Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC 118
8/30/2010 12:15 PM ET By Ben Fowlkes

The UFC's grand James Toney experiment is over, according to Dana White. Whether it was a success or not depends on the hypothesis you started with, but unless you happen to be Toney or one of his hype men, chances are you saw this coming.

But while this fight was undoubtedly a sideshow attraction from the very beginning, it did have some benefits. For one, it got some attention from the types of fans and media who might not otherwise have cared about this card. It seems a little doubtful that they all became instant converts upon seeing Gray Maynard lay on top of Kenny Florian, but who knows.

The important thing is that the opportunity to have a famous boxer compete on MMA's biggest stage finally presented itself, then refused to stop presenting itself, then mumbled some absurd, semi-coherent threats at everyone within earshot, and then the UFC finally made it happen. Now that we've done it, let's not do it again until we find someone willing to put in the work and take it seriously.

Now on to the big winners, losers, and everything in between from UFC 118.

Biggest Winner: Frankie Edgar
Remember how ridiculous it was to think that a judge had scored every round for Edgar in his first fight with Penn? This time around, it would have been equally ridiculous to suggest that he didn't win all five rounds. Edgar took Penn down when he wanted, worked with impunity out of his once fearsome guard, and smashed him in the face at will. That's how you do it when you want to leave no doubt as to who the champ is.

Biggest Loser: James Toney
Not that we expected him to look like a seasoned MMA vet, but damn. He got taken down with a move that Couture admitted he wouldn't even bother to attempt on someone who knew what they were doing, and once on his back he resembled one of those hapless kung fu instructors in the old 'Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Action' videos. He simply had no clue what he was doing, and it showed. What I can't help but wonder is, did he realize he had almost zero chance in this fight, but felt the money was worth the beating and the embarrassment? Or is Toney so out of touch with reality that he really believed he'd knock Couture's head off his shoulders? It kills me to think we may never know the answer to that question.

Most Likely to Be Arrested for Assault: Joe Lauzon
I realize it was a professional athletic competition and all, but the beating Lauzon put on Gabe Ruediger seemed like something an especially sadistic older brother would do if you ratted on him for hiding Playboys under his mattress. Ruediger wasn't competitive in this fight for a second. He and Lauzon weren't exactly buddies before this, and you have to factor in Lauzon's added adrenaline from fighting in his home state, but still. That was the kind of throttling most of us reserve only for our true enemies.

Most Predictably Unpopular Performance: Gray Maynard
Maynard has to be licking his chops at the thought of a rematch with Edgar for the title, but Dana White probably has to squeeze a stress ball whenever he thinks of the very real possibility of such a boring fighter becoming the lightweight champ. Much like Jon Fitch, you can't say Maynard isn't very good at what he does. It's just that so few people want to see him do what he does. At this point he might as well embrace it and invite the hatred of the fans. Unless he completely changes his style – and why would he, when it's been so effective – he's not going to become a crowd favorite any time soon.

Most Predictably Popular Performance: Randy Couture
The paycheck Couture earned for beating up a hapless Toney was such easy money, it must have felt at least a little bit like stealing. Couture did what every MMA fan knew/hoped he would, and they could not have loved him more for it. Okay, so maybe it wasn't his toughest fight. Maybe it wasn't even as difficult as his easiest round of sparring during training camp. But he did what he needed to do and he represented his sport well. I'm still not sure how submitting a novice earns you a black belt, but why don't we just consider it a sort of lifetime achievement award and move on.

Most Disappointing Effort: B.J. Penn
Here's a question for you: when's the last time you saw Penn come from behind to win a fight? Go ahead and think about it. I'll wait. Penn's wealth of talent helped make him one of the greatest lightweights in the history of the sport, but he's never been much for clawing his way back into a fight that started off poorly for him. More often than not, if he's not the better fighter right away, he lacks the ability to find a way to win down the stretch. The Penn we saw on Saturday night, much like the Penn we saw at UFC 112, looked lethargic, slow, and easily discouraged. If reclaiming his title and avenging a loss couldn't get him fired up enough to show some desperation late in the fight, what will?

Most Likely to Assume the Role of Gatekeeper: Kenny Florian
Dana White's assessment of Florian as a fighter who chokes under pressure seems a tad unfair. In the UFC, and for a fighter of Florian's stature and station, they're all high-pressure fights. He's won plenty of them in the past, but Maynard simply overpowered and out-wrestled him. When Florian went to try and turn on the jets in the final round, he was forced to look for the home run, which has never been his forte. Florian's still better than 99% of the lightweights out there. But he may not be good enough to beat that last 1%, and that's a tough place to be.

Smartest Use of a Few Extra Pounds: Nate Diaz
Though Diaz says he still wants to fight at lightweight due to some imagined grudge match with Gray Maynard, more and more it's looking like jumping to welterweight is the best thing he ever did. He doesn't have to, as "Mayhem" Miller might say, 'emanciate' himself to make weight, and as a result he's 2-0 so far at 170. If he's going to advance up the welterweight ladder he'll probably need to get a little more enthusiastic about putting his ground game to work, but at least so far this is one instance where changing weight classes actually did revitalize a man's career, rather than just feed his flagging ego with false hope like it usually does.