Joe Ferraro

Thursday’s UFC 118 fighter workouts were eventful but Showdown did lament it missing one thing.

Unlike past media workouts, the typical room within a casino or hotel was bypassed in favour of the Octagon. A great decision by the UFC, as Thursday's version took place in the middle of where this weekend's Fan Expo will take place.

As the media gathered we waited for the first fighter to show up, but many of us were drawn to the "working floor" around us. Many of the vendors were putting up their booths, including Canadian Mixed Martial Arts Magazine "MMA Authority" (one of my favourites) as well as Round 5, who manufactures the exceptional figures of MMA athletes and personalities. A brief discussion with reps and owners of both companies came to a quick end when Kenny Florian made his way into the room.

KenFlo is in fantastic shape for his bout vs. Gray Maynard, as his coach Firas Zahabi, who had the luxury of holding the coaching mitts up for KenFlo, and the misfortune of getting on the Octagon mat with the BJJ black belt. While Firas can hold his own, it was magical to see Kenny drill his techniques. It should also be noted that Firas, while he may not admit it, has put a bull's eye on my back.

On Oct. 2nd and 3rd, his TriStar gym will be hosting the next "Paradise Warrior Retreat," which will give fans and would-be fighters a chance to train with both him and Kenny, as well as MMA coaching guru Greg Jackson, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and GSP's BJJ instructor John Danaher. There is a rumour circulating that Muay Thai coach Phil Nurse may also be added, which will not be great for me, as Kru Nurse is likely looking forward to making his solid shins of steel connect with my outer thighs.

When I mentioned earlier that Firas may have a bull's eye on my back, I should say my whole torso, as everyone listed above will likely be instructed to make sure I do not host "MMA Connected" the following Monday.

In all seriousness, I'm actually safe whenever Firas is around, but he and I are plotting something different for MMA Connected producer Jacob Clark -- young Mr. Clark has never trained MMA before, so according to Zahabi, he welcomes "the fresh meat."

As Team Florian wrapped up, Joe Lauzon made his way into the Octagon and was wearing a green T-shirt that poked fun at his opponent Gabe Ruediger, stating, "I like fighting like a fat kid loves cake." It provided a great laugh to many of us who were there.

At the same time, boxing coach extraordinaire Peter Welch also showed up to the workouts. A local legend, who has worked with the likes of Lauzon, Florian as well as current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and president Dana White. Look for a special MMA Connected feature on Welch in the near future, likely airing right before Lesnar's next bout.

It wasn't long before Randy Couture, Frankie Edgar, B.J. Penn and Gray Maynard all showed up to get their sweat on. Each guy looked great, even though it was an extremely light warmup for them, but I did question "The Natural" on his age. I still don't believe he is in his forties and I asked him to show me his ID -- he obliged. The last time we discussed this, he nearly hit me, but I digress.

Randy's son Ryan was also in attendance, and we discussed his recent MMA debut. He was excited, wasn't nervous and all the tips he received from his father were well received. The younger Couture's next bout is scheduled in November, for Strikeforce; no opponent has been named yet.

We also caught up with welterweight free agent Jay Hieron, who is currently in limbo with his career as he is stuck in the middle of a "matching period" with Strikeforce. He had some interesting thoughts on his current status, as well as for Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz. Be sure to check out Monday's show to hear the latest.

The only disappointment regarding the UFC 118 media workout day wasn't the fact that James Toney showed up, stole the show and talked up an incredible storm, it was the fact he did not enter the cage to break a sweat.

Call me greedy (and I know you just did), but when you are in the presence of boxing greatness, you hope to simply see a basic warmup, pad work, etc. I've seen MMA's greatest on numerous occasions, but as a boxing fan who transitioned to MMA in the early nineties, I continued to follow James' illustrious career and was only hoping for a glimpse of that stiff jab, right bomb and the rolling of the shoulders and left hook.

Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be -- and my worry is that should he lose on Saturday night, I may (personally) never get to see his greatness warm up and showcase his execution of the sweet science, ever. They say "never say never," but the fan inside me just wanted to "seize the day" and simply marvel at "Lights Out" working his magic.

Alas -- I'll have to wait until Saturday night to see if he can apply it against Captain America.

Next up are Friday's weigh-ins, which you can catch live on sportsnet.ca starting at 4 p.m. ET.