UFC 94: Georges St. Pierre vs. BJ Penn II (Jan 31/09)
Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2009 3:55 am
Well guys, it's almost here.
For me, the biggest fight of the year, and I think there are many others who feel this way as well. Even though it's a rematch, with the way the first fight went (somewhat controversial split decision), and where both guys are in their careers now (champions of their respective divisions), it is still a fight to get very excited about.
And it headlines a pretty good card overall, too.
MAIN CARD
* Welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre vs. lightweight champ B.J. Penn (for welterweight title)
* Lyoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva
* Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones
* Karo Parisyan vs. Dong Hyun Kim
* Nate Diaz vs. Clay Guida
PRELIMINARY CARD
* Jon Fitch vs. Akihiro Gono
* Manny Gamburyan vs. Thiago Tavares
* John Howard vs. Chris Wilson
* Jake O'Brien vs. Christian Wellisch
* Matt Arroyo vs. Dan Cramer
GSP vs. Penn is hopefully going to be a war that could establish the #1 P4P fighter in the world. The winner of this fight would get a major claim to that title, especially if they can do it in decisive fashion. I go back and forth on who I think will win this fight. I believe BJ is the more talented fighter (which says a lot, because there aren't many guys more talented than St. Pierre), but GSP will have a considerable size advantage, and he will definitely have better conditioning even if BJ comes in the best shape of his life. Which brings me to the issue with this fight that is almost becoming cliche at this point: what kind of shape will BJ Penn show up in? If he shows up ready to go a full five rounds at full intensity, you've gotta like his chances. If not, GSP may be able to weather the storm and finish him in the later rounds, or even just control rounds 3, 4, and 5 enough to score a decision. All I really know about this fight is that I can't wait.
Machida vs. T. Silva is a big fight that is getting overshadowed by the main event. Both guys are undefeated at 13-0, and both guys are in the top 10 at LHW, with Machida being ranked near the top for fighting much stronger competition. The style matchup is what makes this fight very interesting. Machida is known as a defensive and strategic wizard, while Silva loves to come forward and push the pace with his aggressive striking. He's been running through a lot of the people he's fought, but there aren't exactly any Rich Franklins, BJ Penns, or even Tito Ortizes on his resume as there are on Machida's. I think Machida will pull it off, but it's the biggest test in his UFC career as far as I'm concerned.
Bonnar vs. Jon Jones seems a bit out of place, especially with a guy like Jon Fitch on the preliminary card, but Jones is a dangerous up and comer, and Bonnar is a solid talent with name value making his return. I think Bonnar gets overlooked a lot, but he's only ever lost to Forrest, Evans, and Machida, and was only finished by the Machida. He's also got a win over Jardine. Now maybe those other guys have improved more than he has, so he's probably not quite on that level, but it will be interesting to see where he's at. Too bad about the horse steroids though, lol.
Karo vs. Kim is a fight I'm really interested in, although I could see some people not caring so much. A win over a guy like Karo would do a lot for KDH's career, and I think he can do it. Both guys have strong judo backgrounds, and I feel like Kim has better skills elsewhere, but he had some trouble with Matt Brown, who is not on Karo's level, so we'll see. I'm not sure what to expect from this fight in terms of entertainment value, but I actually like watching Karo fight, even if he goes to decision a lot, so I'm looking forward to this one.
Guida vs. Diaz is a great fight, IMO. Guida is kind of serving as the gatekeeper in this one, as he did in his last fight against Danzig. He's already stopped one TUF winner from climbing up the ladder, but I think Diaz could give him problems on the ground, where Guida usually wants to take it. It will be a question of whether or not Diaz can catch him in a sub, because if not, it will probably be a unanimous decision for Guida. I'm interested to see what happens.
On the prelims, Fitch vs. Gono is appealing, because hey, Jon Fitch is top 3 in one of the toughest weight classes in the world, and Gono is still somewhat credible. I compare this to the Barnett vs. Yvel fight, except one was basically a co-main event, and the other is lost on the prelims. I'm also interested in Gamburyan vs. Tavares. I like both guys (Tavares more), but both guys could really use a win. I don't much care about the rest, but we probably won't see them unless they are really good anyway. 7 solid fights on a card that features GSP vs. Penn is not half bad.
For me, the biggest fight of the year, and I think there are many others who feel this way as well. Even though it's a rematch, with the way the first fight went (somewhat controversial split decision), and where both guys are in their careers now (champions of their respective divisions), it is still a fight to get very excited about.
And it headlines a pretty good card overall, too.
MAIN CARD
* Welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre vs. lightweight champ B.J. Penn (for welterweight title)
* Lyoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva
* Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones
* Karo Parisyan vs. Dong Hyun Kim
* Nate Diaz vs. Clay Guida
PRELIMINARY CARD
* Jon Fitch vs. Akihiro Gono
* Manny Gamburyan vs. Thiago Tavares
* John Howard vs. Chris Wilson
* Jake O'Brien vs. Christian Wellisch
* Matt Arroyo vs. Dan Cramer
GSP vs. Penn is hopefully going to be a war that could establish the #1 P4P fighter in the world. The winner of this fight would get a major claim to that title, especially if they can do it in decisive fashion. I go back and forth on who I think will win this fight. I believe BJ is the more talented fighter (which says a lot, because there aren't many guys more talented than St. Pierre), but GSP will have a considerable size advantage, and he will definitely have better conditioning even if BJ comes in the best shape of his life. Which brings me to the issue with this fight that is almost becoming cliche at this point: what kind of shape will BJ Penn show up in? If he shows up ready to go a full five rounds at full intensity, you've gotta like his chances. If not, GSP may be able to weather the storm and finish him in the later rounds, or even just control rounds 3, 4, and 5 enough to score a decision. All I really know about this fight is that I can't wait.
Machida vs. T. Silva is a big fight that is getting overshadowed by the main event. Both guys are undefeated at 13-0, and both guys are in the top 10 at LHW, with Machida being ranked near the top for fighting much stronger competition. The style matchup is what makes this fight very interesting. Machida is known as a defensive and strategic wizard, while Silva loves to come forward and push the pace with his aggressive striking. He's been running through a lot of the people he's fought, but there aren't exactly any Rich Franklins, BJ Penns, or even Tito Ortizes on his resume as there are on Machida's. I think Machida will pull it off, but it's the biggest test in his UFC career as far as I'm concerned.
Bonnar vs. Jon Jones seems a bit out of place, especially with a guy like Jon Fitch on the preliminary card, but Jones is a dangerous up and comer, and Bonnar is a solid talent with name value making his return. I think Bonnar gets overlooked a lot, but he's only ever lost to Forrest, Evans, and Machida, and was only finished by the Machida. He's also got a win over Jardine. Now maybe those other guys have improved more than he has, so he's probably not quite on that level, but it will be interesting to see where he's at. Too bad about the horse steroids though, lol.
Karo vs. Kim is a fight I'm really interested in, although I could see some people not caring so much. A win over a guy like Karo would do a lot for KDH's career, and I think he can do it. Both guys have strong judo backgrounds, and I feel like Kim has better skills elsewhere, but he had some trouble with Matt Brown, who is not on Karo's level, so we'll see. I'm not sure what to expect from this fight in terms of entertainment value, but I actually like watching Karo fight, even if he goes to decision a lot, so I'm looking forward to this one.
Guida vs. Diaz is a great fight, IMO. Guida is kind of serving as the gatekeeper in this one, as he did in his last fight against Danzig. He's already stopped one TUF winner from climbing up the ladder, but I think Diaz could give him problems on the ground, where Guida usually wants to take it. It will be a question of whether or not Diaz can catch him in a sub, because if not, it will probably be a unanimous decision for Guida. I'm interested to see what happens.
On the prelims, Fitch vs. Gono is appealing, because hey, Jon Fitch is top 3 in one of the toughest weight classes in the world, and Gono is still somewhat credible. I compare this to the Barnett vs. Yvel fight, except one was basically a co-main event, and the other is lost on the prelims. I'm also interested in Gamburyan vs. Tavares. I like both guys (Tavares more), but both guys could really use a win. I don't much care about the rest, but we probably won't see them unless they are really good anyway. 7 solid fights on a card that features GSP vs. Penn is not half bad.