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[Doggage]

UFC® : Ultimate Fighting Championship®

By Thomas Gerbasi

At the kickoff press conference in Las Vegas last Saturday to officially announce his January 31st rematch with UFC lightweight champion
BJ Penn, the organization’s welterweight king, Georges St-Pierre, called his two losses to Matt Hughes and Matt Serra the “great turning points” in his career.

I beg to differ.

For me, and for many other mixed martial arts fans, the day Georges St-Pierre went from athlete to fighter was the last time he stepped into the Octagon against Penn – on March 4, 2006.

Before that fight, St-Pierre pretty much had his way with whoever he fought. Even when he lost to Hughes a year and a half prior, he would have likely won the opening round had he not gotten caught in an armbar and submitted a second before the bell rang. So when Penn relentlessly attacked in the first round and bloodied the Canadian standout, it was the classic case of ‘Fight or Flight’. Which option would St-Pierre choose?

“It was a good fight because I was tested,” St-Pierre recalled after Saturday’s presser. “It was the first time in my career I had lost a round. I already lost a fight, but I hadn’t lost a round. I’m a very good athlete, so I was used to winning all the rounds. But after that round, I came back and I was hurt. I was cut under my eye, I couldn’t breathe well from my nose, and it was hard. It was a big test mentally to see how I could come back from a hard first round.”

He passed the test, with flying colors no less, winning the next two rounds on two of the three judges’ scorecards, enough for him to earn a split decision victory and respect from the hardcore fans as a true warrior who knew how to dig down deep to win a dogfight.

But so much has changed for both St-Pierre and Penn since 2006. Penn would lose to Hughes and then go on to win the lightweight title; GSP would win, lose, regain, and defend the welterweight crown, beating the likes of Hughes, Serra, Josh Koscheck, and Jon Fitch along the way. All along though, St-Pierre knew that eventually, he and Penn would lock horns again.

“I knew we would probably meet each other again,” said St-Pierre. “We’re gonna meet each other on January 31st and maybe we’ll meet after that too. It all depends on the outcome. Everything goes up in life and goes down, everything that goes down can sometimes go up, so it’s all a question of timing. I just want to have the best challenges as possible in my career. I fight for myself, and for me, it will be a big honor to fight BJ Penn, and I can’t ask for a better fight for me. The man I want to fight is BJ Penn right now.”

St-Pierre vs Penn II is one of those fights that can get the blood flowing months before it takes place, and heated debates are already taking place around internet message boards as the two combatants continue on a media tour that took them to Toronto yesterday and that will touch down in Hawaii tomorrow. But the heat between the two will be confined to the Octagon on Super Bowl weekend, as both have shown a great deal of respect to each other during the press gatherings.

“The fight is great by itself,” said St-Pierre. “I’m not a person who trash talks and I don’t think BJ is either. Just the hype of the fight itself is gonna be enough to promote it. But of course, it’s a fighting sport, so sometimes we have to give some answers about fighting that the opponent doesn’t like, but it’s part of the game and it doesn’t break my focus at all.”

St-Pierre is already at a solid 185-186 pounds more than two months out from the bout, with Penn just five pounds over the welterweight limit at press time, so it’s obvious that both fighters haven’t strayed too far from the gym since their most recent bouts.

“When I’m not training for a fight, eight weeks from a fight, I train my skill,” said St-Pierre. “I train strictly wrestling, boxing, Muay Thai, and Jiu-Jitsu and that’s how I improve, that’s how I sharpen my skills. I can see a big progression in my training and also in my fights. I can’t wait to show up on January 31st and fight BJ because BJ’s not the same fighter he used to be as well. So we’re both going to fight each other in our primes, and it’s gonna be a great fight.”

But being in near-fighting trim is about all the two have in common as training camp beckons, as Penn will sequester himself in Hilo for his fight preparation, while St-Pierre, who has recently spent some time training in Brazil, will go back to his preferred method of training around the globe – from Montreal to New York to Albuquerque – in order to get ready for January 31st.

“It brings me the biggest variety of training partners, and what makes a great fighter is his
capacity to adjust to a certain style,” said St-Pierre of his training methods. “So to train with different styles of people from different camps really helps me a lot.”

What may have also given St-Pierre a significant edge, at least mentally, was his recent five round battle with Fitch. It was the 27-year old’s first 25 minute fight, and again, it showed the development in his overall game as he showed the ability to go the championship distance and still win in style.

“I go there every time in training, so it was just new for me that I had never been there in an actual fight,” said St-Pierre of the five round battle, and while he may downplay that fight’s significance, what he isn’t doing is scoffing at a rematch that may be one for the ages.

“I think if you ask somebody who’s the best pound for pound in the world, a lot of people would say it’s BJ Penn, so for me, it’s a great challenge,” said St-Pierre. “When you’re a UFC world champion, you have to fix your goals even higher. I don’t want to fight to be champion anymore because I’m already the champion. I want to fight to become a legend in the sport, and that’s what this fight will give me.”

Fighting to become a legend is a lofty goal, and a lot of pressure for anyone. But with each obstacle St-Pierre knocks down, pressure is nothing more than a stone in his shoe – a minor annoyance removed with one shake of his foot.

“The pressure is always there, but that’s when I perform the best.”

Can't freaking wait for this fight - My heart is with GSP all the way.

[BUKKAKALYPSE]

man, I can't wait. I'm a huge GSP fan but also a huge BJ fan. sucks that someone has to lose. GSP via decision

[pantomime horse]

GSP is right, I think. They will both be in their primes.

Both are great fighters and this will be an even better fight than the first.

As I said before, GSP's reach and wrestling should give him the edge. Penn is highly durable so this should be a decision unless an injury to either fighter occurs.

[mma #1 fan]

This fight could end up being one of if not the best fight of 2009 IMO

[Jardinewinstko]

i got bj by sub after beating him up on the feet for a few rounds, bjs td def is the best of the best and even if it goes down thats where bjs the best, gsp is only better at wrestling, bjs boxing is great got one of the best jabs in mma. gsp has better kicks. i just cant see him winning this one

[Y2JUBAE]

Originally Posted by Doggage

UFC® : Ultimate Fighting Championship®

By Thomas Gerbasi



Can't freaking wait for this fight - My heart is with GSP all the way.

All the way back to the locker room after he loses you mean? Let me know how that goes for ya, I'll be watching BJ run around the ring licking blood off his fingers for a while before he falls to his knees and starts crying.

I can hear GSP's post fight interview now...
Joe "what happened?"
GSP "I can say dat, I was not impressed with my performance".

Here is BJ Penns post fight interview (think old school BJ)
Joe "Congradulations BJ on a most impressive victory and on becoming the first person to hold two titles at the same time. First I would just like to get your thoughts on.... Okay, BJ just ran back to the locker room.

[jhell]

Originally Posted by Y2JUBAE

All the way back to the locker room after he loses you mean? Let me know how that goes for ya, I'll be watching BJ run around the ring licking blood off his fingers for a while before he falls to his knees and starts crying.

I can hear GSP's post fight interview now...
Joe "what happened?"
GSP "I can say dat, I was not impressed with my performance".

Here is BJ Penns post fight interview (think old school BJ)
Joe "Congradulations BJ on a most impressive victory and on becoming the first person to hold two titles at the same time. First I would just like to get your thoughts on.... Okay, BJ just ran back to the locker room.

Why don't we make a friendly bet. Penn wins and I won't post here for a month. GSP wins and you don't post here for a month. Let me know.

[Malevolence]

Originally Posted by Jardinewinstko

i got bj by sub after beating him up on the feet for a few rounds, bjs td def is the best of the best and even if it goes down thats where bjs the best, gsp is only better at wrestling, bjs boxing is great got one of the best jabs in mma. gsp has better kicks. i just cant see him winning this one

Gotta agree with what you're saying.GSP is kinda stiff looking on his feet,hes not gonna have much joy standing in front of B.J. His best bet is to take B.J down but I think Penns cardio is much improved since they last met & I dont see GSP getting it to the ground too often.Last time they fought B.J stuffed 5 of 6 takedown attempts in the 2nd round & GSP achieved nothing after taking him down,GSP was given that round by 2 of the judges on the merit of 1 successful takedown out of 6,thats kinda always bugged me. I see B.J keeping it standing & landing jab after jab until GSP can stand it no more,B.J by TKO sometime around the 3rd or 4th round.

[Y2JUBAE]

Originally Posted by jhell

Why don't we make a friendly bet. Penn wins and I won't post here for a month. GSP wins and you don't post here for a month. Let me know.

Why no posting for a month? Don't most people do sig bets here?

I decline that bet due to the fact that I don't want either of us not being able to post for any amount of time. I'm pretty sure you just don't care for me is what this is all about, if that's the case, you can always put me on your ignore list. It's really not that personal to me buddy.

I'll do a bet with you, just not that one. Let me know if there is another type of situation we could set up. You not being able to post for a month, really isn't any kind of reward to me. You and I don't seem to get along well, which is why I like you. Who will i fight with if you are gone?

Seriously man, can we drop the heat between us, if of course, my assumption that there is heat is correct?

Let's drop the heat and come up with a real bet.

My only thing about betting is, the winner is the winner. I don't care if BJ pulls out a gun and shoots GSP and the ref doesn't see it. Whatever the record shows the winner is, is the winner. Obviously a draw is just that.

[marekny144]

Originally Posted by Y2JUBAE

All the way back to the locker room after he loses you mean? Let me know how that goes for ya, I'll be watching BJ run around the ring licking blood off his fingers for a while before he falls to his knees and starts crying.

I can hear GSP's post fight interview now...
Joe "what happened?"
GSP "I can say dat, I was not impressed with my performance".

Here is BJ Penns post fight interview (think old school BJ)
Joe "Congradulations BJ on a most impressive victory and on becoming the first person to hold two titles at the same time. First I would just like to get your thoughts on.... Okay, BJ just ran back to the locker room.

You said in the post that followed that it's just not that personal to you. Judging from the above quoted post it's nothing but personal animosity toward a fighter that epitomizes humble beginnings, hard work, incredible work ethic and respect for the sport and other fighters. Posts like that are annoying and bring nothing new to the conversation.