It might be time for Dana White to make Shaquille O'Neal the UFC's assistant director of fun. Of course, the department's head position will be manned by Chuck Liddell. With the amount of publicity Shaq brought the UFC before and after UFC 118, he's got to get something, right? O'Neal was all over the fan expo on Friday and gave the non-MMA media a savory story by saying he wanted to fight fellow giant Hong Man Choi.

That would be a helluva "Shaq Vs." Or he could just go with three guys who are more Nate Robinson's range.

"Check it out – next year for the last episode of 'Shaq Vs.,' I'll grapple with
Joe Rogan first round, Lorenzo (Fertitta) second round and then Dana White in
round three – in the cage, in the octagon, in Las Vegas," O'Neal
said.

White wants Shaq to concentrate on fighting and beating guys named Kobe, Lamar and Pau.

"

The only thing he needs to worry
about is beating L.A." White said with a laugh.

For the hardcores in attendance at the expo, Shaq spoke and stayed around for plenty of photos.

He was also at the TD Garden during the event. White posted this great photo of himself and Glen "Big Baby" Davis. Big Baby's t-shirt is dynamite. He's clearly jacked up about the news that Octagon girl Arianny Celeste is going to grace the cover of November's Playboy. 

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Who doesn't have mixed feelings about James Toney and UFC 118? Sure he brought a lot of new media and attention to the event but one has to question whether the sport really benefitted from what Toney did in the Octagon. He received a rumored $750,000 up front for his efforts. No one expected the aging boxer to put up a great fight but could he at least pretend like he was going try? For me, all hope for the fight being even halfway decent, was finished as the scale read 237 pounds on Friday. Toney either had no shame or just said "screw it, I'm making my money. So why train?"

He was ridiculed all over the country by folks who rarely buy UFC pay-per-views or attend the numerous viewing parties. Toney was fodder for casual fans like Luke O'Brien, who posted his recap of UFC 118 on Deadspin. 

If, over the last nine months, the boxer had trained to defend even one more
takedown than the number of cheeseburgers he seemingly stuffed in his gob, he
might have made the night more interesting. As it was, he didn't get to throw a
single punch before Randy Couture grabbed his ankle and, in slow-motion, dragged
him to the mat. Hitting a "low single" is one of the more insulting occurrences
in grappling, the rough equivalent of winning a chess game in four moves.

He's right. When was the last time a mixed martial artist even thought about a low single? The result would be getting your head kicked off into the mezzanine. 

Couture soon had the manatee in an arm triangle. Fat Toney looked so lost on the
ground that he didn't even know how to tap out properly.

Apparently even referee Mario Yamasaki sort of mocked Toney. When Toney was sitting and pinned against the cage, Couture tried to tell the ref that his opponent verbally tapped. Yamasaki responded by telling Toney that he may want to just tap. 

After the fight, James Toney offered a few smart words
on courage: "Anybody else in boxing ... wouldn't have done what I done because
they ain't got the heart or the balls that I do. You know what I'm saying? My
balls. ... I got big walnuts. Not little nuts."

Toney is correct, he does have guts but he should've also pointed out that no one else in boxing would've gone into the Octagon in horrific shape and dragged along boxing's reputation to take a beating. There was a lot more at stake here than just a single fight. Toney's lack of desire to take his training and conditioning seriously now makes him a footnote forever in the MMA versus boxing discussion. 

Deadspin also reports that Boston backed up its reputation as one of the roughest towns for fans. With the testorone and beer flowing there was plenty of tomfoolery in the stands at the TD Garden.  

In non-flack-approved action, a terrifying donnybrook among fat men erupted in
the upper deck before the event started. Bodies went flying. The wife of a pro
fighter sitting near me gasped in horror. One fat man almost plummeted from the
loge to great injury or death. At least two other crowd scuffles broke out
later. Each time, the pros behind me gawked like regular fans. Despite having an
armada of cops on hand, the Garden security staff seemed ill-equipped to handle
the raw New England aggression incited by MMA. In fact, one sleeping security
guard allowed an irate fan to storm up to the octagon and berate Marcus Davis
for shaming his Irish brethren

This is a good read. Go check it out over at Deadspin. 

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Liddell shaved his head for a good cause. BIC, the makers of razors, is sponsoring BIC 4 GOOD and encouraging people to shave their head for charity. You can virtually shave your head or send in a video of you actually getting your head shaved here. Either way, BIC will make a donation to Do Something, a charity that encourages volunteerism among youth.

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Check out exclusive UFC 118 pictures from MMA photographer Tracy Lee. Don't miss the photos of Frankie Edgar celebrating, Marcus Davis' eye and Randy Couture's choke of James Toney.

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Taking a look at the best and worst of the UFC's first foray into Boston.

No. 1 star -- Frankie Edgar: Few champions have ever had to win two fights to be considered a champion, but that's exactly what Edgar had to do. After beating former lightweight champ B.J. Penn at UFC 112, Edgar was given the task of doing it again at 118. Not only did he respond to the challenge without complaint, he fought better than he did at 112, decisively beating Penn in all five rounds of their bout. 

No. 2 star -- Randy Couture: Since his bout with James Toney was billed as boxing vs. MMA, Couture had the job of defending MMA's honor. "Captain America" handled the job deftly, taking down Toney and beating on him before submitting him. 

No. 3 star -- Nate Diaz: In his second fight at welterweight, Diaz survived a Marcus Davis barrage early in the fight, added a deformity to Davis' head, and then guillotine choked Davis until he passed out. Though Diaz said he wants to return to lightweight, welterweight seems like a natural home for him.

Dishonorable mention -- Kenny Florian: Fighting in front of hometown fans, Florian was incapable of getting an offense going against Gray Maynard. A win here would have given Florian a shot at the lightweight belt. He even had Dana White saying that he choked in the big fights. 

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MMA fan and new Boston Celtic Shaquille O'Neal was one of the many stars in attendance at UFC 118 in Boston on Saturday night. He was joined by Glen "Big Baby" Davis, who wore a shirt with a picture of Octagon Girl Arianny Celeste on it.

New England Patriots Tom Brady and Wes Welker were also in the building, but it was O'Neal who showed off his MMA moves for the camera. He is no stranger to MMA, having trained for years. O'Neal even made an appearance at the UFC Fan Expo on Saturday, and has even asked UFC president Dana White for a chance to fight in the Octagon. 

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Frankie "The Answer" Edgar left no questions at UFC 118 in Boston on Saturday night. He defended his lightweight championship belt vs. B.J. Penn, winning a unanimous decision 50-45 on all three judges' cards.

Edgar took Penn down immediately in the opening round. Penn would not let Edgar pass his guard and finally rolled out after a minute. Not long after, they were back to the canvas, with Edgar scoring another takedown. When they got back to their feet, Penn had a hard time connecting his strikes, while Edgar finished the round off with a big kick-punch combo.

In the second, Edgar again did what few other fighters have been able to do: take Penn down. Edgar didn't hold Penn down for long, but when they returned to their feet, Edgar was the aggressor. He continued to move well and frustrate Penn. 

Early in the fight, the crowd at the TD Garden chanted Penn's name, but by the third round they were yelling, "Frankie! Frankie!" He earned their love as he stayed fresh and fast, winning virtually every exchange with Penn.

Penn finally seemed to come alive in the fourth round, taking Edgar down to start the round. He didn't hold Edgar down for long, though, and Edgar returned the favor with a takedown of his own, sweeping Penn's leg out from underneath him. Edgar postured up and landed big shots, both with Penn on his back and when they stood back up. 

In the final round, Penn again started out with a takedown but lost the advantage when Edgar reversed it. Edgar did not let up, landing elbow after elbow on Penn's face.

This fight was a rematch of the duo's UFC 112 title bout in Abu Dhabi. In that bout, Edgar won a razor-close decision. This time, he left no doubt who was the better fighter. Edgar melded tight striking, frustrating movement and excellent wrestling, giving him the exact formula to beat Penn.

"I feel like I can walk on water," Edgar said. "I knew he was going to come in tough. I wanted to make that point."

Gray Maynard won his bout with Kenny Florian earlier in the evening, earning him a shot at Edgar's belt. The interesting wrinkle is that Maynard is the one fighter who has beaten Edgar. Maynard took a unanimous decision from Edgar in May of 2008, and he has a similar style to Penn.

After trash-talking before the fight, Penn was gracious in defeat.

"Frankie fought a great fight," Penn said. "He fought me twice. He walked away with the decision twice."

Despite this loss, Penn's legacy isn't in trouble. He still is one of the most dominant lightweights ever to fight in the UFC. Edgar just figured out the best way to beat him.

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It was even worse than we thought. James Toney called out mixed martial arts and begged for a fight, but what he showed in the Octagon could barely be called a fight. The out-of-shape boxing legend came out with his left hand at his side and was very stationary. He was a sitting duck for UFC veteran and Olympic-level wrestler Randy Couture, who scored a takedown just 11 seconds into the fight. Toney was helpless on the mat, where Couture moved to a dominant mount position and eventually slapped on an arm-triangle choke to finish the fight in just over three minutes.

"I think, in reality, if he's only been training nine months, it's a real short order to pick up everything," said Couture (19-10). "I give real credit to James. He took the risk. All us MMA guys love boxing. Hopefully there's a whole bunch of boxers who will love MMA."

By the reaction of the fans at the TD Garden in Boston, MMA diehards don't like boxers. As Couture was mauling Toney on the canvas, a chant of "UFC, UFC" filled the arena. 

It was a pretty embarrassing display by Toney. It was almost as if he didn't drill at all  on what to do if he was taken down. Frankly, the weigh-in was a sign of things to come when Toney weigh-in a career-high 237 pounds. He was nearly 20 pounds lighter for his last boxing match in Sept. of 2009.

Couture did whatever he wanted from the top and it was clear Toney hadn't learned any technique to try and extricate himself from the position. According to Compustrike, Couture landed 38 strikes to just six for Toney.

Couture, speaking during the postfight interview with UFC color analyst Joe Rogan, said he saw this coming. "No surprises. This is exactly what we trained to do. I worked on that arm triangle for over a year."

That's when Couture's grappling coach, Neil Melanson, walked over to his fighter and gave him a black belt suggesting that he'd just earned it.

Toney was gracious in defeat and surprisingly said that he wasn't done with MMA.

"He just caught me. He caught me sleeping. I'll be back. I ain't gonna quit," said Toney, as he was booed by the Boston faithful. "My ground game's alright. He fought a great fight. Randy Couture’s a great fighter."

Toney was a great boxer, piling up 72 wins against just six losses, but he's far from his prime. It's next to impossible for a boxer to cross over to MMA without at least a few years of training in all elements of the sport. And that probably only applies for a guy still in his boxing prime.

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In a battle of two jiu-jitsu geniuses, Demian Maia won by unanimous decision, earning a score of 30-27 on all three judges' cards. 

Maia came close to submitting Miranda early, taking him down and applying a choke, but Miranda shook him off his back. The two finished the round off from their feet, but quickly returned to the canvas in the second round. Maia took Miranda down easily early in the round, and showed off why he is one of the sport's best grapplers. Controlling Miranda the entire time, Maia applied both an arm triangle and an arm bar on Miranda, but Miranda was able to defend both.

Miranda's coaches -- including UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva -- begged Miranda to "let it go" in the final round, but it didn't happen. Miranda was tentative, and Maia took Miranda down and came close to an arm bar near the end of the round. Miranda spinned out of the attempt, but it was too little, too late.

With such great BJJ players fighting, a submission was expected. However, their grappling canceled out, and the fighter who had better control won. This was Maia's first fight back since losing in a title bout to Miranda's coach, Silva. 

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Kenny Florian lost his first UFC title shot against Sean Sherk. On Saturday night, in his homestate of Massachusetts, he was fighting for another title shot, but his fight vs. Gray Maynard looked a lot like the Sherk fight.

Maynard worked his boxing early in each round and then, when he chose to take the fight to the ground, it went to the ground. Florian couldn't get off his back and when it was standing, he did very little offensively. Maynard impressed the judges and was able to pull the mild upset via unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 on all three cards. The winner of the fight was promised a title shot. Now Maynard can sit back and watch the main event, where UFC lightweight champ Frank Edgar defends the strap against B.J. Penn.

"I wanted to try and make him chase me -- he doesn't chase a lot -- then throw two shots at a time and eventually try for the takedown," said Maynard (11-0, 8-0 UFC).

Maynard played that game for the first four minutes of the fight and then scored his first takedown. It was a sign of things to come. Not only did Florian (14-5, 11-4 UFC) struggle to get back to his feet, but he posed no danger from his back. The former Michigan State wrestler did the same thing in the second round and landed a key left hand followed by a right uppercut with 2:30 left in the round. The uppercut opened up a cut over Florian's left eye and affected his vision. Seconds later, Maynard scored another takedown and made a bloody mess of Florian. It was more of the same in the third. In the final 90 seconds, Florian threatened with a pair of omaplata attempts, but Maynard stayed patient and powered out of both.

"I'm feeling good," said Maynard, as he was being booed by the pro-Florian crowd. "I'm really glad to get to the spot where I get a shot at the title."

Florian, a native of Westwood, Mass., and a Boston College grad, has to go back to the drawing board. Maynard moves onto to the title shot, where he could face Edgar. He beat Edgar back in 2008 at Ultimate Fight Night 13 and came away with a win.

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