By Mike Chiappetta
- Senior Writer
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NEW YORK -- More than one head was scratched in bewilderment when the UFC confirmed
it had signed 41-year-old former boxing champ James Toney to fight in the octagon.
Now, it sounds like even company president
Dana White is unsure of the decision. During a UFC 111 post-press conference question-and-answer session with fans, and in a rare bout of self-reflection and maybe even self-doubt, White said he had no ideas for Toney's debut or even why he signed Toney in the first place.
"To be honest, I don't know why I did it," White said to the Radio City Musica Hall crowd. "But we did it. I did this deal and now I have to figure out what to do with him."
White told the crowd how Toney had essentially stalked him around the country during various UFC events, and basically admitted that Toney wore him down over time.
He said that although he had hesitations about adding an aging boxer -- albeit a multi-division former world champ -- that Toney promised him he'd been training and would be prepared for all the various facets of MMA.
"We sat down in my office and he said, 'I'm a proud guy, and I wouldn't do anything to embarrass myself,'" White said.
In the time since Toney signed, several fighters, including multi-time UFC champ
Randy Couture, have offered to face Toney in his debut.
Read More: dana white, news, James Toney (MMA), Randy Couture (MMA)
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