UFC 118 is less than 24 hours away and fans might as well give up on trying to talk themselves out of purchasing the pay-per-view. 

There are infinite story lines leading up to Saturday night's bout, where one matchup seems to overshadow the next. 

Randy "The Natural" Couture's matchup against James "Lights Out" Toney has stolen the spotlight in what's become known as, "Boxing vs. MMA."  Although, it's hard to imagine the entire sport of MMA being placed on the shoulders of a 47-year-old fighter in Couture, it's easy to see why the UFC would be interested in choosing arguably the best wrestler in UFC history to represent the sport against the biggest boxing name to ever step foot into the Octagon. 

Toney coerced UFC president Dana White into signing the professional boxer to a UFC contract by "stalking" the president at various UFC fights and events, according to White. 

"James Toney picked a fight and he got one," White said.

Toney hasn't had any trouble irritating MMA fans and fighters alike, channeling his inner Chael Sonnen since getting a spot on the UFC roster.  Not to say that Toney wasn't already a professional smack-talker in the boxing world but he's launched verbal warfare from  Heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar, all the way down to the UFC Hall of Fame induction process. 

The MMA community has shown overwhelming support for Couture, while the boxing world has not only not refused to show Toney support but has bashed the boxer for trying to crossover into MMA.  Boxing legend Bernard Hopkins all but guaranteed a Couture win. 

"When you step out into a situation where... the best MMA guy or UFC guy [goes] up against the best boxer in the world in their arena, in their arena gets their ass kicked," Hopkins said.  "That is not what we [boxers] do." 

Toney doesn't take criticism very well and wasn't pleased upon hearing boxers taking shots at him. 

When MMAfighting.com's Ariel Helwani brought up that fellow boxer David Haye said Toney was delusional for wanting to fight MMA, Toney's response was simply, "He's a mamma's boy, he's gay." 

It's no secret what Couture's game-plan will be saturday night--show Toney what a double leg takedown is, followed by ground and pound and maybe submission.  It would be mind-boggling if Couture decided to stand with Toney, but considering that the wrestling ace is one of the best in MMA when it comes to choosing the right strategy, it's doubtful that Couture will be doing too much on the feet other than possibly throwing a few kicks. 

Realistically, the only way Toney can win is if he catches Couture shooting in for a takedown or if, and its a big if, Toney can get into a brief exchange and clip Couture. 

If boxing vs. MMA fight isn't intriguing enough for you, there is the Lightweight title rematch fight between new champ Frankie Edgar and former champion BJ Penn.  The two lightweights squared off last April in what many considered a controversial decision for Edgar.  It was later revealed that Penn had a sinus infection leading up to the fight and although the Hawaiian looked sluggish, it's hard to take away from what was easily Edgar's biggest win of his career. 

Saturday evening will be Edgar's first title defense, and the New Jersey based fighter has big shoes to fill after defeating what many considered one of the best lightweights of all time in Penn.  Although Penn lost a few matches when he experimented jumping up to the welterweight division, he defended the lightweight title an impressive five consecutive times. 

Expect to see a lot more of the same from Edgar, who wisely bounced in and out of Penn's range, landing quick combinations and then getting out of harms way.  Penn was fairly predictable in last April's showdown, stalking Edgar and looking for a knockout shot.  Expect a better game-plan from Penn Saturday evening, and more importantly, an angry Penn who has tasted defeat. 

As dominant as "The Prodigy's" lightweight run has been over the years, Penn flourishes when he can find a reason to get fired up for another fighter.  Not only is Penn fired up for the Edgar rematch but he's a scary fighter when returning from a loss. 

"I feel like I'm going to blow a lot of people away on Saturday night and they're going to be surprised at who BJ Penn is."

There are also a few other fights that are sure to be barn-burners in Nate Diaz vs. Marcus Davis, which will be the first aired fight on the pay-per-view and a Kenny Florian vs Gray Maynard bout that will determine who will be the next lightweight challenger. 

Although many have criticized White and the UFC for putting on a "freak show," by signing James Toney, no one can deny the amount of intrigue and publicity the boxer brings to Saturday night's card. 

UFC 118 will be one for the record books that has enough interesting story lines for all fans, both MMA and boxing.