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GSP Does Better Than Finish Fights, He Finishes Careers

(When he’s not lifting five-pound dumbbells, he’s ruining careers. / Image courtesy of GSP RUSHFIT)

I know what a lot of you were thinking (and by “a lot” I mean nobody): Where is The12ozCurls with his obligatory fluffy, ball-washing post on Georges St. Pierre pertaining to his upcoming fight? Well, I hate to disappoint my dozens of CagePotato fans and Twitter followers (seriously, *bottom lip quivers* I got like 50) so I will give you what you want. What most of you want is more ammo to fire in my direction if/when GSP loses. And judging from the current CP Fight Picking Contest stats, a majority of you think Johny Hendricks is going to put my beloved Canadian to sleep on Saturday night. You are all entitled to your opinion no matter how wrong it might be.

Let me explain: GSP has dominated the welterweight division for the better part of a decade. He has systematically vanquished each foe with a combination of athleticism, technique, cardio and sound game-planning. There is no debating that. Yet most of the flat-billed hat-wearing mouth-breathing meatheads that scream “KNEEEEES!” whenever there is a clinch, constantly talk shit on GSP because he is a boring fighter that doesn’t finish (and because he is handsome . . . . really really handsome).

That is the knock on one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time—that he’s ambien personified—but upon further review, GSP has done far more long-term damage to his last 8 opponents than ending a fight via TKO or submission. He effectively sent their careers into the toilet, which is far worse than just knocking them out cold. All of the following fighters were the #1 contender for the UFC WW Championship but each one was sent packing like my ex-wife (What? Too soon?). I’ll start with all the fights after GSP kneed Matt Serra’s kidneys into oblivion and became the undisputed champ back at UFC 83.

Take a look at the first guy who’s career GSP derailed after the jump.

(Five-pound dumbbells are the secret to dominance. / Image courtesy of GSP RUSHFIT)

By Nathan Smith

Jon Fitch
Lost via UD at UFC 87
Record since = 7-3-1

(Image courtesty of MMAWeekly)

GSP’s victory over Fitch is the third most lopsided 5-round decision in UFC history. However, Fitch is one of the few that can boast a winning record since facing GSP, but those numbers are inflated. Much like the SEC football teams’ out-of-conference schedule, Fitch padded his stats. He has a positive record by essentially fighting B- to C+ fighters like Akihiro Gono, Paulo Thiago and Ben Saunders. That is not to say defeating a very game Erick Silva is not impressive, but then again, that was Fitch’s last fight in the UFC before getting choked unconscious in World Series of Fighting and then moving across the country for a training job at a start-up gym.

B.J. Penn
Lost via TKO (corner stoppage) at UFC 94
Record since = 3-4-1

During the Countdown special prior to his fight with GSP, Penn looked straight into the camera and said, “To the death Georges. To the death.” Well, thankfully for The Prodigy, his corner stopped the fight at the end of the 4th round or else he might very well be six feet under because he got his ass handed to him. Afterwards, Penn dropped back to lightweight and got a couple wins before running into Frankie Edgar. He then moved back to welterweight where he most recently got annihilated by Nick Diaz and Rory MacDonald. For his next trick (and probably his last), B.J. will try and make the featherweight limit as a coach on the next exciting installment of The Ultimate Fighter *yawn*.

Thiago Alves
Lost via UD at UFC 100
Record since = 2-3

(Image courtesy of SHERDOG)

Alves got taken down a total of 10 times during his contest with GSP. The feared striker didn’t come close to winning a round. He has beaten John Howard and Papy Abedi since November 2008. That is 2 wins in the last five fucking years. Sure, the injury bug has bitten him on more than a few occasions, but that is two wins in FIVE YEARS—a Tito Ortiz or Ken Shamrock level statistic! CagePotato was just an infant (with UFC credentials) five years ago and my liver did NOT look like a baked potato.

Dan Hardy
Lost via UD at UFC 111
Record since = 2-3

(Image courtesy of CombatLifestyle)

Yep, another clean sweep on the scorecards for GSP in this one but there were two times during the fight where Hardy was in severe danger of getting his arm snapped. To Hardy’s credit, he preserved through 25 minutes…but then he lost three consecutive fights afterwards. At least he had the honor of tapping to Chris Lytle during his Lights Out’s retirement fight. Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome has sidelined Hardy for over a year and his career as a fighter is hazy at best.

Josh Koscheck
Lost via UD at 124
Record since = 2-2

(Image courtesy of MMAPro)

GSP jabbed Fraggle Rock’s face into a pulp en route to another 50-45 victory. Koscheck has always been a perennial contender but unless he catches lightning in a bottle, his best days are behind him. In his last fight Robbie Lawler sent him to dream land with a barrage of punches. I wonder what it is like for a notorious shit-talking virtuoso like Kos to walk around backstage at UFC 167 and have to see GSP, Johny Hendricks, AND Lawler—the last three men to beat him. Humbling, I suppose but I bet he still bumps his gums nonetheless.

Jake Shields
Lost via UD at UFC 129
Record since = 3-1-1

Shields conjured his inner Koscheck during his bout with GSP and went into unintentional eye-poke mode, which limited the champion’s vision for a majority of the fight. Even fighting with one peeper, GSP was able to easily outpoint Shields for 25 minutes. Though Shields is 3-1-1, he could just as easily be 1-3-1 because his last two fights were decided via split decision in his favor. He is a very good fighter who probably has a few years left in his career (provided California continues to approve medicinal marijuana) but he will never be champion.

Carlos Condit
Lost via UD at UFC 154
Record since = 1-1

(Image courtesy of CombatLifestyle)

Let’s be honest about two things right now. First, Condit had GSP really hurt for about 90 seconds and that was the only time that “The Natural Born Killer” held any advantage during the 25 minute affair. Secondly, Condit is the only name on this list that still has the potential to be the welterweight champion in the future. Though he is only batting .500 in his last two contests, Carlos Condit is a stud who could be the champ one day if/when GSP retires (or does something else). Until then, he is waiting in line.

Nick Diaz
Lost via UD at UFC 158
Record since = 0-0 RETIRED

Diaz finally got a shot at GSP and was thwarted by footwork, speed and wrestling. The destructor of all things bullshit then (as expected) acted like a petulant child, took his ball, went home, and retired. I can’t wait for 2014 to see if Nick decides to stop promoting his own fighting organization and start promoting his comeback fight (CAGEPOTATO BAN BE DAMNED).

There you have it. With the exception of Carlos Condit, there is not one guy on this list that is a “player” in the welterweight mix. Fitch is out of the UFC, while Penn is grasping at straws as he plays musical weight classes and prepares for a swan song. Thiago Alves needs a new mattress because his bed bugs have been cross-bred with injury bugs and Dan Hardy may never fight again due to his medical condition. Josh Koscheck is still a dickhead but now more of a gatekeeper than contender and the world awaits a global coma for the Jake Shields vs Ben Askren fight to get announced (although now that seems unlikely). That leaves us with Nick Diaz who is, well, Nick Diaz and there isn’t a thing anybody can do about it. Minus Condit, all of these men have seen their once prolific and ascending careers’ tailspin in recent years and there is only one thing that they ALL have in common: They were all dominated by GSP. Georges St. Pierre doesn’t end the fight inside the cage, he ends the fighter.

UFC: The Denial and Determination of BJ Penn

Sometimes, when I remember that BJ Penn has lost four of his last six fights, it honestly gives me a moment of pause.
It’s not that I don’t know the record of Penn backwards and forwards, because I do. Yet in spite of that, it’s hard …

Sometimes, when I remember that BJ Penn has lost four of his last six fights, it honestly gives me a moment of pause.

It’s not that I don’t know the record of Penn backwards and forwards, because I do. Yet in spite of that, it’s hard to reconcile how a fighter of his skill and sheer talent has amassed so many losses.

Perhaps it is because I was an avid fan of the sport when he burst onto the scene, watching him rip through a level of competition that was honestly well beyond his reach, at least on paper.

But no matter where my perspective comes from, the truth is Penn has not done as well as expected.

Of course, there is a fair amount of rationalization available; over half of his losses have occurred fighting much larger opponents. His detractors like to waive this off, dismiss it as nothing more than an excuse.

However, were any number of today’s popular fighters fighting above their natural weight class, they would be praised for their daring and desire; their losses weighed with far more respect.

Now Penn is coming back to the sport. He will coach on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter against the man who took his lightweight title away from him, Frankie Edgar.

While some are glad to see him come back, his return is being met with no small degree of sarcasm from most MMA fans and more than a few journalists.

The reason for his comeback is being dismissed by many as nothing short of denial.

As related by Dana White in a Google+ Hangout interview, Penn stated:

“Yeah, I want this Frankie Edgar fight worse than anything. He should have never beaten me. That guy can’t beat me.”

That guy can’t beat me.

But he did, twice. Neither loss was a beating, per say, but Edgar won each decision by implementing a stick-and-move game plan that Penn just didn’t seem to know how to deal with.

And thus he is back, as an underdog; but is he fueled by denial, or is it nothing more than determination?

It’s always been a little bittersweet to see how former champions are treated by the majority of the public when they attempt to regain what was once lost.

Yes, a healthy degree of skepticism is appropriate, but to mock them for their desires is just ignorant.

A former champions desire to fight again is nothing more than a byproduct of the heart that saw them become champions in the first place.

It’s easy to give up, especially in a sport where there are so many ways to lose. But they didn’t give up. That’s how they got the championship in the first place.

They fought for it, and won.

They may not get to keep the title forever, but to expect them to go quietly into history, to give up the fight when the desire is still there is nothing short of expecting them to give up their passions.

We want fighters to dare to be great. We want them to fight hard and to keep fighting hard when the going gets tough. We have even dubbed it “Championship heart” as a clear indicator of the basic conviction that is mandatory for a fighter to surpass his peers and become the best.

And for a good while, Penn was not only the best in his division, but one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Obviously he wants to fight again. Even now with so many saying he just can’t do it.

But is that enough?

We’ve heard it said many times: “BJ Penn is in shape and he’s going to be the best he’s ever been,” or some variation on that theme. It’s become a kind of running joke that brings his detractors no end of fun when you consider the punchline is the silence that precedes the laughter.

Of course, his last four fights have been at welterweight; a division ill suited for him. In his younger days, jumping up in weight to challenge much larger fighters wasn’t as bad because he was young, fearless and wildly talented.

In many ways, it always seemed his campaigns at 170 were a cry of defiance in the face of growing older. But now, Penn isn’t a young lion anymore. As a fighter gets older, talent just isn’t enough and being fearless sometimes leads to hubris as age sets in.

Penn’s time in the welterweight division was important simply because it was something he needed to do.

Now that he’s returning to a lighter division, it would seem he has reconciled with his past and wants to prove his detractors wrong.

In fact, it seems like he’s always been fighting to prove the naysayers wrong.

They said a little man couldn’t move up in weight to take out the juggernaut that was Matt Hughes. Penn did it and defeated him in a single round, making it look like child’s play.

They said a little man couldn’t go up in weight and hope to hold his own with legitimate middleweights, yet he faced and defeated Rodrigo Gracie at middleweight by unanimous decision.

Then, he even fought at light heavyweight against Lyoto Machida, who weighed in at over 200 pounds come fight night. He lost the bout via unanimous decision, but Penn gave Machida all he could handle, more than anyone would have expected of a man who was fighting at lightweight 17 months prior.

Now, “they” are at it again, saying Penn is washed up and done and should just retire. While speaking freely and harshly is a right “they” have, expecting him to listen is, thankfully, contrary to our experience.

But now, going down in weight, we will see Penn once again plunging into uncharted territory. Just because he will be the naturally bigger man in more than a few bouts doesn’t mean victory is a given.

The men he will be facing, fighters like Edgar, are fast and fleet of foot. If Penn wants to match them, he will need to hone his body so it is equal to the task. He will need to be in the best shape of his life just to keep up with his younger opponents.

Can he get into that kind of shape?

Sure he can, but it is going to require his utmost dedication. Nothing can be taken for granted anymore. He cannot assume his talent, skill and experience will carry him to victory if conditioning fails him.

Penn is a fighter, and fighters heed the decrees of their heart, which is exactly how it should be. Maybe Penn really is too old to fight anymore and maybe he isn’t, but to mock his desire is to mock what makes the fight game so great.

So, is it denial or determination that is bringing him back?

It’s probably equal measures of both, to be honest. Fighters by their very nature deny convention. To fight in a cage in front of millions of people is not a natural act. It is that denial which walks hand-in-hand with the daring required to step into the cage in the first place.

And the determination? Well, that can be summed up in the credo he has upheld his entire career.

“Just scrap.”

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bas Rutten to Guest Coach for Team Penn on TUF 19, So Let’s Celebrate With Gifs

So former lightweight/welterweight champion BJ Penn appeared on Inside MMA last Friday (video above) to plug his upcoming coaching gig on TUF 19 opposite Frankie Edgar, which will culminate in a featherweight rubber match(?) of sorts that is doomed to never actually transpire. Aside from blinking approximately 750 times over the course of his three minute appearance, Penn extended a guest coaching invitation to Inside MMA co-host and former UFC Heavyweight champion Bas Rutten. Kenny Rice, on the other hand, was hung out to dry.

Rutten graciously accepted and will now join the likes of fellow former Heavyweight champion Mark Coleman, Nova Uniao founder Andre Pederneiras, Dutch kickboxing and Muay Thai champion Rob Kaman and boxing coach Jason Parillo on Team Penn (Rutten’s Unofficial title: Bang-Bong-Bong Throat Slitter Extraordinaire). Let’s hope his one-off spot on the show is as memorable as Momma Rousey’s was this season, because we imagine “El Guapo” is getting pretty sick of being shown up by that adorable little menace.

But for now, let’s just celebrate this occasion the only way we know how, with a veritable parade of amazing Bas Rutten gifs…

YAY JOURNALISM.

–J. Jones

Mark Coleman Joins ‘The Ultimate Fighter 19? as BJ Penn’s Wrestling Coach

(Can assistant swagger-coach Phil Baroni be far behind? / Photo via Getty)

Former UFC heavyweight champion and Hall of Famer Mark Coleman recently got a call from the returning B.J. Penn asking “The Hammer” to join Penn’s coaching staff on The Ultimate Fighter 19. “It’s hard to put it into words. The word ‘honored’, everybody uses it too much, but I really am just honored that this guy would want to use me as his coach,” Coleman told Fox Sport’s Damon Martin.

“Me and BJ Penn have been friends since the beginning of this thing, and I consider him a great friend…I’m honored that he respects me enough to handle this position. I don’t take it lightly. It’s going to be a serious job to me out there. I don’t have a whole lot of idols, but BJ Penn is one of them. I love the guy. For him to ask me to do this, I can’t put it into words. Hopefully, I can do a good job with him and as long as he’s happy with me, I’m good.”

TUF 19 will debut on Fox Sports 1 early in 20014. BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar will coach opposite one another on the show and then fight one another for the third time. Coleman will leave for Las Vegas in a few weeks to help Penn prepare the young fighters for the opportunity of their lives.

(Can assistant swagger-coach Phil Baroni be far behind? / Photo via Getty)

“I’m hoping to do my best to turn one of these guys into a champion,” the 48-year-old said. “The closest thing to actually being in the ring and fighting is getting to know a fighter, and training him and actually watching him in there…I’ve always wanted to be able to give back somehow, and one of the few ways I can give back in general is to help kids like this achieve their goals.”

Coleman has not fought since his loss to Randy Couture at UFC 109 in February 2010, and had a hip replacement surgery earlier this year. “The Godfather of Ground and Pound” seems to be looking forward to getting back on the mat with the young guns on TUF 19.

“Here we go,” he said. “I’m going to have to put my hip to the test.”

Penn’s choice of Coleman as his wrestling coach reflects his appreciation and respect for old-school fighters like himself — but should he have picked a younger, more modern wrestling coach to help guide his team to victory? Or at least one with a fully-functioning hip?

– Elias Cepeda

TUF 19: BJ Penn Comes Full Circle Against Frankie Edgar

The year is 2007.
The UFC’s lightweight division is not only not a feature attraction, it basically doesn’t exist. Sean Sherk is the champion, but he’s only held the belt for a couple of months after the title had been shelved for nearly four years.
Th…

The year is 2007.

The UFC’s lightweight division is not only not a feature attraction, it basically doesn’t exist. Sean Sherk is the champion, but he’s only held the belt for a couple of months after the title had been shelved for nearly four years.

The man many consider the true champion, legendary Hawaiian warrior BJ Penn has only been back in action for about a year after a UFC absence due to contract issues. He’s fought exclusively at welterweight since his comeback.

But now he’s coaching The Ultimate Fighter 5. He’ll see Jens Pulver, a longtime lightweight rival, across the cage when the season is over. All the competitors are lightweights, most of whom will become household names within a few years.

Lightweight is back.

BJ Penn is back.

He’ll go on to torch Pulver in his return to 155 pounds and reclaim the title he never lost soon after.

His place as the greatest lightweight of all time is secured with title defenses that span across two years, most of which see him looking better than he ever has.

The year is 2014.

Built on the blood, sweat, and tears of the men who have competed since 2006, the lightweight division is a feature attraction. Anthony Pettis is the champion and is still seeing his popularity grow.

He’s young, talented, and marketable, and the UFC is enjoying promoting its newest superstar.

A weight class below him, legendary Hawaiian warrior BJ Penn is reinventing himself as a featherweight. He’s working with diet guru Mike Dolce to make his first trip to 145 pounds a pleasant one.

He’s on television every week, coaching The Ultimate Fighter 19, appearing in the position for the first time since 2007. When it’s all over, he’ll see longtime rival Frankie Edgar—a man who handed him two losses and sent him packing from the division he basically created—across the cage. No one knows what the future holds for the cast members, but some are bound to break through in the UFC.

BJ Penn is back.

He’s come full circle.

The BJ Penn you’ll see next year is not the one you saw in 2007.

That Penn left town on his own terms, hadn’t lost at 155 pounds since Pulver beat him in 2002 and was a welterweight title contender while he awaited a chance to return to his natural weight class.

This Penn is a loser of four of his past six, his only win in that time coming over the now-retired Matt Hughes. Dana White has begged him to retire, but he’s not going out unless it’s on his terms.

Again.

In a lot of ways, the Penn returning after a layoff of at least 16 months is what Pulver was in 2007—a former champion who had shown some signs of fading, but who no one wanted to admit might be done.

The Penn loss was his second in a row, and he’d go on to lose six straight after a single win. Since 2007 he’s gone 6-10, and losses in more recent times have been to guys he’d have destroyed in his prime.

The other actor in this play, Edgar, is in 2014, ironically, the Penn of 2007. He’s a former champion who’s still in his prime, beloved by most for his gutsy performances, and thought by some to have never lost his title in the first place.

He’s reinvented himself in a new weight class and is looking to vanquish his greatest rival one more time on the way back to the top of the heap.

So why do the fight?

Edgar beat Penn twice in 2010, and nothing has indicated that the two have gotten closer in ability in the time since they last met.

For one, Penn wants it. Bad.

For another, Edgar never met a fight he didn’t like, so he didn’t take much convincing.

Plus, it’s happening in a new weight class where the possibilities are endless for either guy coming off a win.

But perhaps most importantly, the fight is happening because MMA is a full-circle sport. There’s a very clear trajectory in the career of a mixed martial artist.

You start off young.

You rise.

You beat veterans on the way to the top.

You maybe win a title.

You maybe lose it.

You’re a veteran on the way down.

You fall.

You’re old.

It’s a would-be circle of life, and it’s being played out right in front of our eyes with Penn’s return to TUF and, eventually, the cage.

The only thing left to see is whether or not he can alter that course, whether he can show that he’s got something left in a career that is, without question, among the most remarkable in the history of the sport. Time and evidence, however, aren’t on his side.

This spring BJ Penn comes full circle against Frankie Edgar. It’s a fight six years in the making, but we didn’t even know it until a few weeks ago.

Looking at history though, we all kind of knew this was the way it had to end.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

The Potato Nation Speaks: BJ Penn Has No Chance Versus Frankie Edgar

(Herb Dean convincing BJ Penn not to drop to featherweight. / Photo via Getty Images)

By Matt Saccaro

The majority of CagePotato readers do not give BJ Penn a chance to beat Frankie Edgar in their featherweight meeting next year. Out of nearly 1,000 people who voted on our previous sidebar poll, 55% believe that Penn will get his ass kicked by Edgar and then retire for a 400^th time (and then perhaps break a CagePotato ban by unretiring for a 401^st time).

33% of the voters had even less confidence in Penn. What could be worse than getting your ass kicked again, you ask? Not even being able to make 145 pounds in the first place. That’s right. A third of our readership is skeptical about Penn’s commitment to fitness and thinks that Penn at featherweight is a pipe dream.

It also appears that 7% of our readers are delusional (or just decided to be trolls and skew our results by voting for the most insane selection). They believe that Penn will become the UFC featherweight champion by the end of 2014. No joke.

And the ultimate minority, the remaining 5%? They think that Penn will get his revenge on Edgar and then retire afterwards.

Thankfully, it appears that most of our readers have a grip on reality. Penn lost decisively to Edgar two times, largely because he was slower than Edgar and had worse conditioning. These problems will only be exacerbated when Penn, who’s notorious for his poor conditioning and inability to fight to the death, attempts to drop down to featherweight — a weight class Edgar has fought in twice now without any sign that he’s been depleted by the weight cut. Penn, once he realizes that he’s not a young man anymore and that he wasted his prime thinking that he was too good to train hard, will very likely retire again.

(Herb Dean convincing BJ Penn not to drop to featherweight. / Photo via Getty Images)

By Matt Saccaro

And the ultimate minority, the remaining 5%? They think that Penn will get his revenge on Edgar and then retire afterwards.

Regarding those who think Penn can’t even make the cut to 145, well, let’s just say that we at CagePotato don’t think that little of Penn. We just think that Edgar is the better fighter. The reasons he beat Penn will still be present (and more apparent) when they face off after their TUF 19 coaching stint.

And Penn winning the title? The 70-odd people who believe that are the last few stragglers that after all this time still believe that the mythical “motivated BJ Penn” is the pound-for-pound GOAT.

Oh, and the 5% of people who think Penn will win and retire? The only part they’re probably right about is the retiring.

Want your voice heard? Be sure to vote in our current sidebar poll “Was Alexander Gustafsson Robbed at UFC 165?” and stay tuned for the next installment of The Potato Nation Speaks!