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Why BJ Penn Should Not Accept Fight with Josh Koscheck

B.J. Penn took a unanimous decision loss to Nick Diaz last October and since then he has vowed to stay retired.Penn took one of the worst beatings of his career at the hands of Diaz and retired shortly afterwards. That’s where one of the best fighters …

B.J. Penn took a unanimous decision loss to Nick Diaz last October and since then he has vowed to stay retired.

Penn took one of the worst beatings of his career at the hands of Diaz and retired shortly afterwards. That’s where one of the best fighters in UFC history should stay—retired.

Penn has nothing to prove at this point in his career. He has earned belts in two weight classes—lightweight and welterweight—and that alone gives him the prestige of being one of only a handful of fighters to have held belts in two different weight classes in the UFC.

On top of that, he has beaten some of the best fighters the UFC has seen in both weight classes.

Penn hasn’t been the same since his unanimous decision loss to Frankie Edgar at UFC 112 having gone 1-2-1 since that loss. That doesn’t exactly scream “amazing.”

Penn was an excellent fighter—one of the best—he just doesn’t have what he used to and going into a fight with a guy like Josh Koscheck could worsen his legacy. He just isn’t the same fighter.

Not everyone gets to end their career on a high note. Seeing his performance against Diaz only shows that Penn can’t hang with the top five guys anymore.

Outside of fighting, he has a family and that is a big reason to stay out. Without anything to prove, why not sit back in Hawaii and be around for all holidays and events? Heck, I’d love that kind of retirement if I got to rest in relax in Hawaii, who wouldn’t? Surf, beach and pretty much just an awesome atmosphere.

Penn is something of legend when it comes to MMA. He is a fighter who excelled at all aspects of the game with crisp boxing and amazing grappling talents. He was the first of many great lightweight fighters in the UFC.

Now though, with a growing family, a beautiful place to retire to and nothing left to prove to fans or other fighters—why go back?

At this point in his career, it just seems pointless.

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B/R Official Rankings for May: The Top 10 Welterweights in MMA

With Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit waiting to fight later this year, names like Johny Hendricks and Jake Ellenberger are keeping busy while they wait.This past month, a few big names in the welterweight division faced off and helped change up the…

With Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit waiting to fight later this year, names like Johny Hendricks and Jake Ellenberger are keeping busy while they wait.

This past month, a few big names in the welterweight division faced off and helped change up the welterweight landscape.

This past weekend, top-five welterweights from last month’s rankings, Josh Koscheck and Johny Hendricks, squared off and did battle in New Jersey. Hendricks walked away with a slightly controversial split-decision victory.

Also, Bellator welterweight champion, Ben Askren, squared off and defended his title in April against Douglas Lima, which he won by unanimous decision.

These victories alone have helped shake up the welterweight division a little bit. Who ranks among the top 10 welterweights in MMA?

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Georges St-Pierre: UFC Fighters Need to Act More Professional

When you look at MMA, Brian Stann and Georges St-Pierre are two names that stick right out as a couple of the classiest and most professional fighters in the game today.Inside and outside, they act how athletes should act and as someone you would want …

When you look at MMA, Brian Stann and Georges St-Pierre are two names that stick right out as a couple of the classiest and most professional fighters in the game today.

Inside and outside, they act how athletes should act and as someone you would want your son to grow up to be. Some fighters though, don’t.

GSP was asked by MMAFighting.com whether he thinks his fellow UFC co-workers should clean up their act and act in a professional manner:

“This is something that I’ve been doing since the beginning of my career,” St-Pierre said. “I wore a suit at press conferences when all the other fighters were making fun of me. [They said], ‘Oh, look at St-Pierre, he doesn’t wear his sponsor.’ I’m the one who first started doing this stuff, and I think the image and how you conduct yourself … because the sponsor, the big companies in corporate America, they’re not interested in sponsoring an athlete who is good in his sport but acts like an idiot outside of the Octagon. They want someone who performs well, of course, but acts like a gentleman outside of the Octagon.

“I understood that more than ten years ago. That’s why I behave the way I do and I do things that I do. That’s why I have a lot of sponsors. I do have a lot of sponsors and a lot of money because of this. It brings money to the table.”

It’s true—GSP’s almost always seen in a suit pre- and post-fight and never seems to act in a certain way that would make you question him. This has led the Canadian fighter to some big-name sponsorship deals including Gatorade and Under Armour.

“I’m in this business because I want to make it for a living, for money,” GSP said. “People don’t understand that. They used to make fun of me. Now ten years after, now they start picking up on it. It’s sad to see that it takes a long time for them to understand.”

GSP is still recovering from knee surgery and will most likely face interim welterweight title holder Carlos Condit sometime late this year.

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UFC 146 Fight Card: Stipe Miocic Stepping in to Face Shane Del Rosario

UFC 146 has undergone some major changes including one to its big heavyweight title collision between Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos. The card is undergoing one more change to the heavyweight battlefield.Since Overeem’s failed drug test, each h…

Since Overeem’s failed drug test, each heavyweight fight has seemingly undergone some change. This includes newcomer to the UFC, Shane del Rosario who was originally suppose to face Gabriel Gonzaga.

Wrong.

UFC.com noted that with the changes, Gonzaga has moved up to face Roy Nelson and now stepping in to face del Rosario will be Stipe Miocic.

Both fighters are looking to use this fight to propel themselves deeper into the heavyweight pool on a card filled with heavyweights. The card lends a perfect opportunity to set themselves up for a successful future.

Del Rosario is 11-0 heading into this fight with Miocic, and is coming off a first round armbar victory against Lavar Johnson last February. Del Rosario was involved in a car accident last year when he was hit by woman driving drunk.

Del Rosario was set to face Daniel Cormier at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum, but the accident caused a herniated disk and he had to withdraw from the fight.

For Miocic, he is coming off back-to-back wins in the UFC to improve his record to 8-0. Miocic won a decision over Joey Beltran in his UFC debut last October and then proceeded to knockout Phil De Fries in his last fight in February.

Miocic versus del Rosario will air on the main card and pay-per-view portion of UFC 146, which takes place live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 26th.

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UFC 146: Alistair Overeem’s Manager Has Explanation for Positive Drug Test

UFC 146 is rapidly approaching and the question of who will headline the main event in a title fight with Junior dos Santos is still up in the air.Alistair Overeem’s excessive testosterone levels brought us here and his team is very confident that he w…

UFC 146 is rapidly approaching and the question of who will headline the main event in a title fight with Junior dos Santos is still up in the air.

Alistair Overeem‘s excessive testosterone levels brought us here and his team is very confident that he will be able to fight and get licensed for the May 26th event.

Now, Overeem’s manager Glenn Robinson spoke to Inside MMA‘s Ron Kruck about the whole Overeem debacle.

“I spoke with Glenn Robinson, manager of Overeem and he says he is very respectful and is hopeful that he will be granted his license and the entire team is very confident that he will be facing Junior dos Santos come May 26th” said Kruck. “Now Robinson wanted to make it very clear that despite other reports, Overeem did not test high for testosterone, but rather his testosterone to epitestosterone was off and he has a reasonable explanation to why that is, which he will present to the commission next Tuesday.”

Overeem can now apply for a license despite failing his pre-fight drug test and, according to the Nevada Athletic Commission’s Keith Kizer, Overeem has done so and will try to present his case to the NSAC.

“Kizer confirmed several things. Overeem has applied for a license to fight in the state and he will have the opportunity to present his case to the commission on why he should be granted that license, despite failing his pre-fight drug test. Now, some have speculated that he may use the defense of testosterone replacement therapy or TRT as a defense as we’ve seen several fighters do before. Speaking with Kizer, he has said Overeem has not applied for TRT exemption, but that does not mean he can’t. He has time to do that. As long as he gives the commission’s doctors time to deal with the situation.”

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Fabricio Werdum vs. Mike Russow Slated for UFC’s Possible Show in Brazil in June

On the same card that could host Anderson Silva versus Chael Sonnen II and Vitor Belfort versus Wanderlei Silva, a big heavyweight collision could be added to the UFC 147 fun in Brazil.Fabricio Werdum and Mike Russow seem to be headed on a collision co…

On the same card that could host Anderson Silva versus Chael Sonnen II and Vitor Belfort versus Wanderlei Silva, a big heavyweight collision could be added to the UFC 147 fun in Brazil.

Fabricio Werdum and Mike Russow seem to be headed on a collision course for the UFC’s return to Brazil in June, as both fighters have verbally agreed to a matchup.

Werdum is coming off of a win in his return to the UFC against Roy Nelson at UFC 143 in February. The win marked Werdum’s first victory inside the UFC since 2008, and gave him his first win since he beat Fedor Emelianenko in June of 2010.

Russow on the other hand is riding an 11-fight win streak and hasn’t lost since he faced Sergei Kharitonov at Pride 33 in February ’07.

Russow currently owns a four-fight win streak in the UFC, most recently beating Jon Olav Einemo at UFC on Fox 2 in January in his hometown of Chicago.

On top of the Silva versus Sonnen and the matchup of the coaches from the first season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, the featherweight and middleweight finals of TUF Brazil are expected to take place.

Also a welterweight showdown between Erick Silva and Mike Pierce is expected to take place.

No venue or date has been set for UFC 147 yet.

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