Call me crazy, but I sort of miss the earlier days of MMA when all we had were one or two fights to really look forward to. In today’s world, we get bombarded with so many dream fights, it literally becomes mentally exhausting. There is just so much to think about. We have win/loss percentages, grappling improvements, striking improvements, training partners, and coaching staff to consider. These are truly tougher times. However, we now have one fight that stands above the rest so much so, that it brings about a sense of nostalgia in more ways than one.
The next two UFC events will feature Forest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans for the Light Heavyweight belt, Nogueira will take on Mir for the interim Heavyweight belt, and two wrecking machines with aliases such as “The Axe Murderer” and “Rampage” will put it all on the line in UFC 92. UFC 93 is already making some fans salivate with possible match ups between Rich Franklin taking on Dan Henderson, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua pitted against Mark Coleman, Jeremy Horn fighting Rouismar Palhares, and the long awaited UFC debut of Dennis Kang.
With all that on our plates, why then is it that fans worldwide are looking past all these great scheduled fights as if these were the under cards? One look through the internet and you will see that as far as MMA is concerned, there is one fight that seems to be the most anticipated match up since Royce Gracie vs. Dan Severn. This fight has caused so many rifts that since the announcement by UFC President Dana White; the divorce rate has gone up! Go ahead and look it up. If it still hasn’t dawn on you that I am referring to Lightweight Champion, BJ Penn, moving up a weight class to challenge Welterweight Champion George St. Pierre for his belt, then it is time for you my friend, to crawl out from that rock you’ve been hiding under. Oh and did I mention that this will be a rematch?
Who will win?
From everything I read and everyone I spoke to, that is a question that is probably better not asked if you do not want to get caught in the crossfire. But I love controversy so what the heck.
I am an island boy through and through so naturally I’m rooting for BJ Penn but for the sake of this article, I will try my best to be neutral and remain objective.
B.J. Penn is pound for pound one of the best in the world. With his new dedication to the sport, this man has the ability to dominate both weight classes. He has respectfully fought at 205, is a legend at age 29, and has beaten some of the best including Matt Hughes, Takanori Gomi, Renzo Gracie, and Sean Sherk. His strengths are his excellent boxing skills and a legendary ground game. He has great flexibility, which allows him to do amazing things from his back. One of his strongest weapons is his timing. His only weakness that everyone loves to point out is his cardio. However, the latest reports indicate that he is no longer relying on pure talent alone and is working hard on his conditioning. I wonder if he has improved on his wrestling and takedown defense as it is the only other missing link I can see.
GSP is one of the most athletically gifted people on the planet. In dismantling Hughes and Fitch in his last few fights, he’s proved he also is one of the pound for pound best. GSP is a master fight technician who finds his opponents’ weaknesses and tailors a fight plan to exploit that weakness. He is a well rounded fighter mainly because he does not train in a true MMA camp per se. Instead he trains at different gyms with professionals of singular arts such as wrestling, boxing, kickboxing, and BJJ. This type of focus oriented training specifically isolates a perceived flaw and works to make improvements. With wins over Josh Koshcheck, Sean Sherk, Karo Parysian, Matt Hughes, Frank Trigg, and of course BJ Penn, he is highly unpredictable and one of a few strikers that likes to shoot. He loves to put grapplers on their backs with his explosiveness. It is very difficult for opponents to find a weakness to exploit however, BJ did dominate him standing up.
How will they win?
The first time these two gladiators met, GSP won a highly controversial decision, but the fact remains that Penn inflicted more damage to GSP. In fact, a bloodied GSP had to be admitted into a hospital immediately after the fight. On the other hand, the loser left without so much as a scratch. Many have argued that if it wasn’t for GSP’s superior and repetitive takedowns of the Hawaii native, the fight would have been in BJ’s favor. In fact GSP never delivered any significant damage once he took Penn down. Without a doubt, Penn dominated the stand up battle however; the judge seemed to have placed a higher value for the takedowns.
What GSP needs to do in order to win is to first understand why he lost the stand up aspect to BJ. And the reason for that is because of BJ’s impeccable timing. BJ timed his jabs to catch GSP in mid-combo. GSP always seemed too focused on putting together his attacks that he never saw a counter attack coming. GSP should fake an attack, wait for BJ to throw his jab and then immediately counter with his speed. Another thing that GSP needs to do, should BJ not find an answer to his takedowns, is to gain a dominant position on the ground and utilize a ground and pound attack. The judges may not be so kind this time around and award GSP a win by putting BJ on his back without capitalizing.
What BJ Penn needs to do in order to secure a victory is to first work on his sprawl. GSP took him down at will and even as a black belt; he could not catch GSP with a submission. He should continue to pick apart GSP with his jabs but this time follow up with a power shot. The jury is still out on whether or not BJ’s conditioning is improved however if it has, he should not only look for timed counter punches, but to also keep the pressure on and strike from inside the pocket.
Prediction: BJ Penn, Split Decision. Dana White, Headache. (But that is for another article.)
I think GSP’s got this, hands down. It’ll be fun to watch!
@Nicolas – Seems alot of people are cheering for GSP and thats fine for me, but I just cant see BJ losing this one. It will definitely be fun to watch.
The BJ now is not the same BJ that fought GSP the first time. He is ever evolving and has learned from his past mistakes. I think he will avenge his loss.
BJ needed to lose the first fight to realize that his talent could take him only so far. Well, his eyes are opened and the latested Penn is by far the most talented and versed fighter to step into the cage.
Lets GO BJ PENN!!! Its almost time!@!!!
the One difference between BJ and GSP is BJ is a fighter and GSP is an athlete. BJ is gonna make this a street fight and TKO GSP in the 3rd.
Both fighter’s, as we all know, are very talented and athletic. It will be a lucky punch from GSP if he wins. That is the only way Penn will lose. Penn is tougher in every way, he won’t let himself lose.
BJ said he’s out to KILL. I believe it. He’s gotta take this one!! WAR BJ!!!!
People keep commenting that BJ is a different fighter now. Well, what about GSP? The guy has improved every aspect of his game and just keeps getting better. GSP has made the best fighters in the 170lb class look very average. GSP is bigger, stronger, and faster than Penn. GSP is by far the better wrestler and is a better striker. I give Penn the edge in pure boxing, but gsp is a better overall striker when using kicks, knees, elbows, and punches in combinations. BJ is an excellent fighter, but GSP is on another level and we will see it this time for sure.
BJ has taken time off, talk is cheap. I agree that BJ is an outstanding and won the stand up in the first fight but I must say he will not be able to keep up with GSP. Yes BJ did destroy Sean Sherk but GSP is not Sherk, he has all deminsion of the game covered. If you watch how they train, who’s doing what you will see who wants it more. Yes Bj has said he is out to kill, however if you look around he has been taking time off, not training to fight the fight GSP. We all know that this is the fight of both BJ and GSP lives, so in my own opinion he is not as serious as he says he is. Either way no matter how it goes down its going to be knockout, the advantage goes to GSP, he is focused and sharp on his game.
BJ is a spoiled little brat.. i’ll admit he has loads of talent but he is a quiter and GSP is not. GSP has way more heart than BJ and in such an even match up i think that will be the difference
Sinman, I dont know how you can watch a video of BJ training and think he’s taking time off. That got to be the worst way to predict a fight. BJ never prepared hard in the past. The last three fights he dominated he’s proven his trained. Those highlights you see and all this “Im taking a break” stuff you hear is all for the media. BJ is named the PRODIGY for a reason. He’ll be ready for whatever GSP brings. Including those takedowns that cost him the title the last time they met.
WAR BJ!!
G Man – How is BJ a quitter? When did he quit? He’s lost once by TKO against Hughes.. Once. Everything else was by decision. He’s never quit in a fight.
He’s fought 145, 155, 170, and 205. BJ will fight any man. I haven’t seen GSP go up and down weight classes like BJ. I’d really like to see these so called P4P champs move up and down weight classes the way Penn can.
G Man is absolutely right, PENN IS A QUITTER. In his fight against Hughes, he quit. He got tired and he quit. Just like in his training, he gets tired and he quits. He quits because he is a spoiled little brat that crumbles as soon as things don’t go his way cause I’m sure as a spoiled brat child everything did go his way. He is the most arrogant fighter I’ve ever seen. I really liked Penn until his coaching on the ultimate fighter against Pulver. His arrogance bothered me and then when he completely destroyed Pulver in the fight ending it with a choke that he held for a full three freakin seconds after the official (I believe Yamasaki) tried to pull him off, I realized how not only was he an arrogant spoiled little prick, he was also a piece of sht human being. I hope GSP destroys Penn for four rounds only because I want Penn to be injured both physically and emotionally, I’m not even that big a fan of GSP cause I always root for the underdog but in this fight I’m 100% behind him cause Penn needs to be shut the fck up!
Guys Its MMA Anyhting can happen. So what if George is bigger, stronger, And has better conditioning. And by the waay BJ ever quit against matt The refferee stopped it. George turned to the side and tapped like a bitch when Matt serra rocked his ass. That just tells you who’s got the beter chin and more heart. BJ has a bette chin and better Heart!!!
Don’t know which fight you looked at but I saw the first fight live with a good seat & BJ was completely dominated at will in the first fight.
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Lionel, GSP was battered so badly he was admitted to the hospital. BJ didn’t have a mark on him. GSP won by laying and praying, he took BJ down at will but did nothing with it
Trench… Penn is not a muscular guy, he can pick and drop weight classes like nothing.. But his fights at 175-205 have been gasers when he loses. GSP on the other hand walks around at 210 this guy is huge, him dropping a weightclass would ultimately tire him out badly, and make him a BJ xD…. I understand and know that BJ is a good fighter.. Used to be one of my favorites until I found his personality… GSP is still my favorite fighter… despite his bad english he has a good heart and is a nice guy.
Justin – Did you see his most recent training for cardio? I absolutely believe he’s conditioned for this fight. He called GSP out. Now its time to lay it down.