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hughes vs penn big read btw
So, here’s the deal. The most anticipated rematch since Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture back at UFC 52 is off. Georges St. Pierre had to pull out of his rematch with Matt Hughes for the welterweight championship due to a groin injury. This left a hole in the UFC 63 card on September 23rd. A hole in the main event of that card the UFC desperately needed to fill. Whom could they get on such short notice that would take the fight against the most dominant welterweight of all time? The very fighter who dethroned him the first time of course.
BJ Penn is a man of few words. He is also the man who stepped up at UFC 46 and defeated Matt Hughes by submission due to a rear naked choke in the very first round. He came up from the UFC’s thinning lightweight division and took the welterweight title for his own. After that, Penn was stripped of the title due to a contract dispute. Returning to action at UFC 58, BJ lost a close and controversial split-decision to the man whose spot he is taking at UFC 63, Georges St. Pierre. It is no surprise that he was the natural choice. Diego Sanchez is just coming off a hard fought win over Karo Parisyan at Ultimate Fight Night 6 so he was out. Karo, who was previously the number one contender and could not receive his title shot due to injury, just got beat by Diego. Penn was the obvious and best choice out of the rest of the contenders.
Matt Hughes says he does not think about his loss to Penn, but I know better. You can see it in his face. Matt may be able to focus on his next opponent while training for his fight, but he isn’t fooling anyone. Some hardcore fans flood the internet forums with claims that Matt will never be the real UFC champion until he beats Penn. Of course, these very same people say that he got lucky when he beat Georges St. Pierre the first time….right. Because of claims like these, Matt has to want to avenge that loss. Who can forget it? The shocked look on Matt’s face. BJ planting a bloody kiss on his lips and then licking the blood off his own. It was so surreal to see that. I have heard the conspiracy stories, too. Matt taking Penn lightly because of his size advantage, staying up until 2 AM drinking heavily. Dana White catching him and then telling him to take his butt to bed. I have heard all of those stories, but they change nothing. Matt has a chance now to avenge that embarrassing loss. To finally shut the critics up about his championship validity.
BJ Penn has looked soft (out of shape) in several of his last fights. Critics rightfully believe that this may play negatively into his rematch with the current champion. They have a good point if you really look at it. Penn gassed (ran out of energy) in the second round with St. Pierre, allowing GSP to take him down at will, which is what lost him the fight. If Penn shows up looking soft and this fight goes several rounds, things begin to favor Hughes heavily. In a recent interview, BJ was discussing his training. In a nutshell, he stated that he took his training too seriously for GSP and he was wound up too tight before the fight. He also stated that he would be training lighter, differently for Hughes. Penn also said that he wanted to make the sport what it once was to him and that’s fun. I am not sure that is such a great idea, BJ.
Matt Hughes is a machine. When getting ready for a fight and training in Iowa he gets up at 6 AM to start training, goes until 6:30 PM, and then has another practice session. He is freakishly strong, deceptively quick, and amazingly resilient. Just ask Frank Trigg.
BJ Penn has all of the tools to win this. He is a jiu jitsu expert, good at striking, and very fast. His stand up turned St. Pierre’s face in to something that looked like a bad William Shatner mask. I don’t think stand up will matter much in this fight because I think Matt is going to want to ground and pound BJ. This may play to BJ’s advantage.
Matt will surely want to use his size and strength advantages against the smaller Hawaiian fighter. His jiu jitsu has come so far since his fight with Penn that he could pull off a submission if Penn runs out of steam. Expect a big slam followed by a powerful positioning battle won by Hughes. It’s what he does after that should determine the outcome. If Hughes gets overconfident or sloppy, BJ will catch him and we will have a new champion yet again.
The questions that need answered here are simple. Will BJ repeat his success? Will Matt get his revenge? Will BJ’s lack of conditioning lead to his downfall? Will Hughes manhandle Penn the way he did Royce Gracie?
We will have to wait until September 23rd to see.
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OH CANADA BABY!!! 
