BJ Penn

Anderson Silva proves why he’s one of the best fighters in MMA

anderson-silva(This piece appeared in 8CountNews on July 22, 2009)

by Mark Lorenzana

In the last couple of pieces I’ve written about Anderson Silva, I have been highly critical of him mainly because of his last two title defenses against Thales Leites and Patrick Cote. In both fights, Silva had been less-than-stellar, and the fans’ displeasure showed— booing and jeering him in the course of the fights up until the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. However, I must admit now that I had miscalculated immensely on my criticisms. Silva’s last performance left me eating a lot of crow with a generous helping of humble pie on the side.

Why?

Well, Silva toying with his last two opponents was not so much to assert his superiority and to embarrass them as to show his frustration and make a point that they didn’t want to engage with him. To put it simply, it wasn’t entirely his fault. It takes two to tango. Styles make fights. In Silva’s last couple of fights before facing former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin, the Spider did not have a willing dance partner. Both guys didn’t fight to win, they fought to survive, and nobody can really blame them. To last the distance against one of Mixed Martial Arts’ pound-for-pound best is a huge achievement in itself.

At UFC 101: Declaration last Saturday, August 8 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, Griffin proved to be a more than willing dance partner and he paid dearly for it. He opted to slug it out with Silva, and it certainly didn’t help that his mode of attack involved holding his chin up high instead of tucking it in while throwing arm punches that were as slow as molasses.

Silva shrugged off the few punches that landed for Griffin while deftly avoiding most of the fists that flew around him, hitting nothing but air. Then Silva struck, and Griffin got knocked down. Griffin gamely stood back up on his feet and tried to retaliate only to absorb another punch on the chin and suffer another knockdown. The end came with Griffin wildly and rather amateurishly swinging at Silva, and the latter, while backing up, unleashed a short, popping right jab that caught Griffin flush. Griffin dropped so hard to the mat that the referee did not even bother to administer the count and immediately waved him off.

A couple of things immediately came to my mind after the brutal and humiliating knockout. One, Griffin was the naturally bigger guy and Silva annihilated him. Silva’s lanky and wiry frame is more suited to 185 pounds and the weight gain was evident in that one could obviously see the reigning UFC Middleweight Champion sporting a visible paunch where rock-hard, six-pack abs should have been. Even so, none of this mattered anyway because of the ease with which Silva dispatched the always dangerous Griffin.

Two, Silva has practically cleaned out the 185-pound division and it’s a bit scary to consider that he could possibly clean out the light heavyweight division as well despite being a natural middleweight and having just a couple of fights at 205 pounds under his belt. Two fights, by the way, that both ended in stoppage victories. And can you imagine a super fight that would involve Silva and fellow Brazilian Lyoto Machida? I hope UFC President Dana White holds true to his word and make the fight happen, regardless of the fact that both Silva and Machida vowed never to square off against each other inside the Octagon.

One last note on the Silva – Griffin fight: Personally, I’m not buying the rumors circulating that the fight was fixed. What would Griffin gain by throwing the fight away? The simple explanation would be that Silva had just too much talent, too much skill, and too much firepower for Griffin to handle. Perhaps the embarrassment and humiliation of the brutal knockout was also too much for Griffin to handle, as he immediately stormed off the Octagon – without even bothering to get interviewed by Rogan – towards the locker rooms with his entourage in tow.

After Silva’s performance, the fans at the Wachovia Center did not dare boo him during the post-fight interview. They simply weren’t in the position to do so. Everyone witnessed one of the all time greats ply his trade with a combination of brutal ferocity, expert skill, and fine-spun finesse. Right now Silva is in a class by himself. It was just one of those nights where Silva once again proved why he is currently one of the best fighters in MMA.

Penn’s reign

I always thought that BJ Penn bit off more than he could chew by moving up and challenging reigning UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre. As superbly talented and gifted a fighter as Penn is, St-Pierre’s combination of raw strength, power, and unparalleled conditioning is just a bad match up for the Prodigy and it showed in the two fights that they figured in, the first bout being a closer one notwithstanding.

Down at lightweight, though, it’s a totally different story. At 155, the Prodigy is at the top of the food chain, the unrivaled predator. And the co-main event between Penn and Kenny Florian proved just that. Props to Florian, a great competitor and worthy adversary, for trying his best to grab the belt from Penn, but he was just overwhelmed by the pure fighting skills of the Hawaiian. At first I thought that Florian’s approach of trying to clinch with Penn and subsequent attempts to take him down was a good strategy, perhaps because Florian believed that he was at a disadvantage on the stand up. However, I was dead wrong as Florian couldn’t successfully take down Penn. On the contrary, the lone successful takedown in the fight was done by Penn, which eventually led to a submission victory via rear-naked choke at 3:54 of the fourth round as the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion retained his belt.

With that said, I honestly don’t see anyone at the lightweight ranks right now that could take Penn’s belt away from him. His last loss at the 155 weight division was seven years ago against Jens Pulver at UFC 35: Throwdown, which he later avenged at the Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale by submitting Pulver.

Penn, like Silva, is at the top of his game right now. It’s going to be a long reign for one of the most naturally-gifted warriors MMA has ever seen.

UFC 94: In Pursuit of Blood-Sweet Revenge

BJ-Penn-Georges-St-Pierre-1(This piece appeared in 8CountNews on November 21, 2008)

by Mark Lorenzana

If BJ Penn’s last two fights should be a gauge of what to expect from “The Prodigy” when he faces George “Rush” St.–Pierre in their rematch at UFC 94 in January, then we all should be excited.

Penn showed just how excellent his ground game is when he fought Joe Stevenson for the vacant 155-pound title at UFC 80. Penn did a good job of controlling the fight on the ground and managed to cut Stevenson’s forehead with an elbow in the first round. In the second, it was just a matter of time, as Penn continued to dominate the bloodied Stevenson on the mat. The latter eventually tapped out due to a rear-naked choke.

Penn was crowned the UFC Lightweight Champion. Then, as if to punctuate his dominance over his opponent, Penn licked his gloves, gloves that were drenched in Stevenson’s blood.

Fast forward to UFC 84 against Sean Sherk. This time, Penn displayed his strong stand up game. Penn rocked Sherk several times in the first two rounds before finally knocking him out in the third. The end came with a Penn jab followed by a right uppercut and another jab. The punches didn’t seem to land flush but they were enough to back Sherk off. As Sherk bounced off the cage, Penn greeted him with a knee to the face. Sherk went down in a heap and was pounded out. Some argue that perhaps the outcome had a lot to do with Sherk’s decision to stand and trade despite his strong wrestling skills. After all, Sherk has never been known as an explosive striker. But I beg to differ and say that the win had to do with Penn’s ever-improving overall skills.

Penn retained his UFC lightweight belt. But not before he went out of his way to go over to the fallen Sherk, wipe some blood off Sherk’s forehead, and lick the blood off his hand.

Whether Penn can do the same to GSP remains to be seen. Especially since Penn still holds the stigma of a loss, albeit a close one, to GSP in their first fight. So to Penn, nothing could be sweeter than revenge.

But this is easier said than done. GSP, the reigning UFC Welterweight Champion, has been stellar in his last four outings since his shock loss to Matt Serra. He has since won by unanimous decision against Josh Koscheck, submitted Matt Hughes, knocked out Serra in their rematch, and outfought a game and dangerous Jon Fitch.

Indeed, BJ Penn has his work cut out for him. Nonetheless, it seems he can’t wait to step into the Octagon with GSP.

Right after his fight with Fitch, GSP didn’t mince words: “I’m ready to fight everybody. Everybody who deserves a shot. I know BJ Penn wants it and I want to do it. Whoever they give me, I’ll do it. He deserves it.”

To which Penn, stepping into the Octagon in street clothes, grabbed Joe Rogan’s microphone and immediately responded: “Let’s do it. Let’s put the fight together. Let’s do this.”

GSP put in the last word: “I am not a chicken; I don’t want to duck anybody. I’m a proud champion.”

It’s safe to say that they are both proud champions. And neither one would duck anybody, especially each other.

This is the reason there’s a rematch, and this is why it’s going to be a guaranteed barnburner.

It remains to be seen whether BJ Penn has any blood-licking to do. But it’s certainly the one thing that might make revenge a little sweeter.