By Francisco Hernandez: August 29, 2010: James Toney’s nom de guerre “Lights Out” has now changed to “Con-Man” Toney. This is because last night Toney pulled one of the biggest con jobs of the decade in taking on and losing to one of MMA’s biggest stars in Randy Couture in UFC 118. No one in his right mind would pay a cent to watch Toney, not even if he was pitted against an alligator. Yet Toney has managed to con close to a million dollars from MMA fans. The irony of this great con is that such a huge purse is beyond most renowned MMA fighter’s earnings. It is incredible that an old, overweight, has been boxer, shadow of a fighter, can earn so much money in MMA, more money than most MMA stars can ever hope to make. James Toney is laughing all the way to the bank.

P.T. Barnum is supposed to of said that “There’s a sucker born every minute.” James “Con Man” Toney must have been a dedicated student of Barnum, because he made a sucker out of MMA fans yesterday; stealing a purse that most MMA stars consider a wild dream. I can imagine Toney right now rolling on the floor laughing his ass off: “There’s a sucker born every minute.”

What would make MMA fans pay such a huge purse to watch a man who no one in the Boxing World would pay a gringo penny for? The only explanation one can fathom is that MMA fans are the same group of people who believe professional Wrestling is real. MMA fans and Wrestling fans are probably the same group. They are the same people that Barnum referred to. This is not to say that boxing fans cannot be suckered also, but it’s more difficult to do so. Most experienced boxing fans understand when they are up against a con job; it takes more effort to pull a con on them. This is probably because boxing has been around for long time; it’s known all the cons that can be pulled, from the mob fixing fights, to shady boxing organizations and promoters, to fighters using plaster on their fists. So yes boxing fans can be conned, especially the green ones, but neither as bad nor as easily like the poor suckers in MMA.

What will be the next circus event at MMA? Will they convince Muhammad Ali “Cassius Clay” to take on the current MMA champion? How many suckers would watch that? Surprise me. James “Con Man” Toney, old, ex-steroid user, overweight, out of shape, with only a fast and loose tongue left, was able to con MMA fans for close to a million. That’s incredible. If I didn’t feel so sad for the MMA fans that are being suckered dry, I would laugh at the strangeness of it all. Will this be a trend for all old faded boxers, to make a killing at MMA? Money for nothing? Floyd Mayweather claims to have made 20 million from World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE); they don’t call him “Money” for nothing.

One cannot help feeling sorry for the poor MMA lads who kill themselves training hard for their matches only to get paid in peanuts, then an old, overweight-out of shape, trash talking, shade of a fighter, comes and makes a killing!