Nick Diaz Retires Penn, Gets St. Pierre on super Bowl Weekend as Reward

Nick Diaz put on a show at UFC 137. BJ Penn, a former two division champ, a man who fought Lyoto Machida at light heavyweight, beat Matt Hughes twice, pretty much done everything that can be done in MMA, was reduced to an unwilling sparring partner and chose retirement than continue. Nick Diaz used his superior MMA boxing and adept groundwork to batter and dominate Penn. Then he called out Georges St. Pierre, hinting the champ faked an injury, and was rewarded with a title shot on Super Bowl weekend.

Tallk has begun whether Diaz deserves the shot, whether he can even challenge St. Pierre. While St. Pierre has and will be a very dominant champion, to dismiss the skills that Nick Diaz brings into the Octagon is ignorant. To dismiss the run Nick Diaz is on over his last eight fights is even more so. Diaz is completely adept on the ground or feet. He has shown the ability not to stuff takedowns, but to take enough out of his opponents to make their takedown attempts less effective as the fight wears on. His volume boxing style has not been solved by anyone yet. While he may not hit the hardest, ask BJ Penn if ten of those shots in a row take something of you. Ask BJ Penn how easy it is to hold Nick Diaz down or how easy a takedown is against Diaz midway through round two. Do I expect Diaz to roll through St. Pierre? Of course not, but neither vice versa. this fight is one I've waited for a long time. I'm a huge Nick Diaz fan and see this fight extremely competitive. Anyone who thinks Nick Diaz stands no chance is ridiculous. Anyone can win in MMA at anytime. Someone with Nick Diaz skill and talent can win against anyone, anytime. At the very least we will see Georges St. Pierre tested.

UFC 137 Pits St. Pierre against a Killer

On October 29 in Las Vegas Georges St. Pierre once again faces an opponent, Carlos Condit, that few outside Condit's camp give any chance at success. GSP has been such a dominant welterweight for so long, really his entire career, that it is difficult now for fans to get excited about any of his matches. With the exception of the slip ups against Matt hughes and especially Matt Serra, St. Pierre has dispatched all comers with relative ease. It seems GSP's kryptonite is only men named Matt. He is criticized for not finishing fights as of late. His last finish was almost 3 years ago against  BJ Penn. He plays it safe and works for a decision detractors say. Well, that may be true but it is his opponents' job to not allow GSP  to impose his game plan and beat him. Above all it is GSP's job to win, not to provide entertainment. Will Carlos Condit prove any different?

Condit has been on a tear since coming over to the UFC from the WEC. He lost his first bout against Martin Kampmann but has knocked out his last 3 opponents including previously un-knocked out Dan Hardy and Dong Hyun Kim. Of his 27 victories, Condit has finished his opponent 26 times via either KO or submission. Does that mean anything against GSP? Probably not. St. Pierre learned a huge lesson against Matt Serra. Don't stand and trade against anyone. Period. GSP has developed the most insulated style of MMA in the game. GSP has shown too much speed and technique for everyone on the feet. He engages when he wants to, how he wants to and takes less chances than Tom Coughlin on a fourth and one. For all his highlight reel KOs I don't see Condit having the technique to coax a mistake from GSP. If he does, GSP will get one of his patented takedowns and dominate on the ground. GSP plays it safe but wins via fourth round submission. Carlos Condit will show up to fight, not to be able to say he lasted five rounds against GSP like many of the previous challengers.

Ah, what might have been. For a couple of years now my dream match has been Nick Diaz vs. GSP. It was supposed to happen at UFC 137 but for whatever reason Nick Diaz orchestrated his own dismissal from the main event. As a punishment/reward he is still on the card and now faces BJ Penn. In many ways this will make for a much more exciting match than the proposed Diaz vs. GSP. Nick Diaz' Achilles heel has shown to be elite wrestlers which GSP stands atop of. But in BJ Penn, Diaz faces an opponent willing and able to stand or go to the ground with him. Diaz has always said opponents fear him on the ground. I don't think BJ Penn shares the sentiment. Penn fears nothing and no one, especially in the Octagon. Both guys have displayed iron chins. Has Penn ever even been rocked? No. But Diaz doesn't rely on power but volume. He wears opponents down with a pitter patter of punches and well placed and timed strikes. Ask Robbie Lawler and Paul Daley. He absorbs punishment like vitamins. Ask Gomi and Cyborg. I doubt BJ Penn attempts to ground and pound Nick Diaz. I expect a stand up war which Diaz will win in the third round via stoppage. His work on Penn's body by then taken its toll and a fighter notorious for relying on physical attributes rather than preparation.

My picks for the rest of the card :
Hatsu Hioki upsets George Roop
Roy Nelson sends Mirko Filipovic into well deserved retirement
Cheik Kongo lays the law down on Matt Mitrione
Scott Jorgensen out hustles Jeff Curran
Donald Cerrone taps Dennis Siver
Tyson Griffin debuts with a win against BartPalazsweski
Brandon Vera returns triumphantly against Eliot Marshal

UFC 127 Penn vs. Fitch will give us No. 1 contender for Georges St. Pierre championship belt

For UFC 127 Penn vs. Fitch fans will get to see what the future of the UFC welterweight division might look like. With Georges St. Pierre set to defend his welterweight title against Jake Shields in Toronto at UFC 129 and possibly jumping to the middleweight division and a super-mega-fight against Anderson Silva, the B.J. Penn/Jon Fitch match-up sets up the winner as the number one contender for the presumably vacant middleweight title. The bigger question is will anyone care? Georges St. Pierre domination of the welterweight division has made all other 170 competitors obsolete. Georges St. Pierre makes everyone look bad and normal regardless of their skill level. What's worse is if Jon Fitch defeats B.J. Penn, he is even more dominant (i.e. boring) fighter than St. Pierre. The last time one of Jon Fitch's fights did not go to decision was almost four years ago on June 2007. As for B.J. Penn he's already lost two straight to Georges St. Pierre and looked wholly outclassed in their last outing. Fans have seen nothing to indicate a different outcome a third time.

As for the fight itself, it is a bit interesting. B.J. Penn is undoubtedly one of the top five most talented athletes in MMA. He can do things in the Octagon that normal fighters don't even dream of. He has outstanding speed and punching power, excellent balance, flexibility and agility. He is a world class BJJ practitioner. He is probably the most difficult fighter to achieve a takedown against. He has challenged himself throughout his career. He fought Lyoto Machida, a light-heavyweight UFC champion, and lost a decision. There is nothing B.J. Penn can not do in a MMA battle. Except maybe go a full three rounds, much less five. That is where a fighter like Jon Fitch comes in. The only thing that Jon Fitch does really well is keep going and break his opponent's spirit and will.

Jon Fitch is not the best wrestler, striker, or grappler. He has average stand up and fairly slow hands. He throws decent kicks. What he can do is push, push and push. He has a granite chin. Just take another look at his bout with St. Pierre if you doubt that. So far in his career, Jon Fitch has not faced the man that wants the victory more than him. Although B.J. Penn is a warrior and takes a bout in the Octagon with the mentality of a samurai, I do not think he is the man to break Jon Fitch.

Yes, B.J. Penn has the ability to end the bout in the fraction of a second with a punch or submission. But he has rarely showed those dynamics against the top talent he's faced. He has a tendency to gas or fold or fade or whatever anyone wants to call it, against the top competition. He did it against Jens Pulver, against Matt Hughes, and twice against Georges St. Pierre and Frankie Edgar respectively. I hope this is a competitive fight and really, I'm pulling for B.J. Penn to come out from under the shadow that has haunted him against top tier competition. Unfortunately, history does not favor him.

In the co-main event at UFC 127, Michael Bisping meets the surging Jorge Rivera. Rivera is making the most of his second shot in the UFC and used his mouth to put himself in the co-main event against the UK poster boy for the UFC. Bisping is not my favorite fighter. He has good, average skills and excellent footwork but he has benefited most from a huge push by the UFC and being placed against the right competion. Anytime he has faced anything above C level competion he has either failed miserably (Dan Henderson) or barely survived a boring decision (Matt Hamill, Chris Leben). Unfortunately, I don't see Jorge Rivera being one of the ones to topple Bisping. Rivera is a brawler with lots of heart but rarely imposes himself on an opponent. I see this fight going much like Bisping's fights against Hamill and Leben. Bisping will use his footwork to avoid punishment and pepper Rivera with the occasional jab or straight right. Just doing enough to escape another highlight KO and earn a decision. As much as I may want Rivera to flatten Bisping, I don't see him overcoming Bisping's footwork.