Dana White: Expect big fights this year including BJ Penn vs Kenny Florian

Chill out….BJ loses to a great fighter and now all of the sudden he is trash?

The difference Bj got taken down by GSP, is size! Sherk does not have that kind of advantage over BJ that GSP had.

Ken Flow, vs. bj will be a great fight, but I really cant see Penn losing that fight!

I agree with John.

John, this happens after every fighter wins or loses a high profile fight.

I hate BJ but he clearly isn’t trash, but when everyone questions a guy when he loses or talks about how he’s unbeatable when he wins.

I look forward to K-Flo vrs BJ, I think it will be a good fight but I don’t expect BJ to lose.

Agreed. BJ is still one of the best pound for pound fighters. I’m sure if it was possible to get GSP down to 155 it would have been a different story.

The thing is, this is BJ’s first real “Loss” in the fighting sense of the word, he has never been hurt before in any of his fights, I don’t think he has ever been to the hospital afterwards. So this is the big question, HOW WILL BJ HANDLE IT? The sting of legitament defeat with no excuses? No rib(hughes 2), no fighting Machida three weight classes higher to a descision where there is plenty of honor, no beating the other guy up and then simply getting tired(GSP 1).
Will Penn handle it like so many other fighters before him, getting pissed about it and working harder than ever to come back stronger than ever? God I hope so, cuz I scencerly believe that majority of the “change my life around really training now” wasnt as legit as we all thought.

I agree Bluepit straight up.

what I am really interested in is who Machida will fight next. Lets look at the possibilities:

Rashad: Only if Rampage loses to Jardine, which wont happen

Chuck liddell: If he beats shogun, beating Machida also would fast track him to a title shot. I dont care who you are, you beat Shogun and Machida in back to back fight, I wont oppose you fighting for the title!

Rich Franklin: This would be a rematch of their 1st fight but I honestly dont believe that Franklin would accept this fight!

Forrest: I dont think this is a real possibility because I dont think the UFC wants to risk giving him 2 losses in a row

Randy Couture? Randy was quoted as saying, he would be interested in trying to figure out a way to beat Machida. Randy likes interesting fights and gameplanning for Machida is as interesting as it gets!

all i know is that Machida should fight every 3 months! and why not? He never even gets touched in a fight. THiago is as aggressive as they come, and he couldnt even land a shot on lyoto!

Never said bj was trash- i just want someone to admit that sherk didn’t show up for the BJ fight or at least showed up with his t-rex arms. Also John as the go to guy for rumours – any truth to Sergio Moraes signing with bellator? (a nobody to most but i thought it was very badass the way he subbed Kron gracie at worlds.)

Good call Bluepit. BJs frame just isn’t meant to fight at 170. When A. Silva went up to 205, he looked healthier, BJ…..not so much. If GSP could drop to 155 it could have been a different outcome(could have).

Why have Machida only fight Rashad if Rampage loses to Jardine? There’s no reason to wait in my opinion. Rashad fought at the end of December, he should be ready for another fight in a couple months. Machida didn’t take any damage (as usual) in his fight with Silva, so he can fight soon too. Then you can have Rampage fight the winner if he beats Jardine. Don’t hold the belt hostage waiting for Rampage and Jardine to fight, it makes no sense.

i just read a recent Couture interview. He is dying for a rematch with Brock. He was asked who he expects to fight next, Randy said:

If Brock loses their is a good shot of seeing Brock vs. Randy 2.

If Brock beats Mir, then he expects to face either Nog or MIr.

Also DReam 7:
Confirmed fighter taking part in the featherweight grand Prix:

Chase Beebe

gregC: I dont disagree, its just what Dana has been saying. Either way Rampage vs. Machida is going to happen for the title because either guy will beat Rashad.

I would like to say Props to Rampage. He was offered the NEXT title shot against Evans, but Evans said he needed time off to heal because he got banged up in the Forrest fight. Rampage didnt have to take the Jardine fight, he could have waited for a title shot….but Rampage wanted to stay busy and continue to fight…Just like Chuck did when he accepted the fight against Babalu while he already had a title shot against Tito.

Props to Page, for being a warrior and taking on all challenges!

Yo John thanks for the Randy info, he is my favorite fighter apart from Penn(I know I am becoming more and more of a minority on that one) probably and it’s good to hear he is still in this, I thought he looked good against Brock, just took a big shot, happens.

I would love to see Randy and Brock 2. The only problem as a huge Couture fan is that another lost to Brock would be horrible. People always want to count Randy out, but he is the best when it comes to game plans. Bar none best!

anytime Anomaly!

great post anomaly!

But how can you look so awesome against sherk and then horribly decline in a single fight after a loss to the greatest WW ever? Even greats like hughes, Nog, Gomi have consistently become worse even in winning performances until they got blown out. I can’t believe that someone as great and dominant as BJ declines that fast. I would rather believe that our expectations of him are too great(hence the aformentioned overrating). Hell even saku who’s now completely washed up didn’t decline in a single fight.

b/c Sherk boxed with BJ for 3 rounds without mixing it up, that’s why.. didn’t you hear what GSP said, he wrestled and got physical with BJ just to make him tired and make his shoulders burn out and then strike with him.. Sean should have done the same since he is the more physically gifted of the two

I am not saying that at all, in fact my post most definently says “I highly doubt it”. The thing is NNR, you just even said he looked great against Sherk, so I gotta ask, with all the credentials I put in my post, how can you possibly ignore that and still think he is overrated? Why becuase after making history and doing more than any other fighter EVER, he lost to another ELITE fighter?

And ya know what man, about this lose, again you say, “sherk didn’t show up for that fight”. Again Nog can have a terrible day for one reason or another, and Sherk can for one reason or another, but Penn against GSP, he cant? Double standard? I’m just sayin, weather it be not training, sick, vasoline, emotional dump, or a combo of any of those things, that absolutly did not look like the penn I have seen fight HW’s, beat MW’s, take belts from WW’s, and smash on everybody his own size.

Oh P.S. John thanks for the props.

**Anomaly his first real loss?

Assuming we taking excuses at face value, was there an excuse for losing to Jens Pulver?

Seems like that was a real loss, even if he didn’t go to the hospital after.

But ya, the loss will either rededicate him and he will btho of K-Flo or break his confidence.

I guess well find out.

no sure.. but the way GSP fought him and the size difference is something that a Penn on his best day wouldn’t beat at 170.. talking about having an off night, Thiago Silva looked horrible, fat, out of shape and the slowest ever check him out in the Houston fight and his footwork in that one!

ShaiZ, Pulver was the closest thing to it I agree, but even there, it was very close, he didn’t get hurt or rocked, and even was 2 seconds from tapping pulver in the end of round 2, so there was plenty of ways Penn could have convinced himself in his mind that he was just as good of a fighter, which dosnt give you the same effect as being defeated. He wasnt hurt, bled, and I really doubt he felt “bested” ya know what I mean?

What im trying to say Shaiz is it wasnt the same kind of loss that warrants an “OMG, I really need to change things up” and re-commits or destroys a fighter.

Yeah I hear ya.

He probably has a hard time convincing himself that that fight ‘could have went either way.’

I see your point. I guess it was the first time he was ‘thoroughly beaten’.

i beleive pnp refers to being the best at your weight, being the most dominant in your weight class. going up to fight in higher weight classes is a bonus to that ranking. gsp and fedor a great examples. gsp has never gone up and fedor cant go up. just my 2 cents on that minor thought.

I can agree with a lot of what you’re saying anomaly and i may be holding him to some double standards. After your comment to ShaiZ i wanna know your thoughts on whether there is any LW out there that can give him a good fight and maybe even use some of the weaknesses exposed by GSP i.e slow reset time, weak rib cage, etc..(things that cannot be improved unlike technical skills).

NNR
--Thanks for the good debate thusfar and acknowledging points outside of your own. And my disclaimer is of course I am a bit Biased and it is my firm belief BJ is an underdog to NO LW(I disagree with MMAweekly’s “world rankings” which put Aoki number 1 and Penn 2)

These are the only fighters that interest me against Penn: Kenflo/Aoki/Sherk/and a couple of the LW’s over in Dream that I must admit I don’t know quite as much about.
--SHERK: It took Pierre a whole round to get Penn down, i’m not 100% sure that Sherk could do it, or even get him down. Now we saw what happened on the feet with Sherk, but on the ground, the difference between him and GSP is GSP’s extensive knowledge of BJJ. He knows how to GnP and posture and move while nulifying Penn’s BJJ much better than Sherk ever could.
--KENFLO:Not sure he could produce the power in the stand up to phase or even frusterate Penn, but I must say as a Penn fan Kenny scares me more than any other LW right now, he is just to consistant, so is Penn though(until 94). On the ground I think the real difference woudl be that Penn is just plain and simple bigger and stronger, with the technique to match.
--Aoki:Technique to match Penn’s def a scary threat, but I think the difference would be straight up toughness, and again, strength.
--Eddie Alvarez and the Dream elite LW’s:Some of those are pretty legit guys, but I think Aoki is just another slightly less tough version of Penn, and he has proven to take most all of them out.

And NNR regarding the part about what other LW’s can take from GSP’s strategy, and what he has exposed in Penn, here is the thing:
In this fight there were a couple weakness which I saw in Penn which I have never seen before, and is the reason why I believe Penn was not 100%, or is by some means declining already. These are his reaction-time in the stand up, his poor counterpunching(which is a whole new thing all together). And on the ground he NEVER really tried to create space. Like I said, these are all things I think are not usually there, and baffle me. Maybe its his lack of training partners, look at his compared to GSP’s, they suck. Troy Mandaloniz and Justin McCully Vs. Rashad and world class athletes? Penn can get in the best shape but it wont help if he has NO real talent to practice against.
--There is one thing I think other fighters can definently use that is one factor that will always be there:Work his abdominal cavity and ribs, like you suggested. If there is one thing that GSP did awesome that will work everytime are the elbows to the stomach. Did you notice how GSP would posture all tight and rest his elbow on Penn’s stomach and kinda bounce them. This did a couple of things I thought, Painfully pin down Penn’s hips, and wear down the body real quick. Very innovative and practical by GSP and I could see Penn really didnt like it. I could see the stronger of Penn’s opponents who wrestle using this alot, that would be my advice to a Penn opponent.

I can agree with your assessment of Kenflo and Alvarez. I am still one of the few that believes in sherk’s wrestling/ at times lnp style of fighting. I don’t think penn can match his speed in scrambles and had he consistently tried to shoot on him from many angles, i find it hard to believe that he can’t get takedowns. Aoki stands a decent chance with his adept knowledge of leglocks which are mainly disregarded by most non japanese BJJ stylists but BJ’s flexibility might nullify it. Though his chin is questionable, he has also showed that he can hang with top strikers like alvarez and JZ. As far as body weaknesses of BJ, i am a believer that if Kenflo can play a strict muay thai with him and work the body and lead leg, he might be able win in the later rounds.

Lets compare Bj’s and Florian’s last five fights. I dont need to name them im sure most of you know wht they are. I find it very hard to understand how so many of you belive that Bj is unbeatable and that florian doesnt have a chance.

Has Bj actually beat better compitition? The answer is yes, he fought Sherk. But did he fight the real sherk, no!! Sherk clearly went into that fight with the mission of redeaming himself in the eyes of the fans bcus of the steriod case. So he stood there a tried his best to strike.I challenge any1 to show me a video of Sherk attempting one takedown, seriously one proper takedown attepmt. The funny thing is about that fight bjs stand up looked average at best, i keep hearing how hes got great boxing, yet sherk was able to stand toe to toe with him for 3 rounds and he was still in the fight.

I also cant see where bj has a major advantage over kenflo if they do fight. Stiking id say is pretty even and so is the ground game. Wht annoys me the most about bj fans is the constant mention of his bjjs skils as if they are the best in mma. RNC against stevenson and pulver, i think florian could do that…oh wait he did against joe didnt he. Florian has the nest mma bjj in the lightweight division, hes the quickest ive ever seen to gain mount and he finishes fights. Oh yeh and hes got more submissions than bj :)

Kenflo will win and finally shut some ppl up about over rated penn.

Are you serious Sparrow..I’m not hating on your assessment, but in the first round of the Sherk fight, Sherk shoots for a takedown and BJ clearly stuffs it..Sherk got discouraged in that fight trying to take him down..I see you’re a Kenflo fan, I hate him with passion.

I can’t deny his talents, but this dude went from Middleweight in the Ultimate Fighter down to lightweight because he was getting his ass kicked..This dude eats like a supermodel just to cut weight.

BJ Penn has superior BJJ compared to Kenny, are you kidding me. How can you say he “has the best bjj in the lightweight division” when he hasn’t won against a competitor as skilled as BJ..Sherk destroyed your boy KENFLO, get over it, and you expect him to beat BJ, No way homie..BJ Penn will never get submitted by Kenflo.

Kenflo will lose in stunning fashion and finally go home and cry to his wack brother who is is only supporter..BJ will shut not only you up but all of Kenflo’s supporters..The dude is a great MMA fighter but he will lose to BJ…THE PRODIGY ALL THE WAY HOMIE!!!!!

I’m not as worried about him underestimating Florian as I am about him not mentally recovering from his loss to GSP. He had never suffered that kind of beating before where the other guy was just better in every aspect of the game and he was the one that mentally broke. I certainly hope that isn’t the case and he comes back better than ever, but we’re going to have to wait and see.

If anything, BJ will not underestimate Florian..BJ Penn needs a big win to recover from his devastating loss to GSP and what better way to accomplish that then to beat the #2 LW in the UFC..BJ Penn will need to train hard for this fight cause I know this is Kenflo’s biggest fight in his career..I hate Kenny with passion and hope he gets dominated.

He is saying Gord not that it doesnt mean anything, but in general Gord, the bigger guy is “supposed” to win, thats all. And no way gord, you and I obth konw that GSP and ALvez are MUCH more the same size weight wise, than Penn and GSP.

NO doubt in my mind that Rampage will be the next LHW champion! Meaning he is going to beat both Jardine and Rashad! The question is, can he successfully defend his title against Machida? I am not sure, but I give Rampage the best shot out of anyone to beat Machida~!

I personally think anyone can eat Machida at 205. I sure would love to see him and Anderson fight. I know it wont happen but Id love to see it.

Would they prefer Machida Flame Broiled or Baked?

I totally agree, if i had a crack at the belt, i wouldn’t let anything or anyone stand in the way….it just seems like this issue has been raised by fighters in the past. Jardine isn’t quite ready for that title shot yet, so don’t be surprised if deep down he’s rooting for Rashad to lose.

I posted that because I had posted in not so pleasant terms that this guy needs to go away, and the post was up for a few minutes and then went away. This d-bag called every BJ fan a coconut head over and f*cking over, and had nothing of ANY value whatsoever to contribute about anything else after the fights on Saturday. The guys a complete tool. This site has always been an awesome place for people to debate fights objectively. Ever since Brock came to the UFC, it seems we get more of the trickle effect from alot of the retarded people that love the WWE. I’m not saying that all pro-wrestling fans are like this. Hell, I will even admit that I was a fan of the WWF as a kid. Its not like it used to be. They pander to the absolute LOWEST level minds in America now, because McMahon knows that these people will like who he tells them to like, and hate who he tells them to hate. They will spend gobs of money on that sorry BS as well. Vince is a good business man. Now that Brock has come over to MMA, the fans are here too. Brock is legit, and I’m not going to pretend he’s not. Alot of these new fans are not, especially dumb*sses that call themselves famous names as though anyone would believe it or lend them any credibility.

I agree totally. I usually don’t comment much but it’s only cause I don’t want to sound like this douchefag. Go MIR!!!

Stop hating rob.