Sizing up UFC 94…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
(B.J. Penn, left, and Georges St. Pierre in their first fight in March 2006. photo courtesy of MMAweekly.com)
UFC is going to make me bankrupt. And because of that, I have to pick and choose when I want to fork over the dough.
Sorry, going to have to pass on Saturday’s very intriguing UFC 94, featuring the rematch between welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and lightweight champion B.J. Penn.
I’ll be following sherdog.com all night, most likely. It’s tough to keep spending the money that you don’t really have anyway.
There are a bevy of events coming up with the UFC. I get the logic of doing it when the gettin’s good, but it’s tough in this economy.
Enough whining, how about the mega showdown.
I’ve enjoyed the UFC Primetime shows leading up to this one. It’s almost like St. Pierre is the epitome of the perfect fighter.
He’s getting all the great training from great sparring partners. In essence, if you had to create a fighter in a factory as a prototype, it might look like St. Pierre.
On the other hand, there’s Penn. I’ve heard words like gutter and ghetto to describe Penn. I won’t go that far, but he’s a different breed as well. I mean, running with rocks underwater? Where do you come up with that stuff?
St. Pierre beat Penn in the first meeting all the way back at UFC 58: USA vs. Canada. That was nearly three years ago in a split decision.
Penn’s gotten older. St. Pierre’s gotten more experienced. Sounds like an easy one, right? Not so sure.
Penn comes across as a punk, but there is a certain charisma with The Prodigy. He’s won his last three fights, and he’s only two years older than St. Pierre. It’s just Penn started fighting in the UFC in 2001, back at UFC 31.
Sherdog polled 30 professional fighters and 15 picked St. Pierre while 14 picked Penn and one did not offer an opinion.
Can’t get much closer than that, huh?
I like the progression St. Pierre has made as a fighter. He’s become one of the most consistent fighters and has made his name.
Their last fight only went three rounds, so should be a fun one Saturday.
Official prediction: St. Pierre UD over Penn. Need to get back on the plus side after failing miserably with Sugar Shane Mosley last week.
Other fights worth checking out: Lyoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva (both are 13-0); Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones (JJ’s nickname is “Bones” c’mon, I’m the Boneman); Nate Diaz vs. Clay Guida and Jon Fitch vs. Akihiro Gono (Fitch had a memorable bout with St. Pierre last year).
On a sad note, Grandmaster Helio Gracie passed away this week. You can debate all you want about how much the Gracie family really means to the birth of MMA/UFC, but you can’t deny Helio’s more than 80 years of work and dedication to the sport.
There is a petition for the UFC to have a tribute to Helio this weekend. Here’s the address to send your support: press@UFC.com.
And in boxing, all the rumblings are toward a Mosley-Floyd Mayweather fight. The only one not rumbling is Mayweather.
If this gets made, I’ve gots loads of stories to tell on both guys. This dates back to 1998 and 1999 stuff. Will Mayweather come out of hiding?
This type of mini-tournament (Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton and Mosley-Mayweather) can make boxing relevant nationally for 2009 without the name Oscar de La Hoya.
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