought on these little shows to get here. He’s getting this opportunity Saturday night and we’ll see how it goes.”



In the actual main event Saturday, defending champ Frankie Edgar will look to prove it was no fluke he took the lightweight title from BJ Penn in April.
“I know (BJ Penn) has this aura about him”, said Edgar, “but I just try to approach him like any other fight.”
BJ Penn seems confident in getting redemption.

“Every time you lose, you come back stronger”, said Penn, “I feel like I’m going to blow a lot of people away Saturday night and they’re going to be surprised who BJ Penn is.”

In another main card bout on the card, former title challenger Kenny Florian fights in his home state for the first time since 2004 and takes on Gray Maynard in a fight that has lightweight title shot implications on the line.

“Gray Maynard beats Kenny Florian and he gets a title shot”, White said in regards to the Florian – Maynard fight. He later confirmed that if Florian wins, he’ll also get the winner of the Edgar – Penn main event in a title fight.

Florian, who has twice challenged for the lightweight belt, will be fighting in his home state for the first time since joining the UFC in 2005.
“This is a dream of mine and something I love”, said Florian, “Being able to fight in your hometown in the biggest stage in the biggest arena.”
Maynard, short on words and admittedly hungry due to cutting weight prior to Friday’s weigh-in for the 155 pound contest, said “I’m prepared and let’s just get in there.”