"The thing is this, and I've said this before when they first signed this bout, if it was the other way around and Randy was trying to fight James in a boxing fight, the commissioner wouldn't have even sanctioned it because Randy doesn't have enough boxing experience going up against a Hall of Famer. He just didn't have enough tools and not enough time to train and James is 42. This is not a young guy...A lot of boxers have talked stuff and dogged MMA and some have showed respect for it, but for him to go out there and say, 'I'll go out there and I will sign my name on the dotted line,' you gotta have the utmost respect for him. And the discipline he does bring is significant. Boxing is a very important part of MMA and he's a Hall of Fame striker, so it's something you can't stand and play with or take lightly," stated world-class boxing/MMA trainer Ron Frazier as he shared his thoughts on Randy Couture's victory over James Toney at UFC 118. Check out what else he had to say as he gives us an update on Couture, Gray Maynard and much more.

PC: You said Randy would take James down and submit him and that's what happened. What did you think of the fight itself?

RF: Randy had been working on that low single a lot. It's something that we seen in training a lot and we knew it would have success because most guys don't prepare for it. If it were against a great grappler, it may not have worked, but against a guy that was new to the MMA world, it would probably work. It's a low-risk move. It doesn't put you in a really bad position if it doesn't work and that's what he was looking for. He wasn't looking to stand and bang or shoot for a double leg or a high crotch or to push him against the cage, a lot of the things that Randy is known for. A lot of that stuff would have also put him in James' wheelhouse. We just really didn't want to do it and we wanted to stay away from that and we really thought we could be successful going the low single route.

PC: I figured we would see a lot more movement from James to avoid shots and takedowns. Were you surprised he planted his feet and kind of waited on Randy?

RF: Not really because James hasn't moved a lot recently in his fights as a boxer, so I wasn't surprised. I thought he might try and walk Randy down a little bit, thinking Randy might try to stand and bang with him or kick him. Randy kept saying in interviews that he was going to kick him a lot and I think they were kind of preparing for that and that really wasn't in the game plan at all.

PC: When you saw James came in at 237, did that make the fight that much easier in your mind?

RF: Nah, it was the same as it was before. No matter where James came in at weight-wise, the same result. The thing is this, and I've said this before when they first signed this bout, if it was the other way around and Randy was trying to fight James in a boxing fight, the commissioner wouldn't have even sanctioned it because Randy doesn't have enough boxing experience going up against a Hall of Famer. He just didn't have enough tools and not enough time to train and James is 42. This is not a young guy. This is not a 22-year-old James Toney, but a 42-year-old James Toney. It really didn't matter what weight he came in, the outcome wouldn't have changed.

PC: Randy took this fight very seriously. What is the respect level you guys had for James, not only as a fighter, but for him stepping inside of the Octagon?

RF: One, just for him attempting it. A lot of boxers have talked stuff and dogged MMA and some have showed respect for it, but for him to go out there and say, "I'll go out there and I will sign my name on the dotted line," you gotta have the utmost respect for him. And the discipline he does bring is significant. Boxing is a very important part of MMA and he's a Hall of Fame striker, so it's something you can't stand and play with or take lightly. I seen a lot of the reports and seen what other people and fighters thought Randy would do and I was like, "They have no clue about their own sport." There was no way Randy was going to stand and bang and they were talking about TKO's. I mean, he could have possibly TKO'ed him on the ground. I think I told you in one interview that if he got him into a situation where he put him in a crucifix or he mounted him, the referee could stop it. Not that James would be out of it...James has a heck of a beard and anybody that knows anything about boxing and saw this guy fight or seen this guy spar in a gym knows that he can take some punishment, so I could see a referee stopping it because he wouldn't be necessarily what they call intelligently defending himself. But there was no way I thought Randy would stop James on their feet. Even the dirty boxing and all that, it just left Randy too vulnerable for too many things. I didn't think that's how it would play out at all, so all of the people that were saying he's going to do this and that, it's like, "Man, you don't even know your own sport." When a guy has one chance of winning, why would you stand at all and give him that opportunity?

PC: Randy is 47 years old and takes great care of his body, but realistically, how much longer can he do this for?

RF: It's a plus that he hasn't taken much damage over his career; no major injuries like knee or shoulder. He did have the broken arm after the Gonzaga fight. He's basically been injury-free throughout his career. He had a couple of layoffs too, like when he retired after the Chuck Liddell fight. He took a year off and came back and fought Tim Sylvia, so that was no wear and tear on his body. And then he had a problem with the UFC and he stayed out another year or so, so that was at least 2 years where he wasn't training for a fight in particular. He was still in the gym, but not getting beat up in the gym. He was working on his craft and learning some things. He was putting new tools in his tool belt and as long as he's having fun, he's healthy, and he's not being overwhelmed out there, then he's going to continue to go. I'm never going to suggest that the man retires and I'm never going to doubt him, that's for sure.

PC: Like you told me in the previous interview, it's probably back to 205 for him. What type of opponent would you like to see him fight next at that weight class?

RF: He takes on all comers. He doesn't care. He's a great strategist and he'll fight anybody. I would like for them to keep him away from somebody like Jon Jones, just because he's a young guy that is so dynamic. But you know what? That's a fight that can happen and Randy comes up with such great game plans. He's not scared of anyone, so if they make it a Jon Jones, that would be an interesting fight for sure. You would have the young guy on the rise and probably going to be champion and then you have the old legend trying to become champion again. He will take on anyone. It doesn't matter who it is; a wrestler, a heavy hitter or a ground guy. It just doesn't matter with him. He will take on all comers.

PC: Jones/Couture is definitely a fight where you could say Couture has cups and mouthpieces older than Jones (laughing).

RF: (Laughing) He has scar tissue...as a matter of fact, his cauliflower ears are older than Jon Jones.

PC: Gray Maynard is another Xtreme Couture guy that actually earned himself a title shot at UFC 118. What did you think of The Bully's performance?

RF: I see a lot of people saying Kenny Florian looked flat, but it had a lot to do with Gray. Gray fought a smart, tactical fight. He wanted to try to make Kenny kind of chase him because Kenny doesn't do that in fights. He likes to kind of sit back and make you chase him so he can counter you and Gray was trying to make him chase so he could counter him. He used his wrestling, which is something I told him he had to get back to. He can't be afraid to use it and he wasn't. He put him on his back and he kept him there. I would like to see Gray throw a few more combinations, because I actually think he can get a few more people out of there when he does that and puts his hands together, but he's still growing and learning. It was his 11th MMA fight, so it's still a growing process. He now has a title shot against Frankie Edgar and Frankie looked awesome, but Gray holds a victory over him. Both of them have improved the 2 ½ years since they fought and I'm looking for Gray to take the title. I think he has the perfect style to neutralize a lot of the speed that Frankie Edgar brings and obviously BJ Penn couldn't. And that's what I warned people before that fight, like, yeah, BJ is focused and motivated, but speed kills and can he adapt to the speed that Frankie Edgar brought to the table and obviously he couldn't. That was problematic for him.

PC: When you looked at the Penn/Edgar rematch, did you say BJ looked old or did you think like me that styles make fights and this style will always give BJ trouble?

RF: I definitely thought styles makes fights. His style, the first time, you could start to see it. It was like, you know what, he might be too quick for BJ. But then BJ said, "I was a little under the weather," and I know how traveling that far could affect some peoples' body and he's an older guy, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt and that the elements kind of got to him and figured we'll see again if that was the case in the rematch. I knew midway through the 1st round that he was going to have problems and then I thought midway through the 3rd round that he had resigned to the fact that he just didn't have any answers for those problems. I didn't think he would get stopped because I think he has one of the best chins going, but I did think he would resign to the fact that it wasn't much that he could do and he wasn't getting any good advice on how to neutralize it.

PC: I agree. At one point, in the corner, they told him, "We know he has speed, but fuck his speed." I was like, "Wow."

RF: That goes a long way in telling me what I need to do to avoid it or neutralize it.