Georges St. Pierre vs. BJ Penn
The main event of the evening is a superfight of epic proportions, as current welterweight champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre and current Lightweight champion BJ “The Prodigy” Penn will do battle for the second time. Odds are -180 St. Pierre / +150 Penn Currently
The last time these two met, St. Pierre narrowly avoided disaster, capturing a razor-thin split decision after being manhandled in the first round. Has St. Pierre grown enough as a fighter to handle Penn’s potent offense? Can Penn, one of only two men to hold UFC titles in two weight classes, become the first man to hold two titles simultaneously?
Georges St. Pierre is considered by many to be the #1 pound for pound fighter in the world. His combination of effective striking, good submissions, excellent wrestling, and freakish athleticism make him one of the most formidable fighters ever to compete in UFC. St. Pierre overwhelms his opponents with aggression and pure athletic ability, never giving them room to manuever since he is so dangerous in every aspect of the game. The only chink in St. Pierre’s armor may be his mental game. In the past, St. Pierre has looked shaky at times in the biggest fights.
In his first fight with Matt Hughes, he was armbarred out of nowhere in a contest he was dominating up to that point. This suspect mental preparation may be compounded by his first fight with Penn. In that fight, Penn teed off on St. Pierre in brutal fashion in the first round. The second two rounds saw Penn completely gassed out, and St. Pierre won both, but with minimal offense. St. Pierre won the fight, but Penn did far more damage and looked more dangerous, so St. Pierre will have to find a way to make himself confident if he hopes to hold on to his title.
BJ Penn, a jiu jitsu prodigy in the most literal sense, is without a doubt one of the greatest fighters in MMA history. A natural lightweight, Penn has fought in three or four different weight classes, holding his own against world class fighters who outweigh him by more than 30 pounds. With precise, powerful boxing and unmatched grappling skills, Penn’s abilities are almost unmatched in the world. The only question about Penn has always been his seriousness.
In his first fight with St. Pierre, Penn showed up fat, and freely admitted that he did not even have a training camp before the fight. After consecutive losses to St. Pierre and Matt Hughes, though, Penn decided to take his career more seriously, upping his training regimen and even hiring a nutritionist. Since then, Penn has looked unstoppable at 155 pounds, destroying Top 10 fighters Joe Stevenon and Sean Sherk with almost comical ease.
In the end, Penn’s rededication to his trade is going to make all the difference. He completely dominated St. Pierre for the first round of their first encounter before losing his gas. There is no way St. Pierre could have survived another round of such intense punishment, so if BJ can just keep his pace going past the first round or two, he should be able to overwhelm St. Pierre again.
Penn by TKO, round 3
