UFC 94 'St. Pierre vs. Penn 2' is finally, mercifully, in the books.
As a realist, I didn't expect the main event to live up to the lofty expectations we bestowed on it but then again, how could it?
I probably enjoyed the pre-fight hype more than I did the actual contest, thanks largely in part to the one-sided drubbing by St. Pierre, who looks pretty much unstoppable at this point.
As a fan of mixed martial arts, I'm okay with that. Sometimes a much ballyhooed fight will come up short - just as sometimes a bout with little-to-no fanfare can blow the roof off an arena.
It's a give and take relationship, one I think gives more than it takes.
Then again, what you get out of a pay-per-view (PPV) or live event depends primarily on your perspective going into it. When your hero wins, all is right with the world. When he loses, the PPV was a ripoff, or the ref blew a call, or Fighter X (let's call him 'Georges' for the sake of argument) was cheating.
I'm not ready to pass judgment on whether or not GSP was getting ready to bake brownies on his back. What I will say is that the Penn camp has every right to file a formal complaint if they feel the incident could have influenced "The Prodigy's" ability to work off his back.
Reports are surfacing that Penn will file a complaint. Others say he may not file a complaint and is mulling retirement. Whatever Penn decides to do is of course up to him, but keep in mind this was a devastating loss for him personally.
I gather from what we've seen thus far from Penn is that he's a proud man. He wants to win and he wants to be the best. Getting smashed in front of millions of fans, his family, and more media than we've ever seen has to be a mighty blow to his self-esteem.
I'm hoping that my fellow fans and journalists will ease off the lightweight champ because these are very fresh wounds. He may say or feel things now that will pass after the sting of defeat wears off. He's made a name for himself in this sport as a lightweight, and I think he has some unfinished business in that division.
I believe that in time he will realize that as well, and we can start to enjoy a very entertaining run at 155 for the duration of his career. How long that may be is unknown for now, but I for one am hoping (and expecting) to see him answering the call of KenFlo before the year is over.
As for 'Greasegate,' well I'm afraid we're going to be beating that dead horse until it becomes glue. After all, arguing until the point of fisticuffs is every MMA fans God-given right.