Joe Ferraro

Despite their spat, there are still some signs of mutual respect between James Toney and Dana White.

A gloomy day in Boston, filled with sporatic showers and a consistent mist, spilled over in The Great Hall in Faneuil Hall, as James (Lights Out) Toney rained down on Dana White's parade.

Representing his beloved sport of boxing, the legendary champ had a momentary spat with the UFC president that was more comical, than serious. When White stated that "mixed martial arts was the most popular combat sport on the planet," Toney objected, and dared White to repeat himself.

Not only did Dana repeat it, he told Toney to "deal with it."

The world-class pugilist sat back, smiled, nodded his head, obviously impressed that White did not back down.

And the feeling is mutual, as my conversation with White after the pre-fight press conference touched on Toney's courage to step up and do what no other, modern day elite boxer has done: step away from the boxing ring and enter the MMA cage. Bravado aside, White also firmly believes that Toney should not be looked over in his co-main event bout with Randy Couture -- with four ounce gloves, Toney presents a serious threat to the UFC Hall of Famer.

And Couture definitely agrees.

Watch a replay of the pre-fight press conference as well as many other UFC 118 live streams on sportsnet.ca here.

"The Natural" told me it's important to note that he cannot just rush in and attempt to take Toney down to the mat. He has to exhibit something he says he rarely does in his bouts: patience. In this bout, he believes he should let James come to him, let "Lights Out" take the centre of the Octagon, then be ready to implement his game plan.

Couture was not going to give away his game plan, but we discussed James' options -- a rear knee, an uppercut, a left hook, straight right, or a basic combination of the four strikes. One thing he did share was that he had drilled entries and defences for a lot of what "Lights Out" has used in the past to pick apart his opponents, but he believes the real strategy will be dealing with how Toney reacts while he is on the ground.

Will Toney work diligently to stand up? Will he buckle from the ground and pound pressure and give up his back? For Couture, it's all part of why he loves the sport of MMA so much -- you never truly know until it actually happens.

The UFC 118 main event participants, lightweight champion Frankie (The Answer) Edgar and B.J. (The Prodigy) Penn shared one trait during the press conference -- they were both all business, but, it was a different Penn on the stage.

While Edgar, a self-proclaimed "Rodney Dangerfield of MMA," believes the best way to silence his critics is to "finish the fight" on Saturday night, Penn is on a completely different world right now.

"The Prodigy" appears invigorated, smiling and exciting. It's as if he has received a new lease on life, as well as another chance to be the greatest lightweight the sport has ever seen.

He chose not to expand on the recent belief that "The Trinity" (the mind, body and soul) is something he has worked on diligently this camp. The Hawaiian apparently changed his training camp, and even went as far as telling me it wasn't even a "training camp in the traditional sense of the word."

It was a new way of looking at fight prep, as well as life. It has him so amped that during our video interview for Sportsnet, he began chanting at the end. The overall sense from those in media row was that "we might just see the best B.J. Penn ever" -- a common sentiment that should prove to be a serious threat to Frankie Edgar.

And it should be, but it may not be.

Edgar continues to improve his MMA skill set, especially his striking and when we discussed his first title defence, he simply told me that his striking is on a whole other level now. His combinations are better now than the fighter we saw dismantle Sean Sherk. His footwork? Faster and crisper than the one we saw against Penn in April.

While I believe Penn is one of the best boxers in MMA (James Toney and K.J. Noons aside), I for one am very excited to see who will dominate the striking battle on Saturday night.

The same can be said for another lightweight battle on Saturday night, one that is flying under the radar.

When hometown hero Kenny (KenFlo) Florian faces off against "The Bully" Gray Maynard, we will likely see the next challenger to the lightweight title.

White did state that the winner of this stellar bout will get the next title shot, but to both fighters, that is not their concern. They will not let that announcement interfere with their initial goal, which is to finish their opponent.

Neither one of these two top 155-pound contenders has any interest in letting this bout go the distance. Maynard, who is usually calm, yet smiley, appeared agitated at the press conference and it was easy to ascertain that he was counting down the hours to step into the Octagon with Florian. He has no interest in hearing what Florian has to say -- it means nothing to "The Bully." The only thing that matters is when the referee steps out of their way to let the action begin.

When I caught up with Florian, one of his coaches, Firas Zahabi, joined us, where we discussed Florian's desire to showcase his evolution as a mixed martial artist.

You see, Florian is never impressed, nor happy with his performances. I am talking about a fighter whose skill set, that I, and likely the mass majority of MMA fans, fighters and coaches can solely wish they could emulate. He is a master technician, but don't tell that to KenFlo. Even Zahabi shakes his head at KenFlo's modest attempts to discount his skills. Firas did make it clear though -- wherever this fight goes and ends up, he is confident that Kenny will dominate.

These are just three bouts that has the MMA world counting down the days until August 28th, but for yours truly, Thursday's media workouts will fill my time instead. I've been blessed to see Edgar, Penn, Couture, Florian and Maynard train on numerous occasions, but this will be the first time I get to see Toney in a training format. Like him or not, I'm a firm believer in seizing the moment when you are around greatness.

Thursday cannot come soon enough.