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[JTS]

Here's an article from the local Hilo newspaper. Sounds like BJ has a renewed focus, and hopefully, he will put on a good showing.

Fired-up Penn seeks title

Popular Hilo fighter to take on Stevenson in Newcastle

by John Burnett
Tribune-Herald Staff Writer
BJ Penn is in England, the once and possibly future Ultimate Fighting Champion, looking for his second coronation this weekend.

The Wainaku resident and former UFC welterweight champ will meet Joe "Daddy" Stevenson in the main event of UFC 80: Rapid Fire on Saturday in Newcastle for the UFC interim lightweight title.

Penn (11-4-1) looked lean and solid at 164 pounds when the Tribune-Herald talked to him 12 days before the showdown with Stevenson (32-7), of Torrance, Calif. He said he weighed 164 pounds, nine pounds above the lightweight limit of 155.

"I'm right on weight," Penn said. "That nine pounds is all salt and water. So I just drink a lot of water, keep on pushing the salt out, and I should have no problem making this weight."

As of Saturday Penn was a huge favorite over Stevenson, who was the winner of the Spike TV/UFC reality show "The Ultimate Fighter 2." The Web site gamblerspalace.com listed Penn at -270, better would have to place a $270 wager on a victorious Penn to net a $100 gain. Meantime, the line on Stevenson was +210, meaning that a $100 bet on a victorious Stevenson would yield a $210 profit.

"He's a good fighter," Penn said. "He's a mixed martial artist. I'm not going to sit here and say he's one-dimensional. He's a good grappler, he's got the footlock, he's got a good guillotine. ... He's got one or two weapons everywhere. He's got one or two weapons on the ground, one or two good weapons on his feet and maybe one or two good takedowns. Not to belittle him in any way, but that's what I see when I look at him.

"As a person, I like Joe Stevenson. I've always had a great relationship with him, see him around. His wife (Maia) is from Maui and I've always had pleasant times meeting up with him and hanging out with him."

Although Penn has far fewer mixed martial arts bouts than does Stevenson, he has fought much better competition. He is coming off a win over former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver in the finale of "The Ultimate Fighter 5" June 23. The second-round submission victory was redemption for Penn, 29, who lost his first UFC lightweight title bid to Pulver by a close decision in 2002. It also halted prevented a three-loss skid, as Penn dropped both his fights in 2006 -- the first to Georges St. Pierre in a controversial split decision, and the second to Matt Hughes by a shocking ground-and-pound TKO. Penn had won the UFC welterweight belt with a submission victory over Hughes on Jan. 31, 2004 -- and Hughes accused Penn, who suffered a rib injury during the second fight, of not being in condition for the bout.


"The second Hughes fight was a huge reality check," Penn said. "But it didn't hit me right away. When I first got home, I was still in the bars; I was still hanging out and was doing a bunch of things. I wasn't in the gym. Then, on my birthday when I turned 28 (Dec. 13, 2006), it was time to get serious, time to wake up."

Another wake-up call came on Dec. 11 last year when Penn was sentenced to a year probation and 50 hours community service for a 2005 incident in Honolulu in which he pleaded no contest to striking a special-duty uniformed police officer. It was a first offense, and the conviction will be erased from his record upon successful completion of his sentence. Penn could have received 30 days in jail on the third-degree assault charge, which would have scrubbed Saturday's bout.

"Time is the most important thing in the whole world," Penn said. "You can lose all your money, you can lose everything, but once you lose your time, it's all over. It's the most important thing someone can take away from you. You never know what's going to happen when you're up there, but I'm just glad everything went how it did. But I definitely wasn't very comfortable."

The fighter known as "The Prodigy" said that despite some negative comments on blogs from mostly anonymous posters, his fans have continued to be loyal.

"I'm very blessed to have the kinds of fans I have and the kind of support I have around Hawaii," he said. "It's unbelievable. And it makes it so much easier to do this."

Penn has hired a nutritionist and has also spent more time in the gym he and his family own, engaging in vigorous sparring sessions under the watchful eye of trainer Rudy Valentino. He has been practicing the discipline that allowed him to become the first non-Brazilian world champion in the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

"The life I live is hearing about the meal at the dinner table you can't eat and hearing about the party you can't go to," he said. Penn is confident that the self-control he has exercised will pay off on Saturday.

"I worked some specific stuff for Joe Stevenson, but I concentrated on myself," he said. "I got myself as strong as I could get, as fast, as explosive -- my cardio, my conditioning. I concentrated on BJ Penn. I just want to be the best that I can be and I'm ready, man, I'm ready."

Hawaii Tribune-Herald :: Hilo, Hawaii

[Tick]

If he is as ready as he claims to be... I feel sorry for anyone that steps in his path. I dont mean any disrespect to Joe Stevenson, but...

I think it will be a very good, high paced fight with no one dominating the other... If BJ is as focused as he claims then I see ANYONE in the LW and WW falling to him.

[rivethead]

Great post, great article.

It was nice to see no drama and to read respect.

rh

[puhalu]

Hey JTS-

You're in Hilo? Where are you watching the fight?

The only places I ever hear of them shown are in Kona.

[notrightn0w]

AHHH fuck. I can't wait to see Super BJ.

[JTS]

Originally Posted by puhalu

Hey JTS-

You're in Hilo? Where are you watching the fight?

The only places I ever hear of them shown are in Kona.

Actually, I live on Maui. Not too many places show it here either. They usually show it at the Ale House here, but that place is known for trouble in the past. We usually buy the pay-per-view and have friends over.