UFC 118: Edgar Beats Penn Again, Couture Submits Toney

UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2 brought the Octagon to Boston for the first time on August 28, 2010. At TD Garden, Frankie Edgar retained the lightweight championship with a five-round unanimous decision over BJ Penn, while Randy Couture submitted boxing champion James Toney in a heavyweight co-main event. Gray Maynard, Demian Maia and Nate Diaz also won on the ten-fight card.

Video: the UFC’s official extended preview, published before the event. It introduces the Edgar–Penn rematch and Couture–Toney matchup; it is promotional footage rather than a full-fight replay.

Edgar wins the rematch decisively

Edgar had taken the title from Penn at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. The immediate rematch gave both men a chance to settle the argument around that first decision. In Boston, Edgar’s movement, combinations and wrestling produced a substantially clearer outcome: all three judges awarded him every round, returning identical scores of 50–45.

The champion mixed takedowns into his striking from the opening round. Penn got back to his feet and found moments of success, but Edgar kept changing the distance and restarting exchanges on favorable terms. When Penn secured takedowns in the championship rounds, Edgar remained active, escaped danger and resumed his offense. Penn could not turn those openings into the extended control or finish he needed.

For Edgar, this was his first successful UFC lightweight title defense. Beating Penn twice in four months changed the division’s immediate direction: the former champion no longer stood alone at its center, and Edgar had shown that his first victory could be repeated through a more complete performance. The title remained in the champion’s possession after the full twenty-five minutes.

Couture takes Toney into unfamiliar territory

Couture’s meeting with Toney drew attention because it brought an accomplished boxing champion into his first professional MMA bout. Couture quickly attacked a low takedown, moved into dominant positions and applied an arm-triangle choke. Toney’s striking credentials could not compensate for the ground positions he encountered, and the fight ended by submission at 3:19 of the first round.

The match was contested at heavyweight. It extended Couture’s run after his submission of Mark Coleman at UFC 109, while Toney left his MMA debut with a defeat. The result illustrated the practical importance of takedown defense and positional grappling when entering a new ruleset. It was a specific matchup between these two athletes, with Couture’s experience determining where the fight took place.

Maynard advances; Maia and Diaz win

Gray Maynard defeated Kenny Florian by unanimous decision in a lightweight contender bout. The win moved Maynard toward a championship meeting with Edgar, giving the division its next important pairing. Florian’s home-state appearance did not produce a return to the title bout he had contested against Penn at UFC 101.

Demian Maia earned a three-round unanimous decision over Mario Miranda. Maia had originally been scheduled to meet Alan Belcher in Austin, but Belcher’s withdrawal redirected him to Boston. The victory put Maia back in the win column after his unsuccessful middleweight title challenge against Anderson Silva at UFC 112.

Nate Diaz’s welterweight bout with Marcus Davis ended in the third round. After sustained striking exchanges, Diaz took the contest to the ground and applied a guillotine choke. Davis lost consciousness, making the finish a technical submission at 4:02. The distinction matters: this was neither a middleweight contest nor a knockout, even though Diaz’s punches helped create the opportunity to finish.

Lauzon leads the preliminary winners

Joe Lauzon gave the Massachusetts crowd a quick local victory, submitting Gabe Ruediger by armbar just over two minutes into the opening round. Nik Lentz defeated Andre Winner by decision through control and grappling, rather than by submission. Dan Miller ended a three-fight losing streak with a second-round choke against John Salter. Greg Soto won a decision over Nick Osipczak, and Mike Pierce submitted Amilcar Alves in round three.

Miller’s finish is listed as a guillotine in Sherdog’s fight record and described as a power guillotine in a later UFC profile. The contemporaneous preliminary recap called it an anaconda choke. The results below use the guillotine classification; the sources agree on the winner, second round and 1:53 finish time.

Complete UFC 118 results

Main card

• Frankie Edgar def. BJ Penn — unanimous decision (50–45, 50–45, 50–45), round 5, 5:00; retained the lightweight title.
• Randy Couture def. James Toney — submission (arm-triangle choke), round 1, 3:19.
• Demian Maia def. Mario Miranda — unanimous decision, round 3, 5:00.
• Gray Maynard def. Kenny Florian — unanimous decision, round 3, 5:00.
• Nate Diaz def. Marcus Davis — technical submission (guillotine choke), round 3, 4:02.

Preliminary card

• Joe Lauzon def. Gabe Ruediger — submission (armbar), round 1, 2:01.
• Nik Lentz def. Andre Winner — unanimous decision, round 3, 5:00.
• Dan Miller def. John Salter — submission (guillotine choke), round 2, 1:53.
• Greg Soto def. Nick Osipczak — unanimous decision, round 3, 5:00.
• Mike Pierce def. Amilcar Alves — submission (straight armbar), round 3, 3:11.

Sources

• UFC: Edgar’s title defense against Penn.
• UFC Couture Maynard Maia and Diaz.
• UFC: the preliminary results.
• UFC: Miller’s guillotine against Salter.
• UFC: the final lineup and Maia’s replacement bout.
• Sherdog: complete UFC 118 fight record.

Article Tags

UFC 118, Frankie Edgar, B.J. Penn, Randy Couture, James Toney, UFC Results