Florian believes that lightweight champion Conor McGregor and the rest of the cream of the 155-pound division stand little chance against Barboza. Barboza is, without a doubt, one of the most lethal strikers in the lightweight division. The Brazilian scored a brutal highlight reel knockout over Beneil Dariush at UFC Fight Night 106 to send a […]
Florian believes that lightweight champion Conor McGregor and the rest of the cream of the 155-pound division stand little chance against Barboza. Barboza is, without a doubt, one of the most lethal strikers in the lightweight division. The Brazilian scored a brutal highlight reel knockout over Beneil Dariush at UFC Fight Night 106 to send a […]
Finally, a deal between the UFC and former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has been made that will see “GSP” return to the world famous octagon. Although no opponent for St-Pierre has been announced just yet, his head coach Firas Zahabi says the “ideal scenario” for him would be for St-Pierre to return against either
Finally, a deal between the UFC and former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has been made that will see “GSP” return to the world famous octagon. Although no opponent for St-Pierre has been announced just yet, his head coach Firas Zahabi says the “ideal scenario” for him would be for St-Pierre to return against either UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping or UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor. According to UFC commentator and former fighter Kenny Florian, a fight between McGregor and St-Pierre would be the biggest money fight the promotion can book right now. Florian spoke about the possible matchup on his Anik and Florian Podcast.
“Without a doubt, that’s the biggest fight in UFC history right there,” Florian said. “You look at Georges St-Pierre and what he brings to the table. He was pretty consistent at around one million pay-per-view buys is what I was hearing. And we know what Conor McGregor is bringing in, he’s past that right now. Imagine a 2 million buy pay-per-view in the UFC between those two. I think that’s a very realistic thing. And with the way the UFC has been doing things, they haven’t been waiting around. They have been trying to go for the big game kill right away. They been trying to put together the biggest fights they can, as quickly as possible. That might be the fight. I would love to see it.
“It’s a fascinating fight. I don’t know if we are going see it right off the bat, but we just might. That might be a nice consolation prize for Conor McGregor if he can’t get Mayweather.”
With what Florian stated, it may be one of the main reasons that the UFC refuses to allow that boxing match to get made. While Mayweather vs. McGregor would draw some major PPV (pay-per-view) numbers, the question is how big of a cut of the revenue will Mayweather demand and how much would the UFC get. McGregor no doubt wants to fight the boxing legend, but the promotion giving him an MMA legend like St-Pierre might just be enough to keep the Irishman happy.
On the latest episode of UFC Tonight on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), the broadcast team gave their predictions for this Saturday’s UFC 208: Holm vs. de Randamie pay-per-view in Brooklyn, New York. Featured above is the video courtesy of the official UFC On FOX YouTube channel, which features UFC 208 predictions from reigning UFC Light […]
On the latest episode of UFC Tonight on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), the broadcast team gave their predictions for this Saturday’s UFC 208: Holm vs. de Randamie pay-per-view in Brooklyn, New York. Featured above is the video courtesy of the official UFC On FOX YouTube channel, which features UFC 208 predictions from reigning UFC Light […]
Ahead of this Saturday’s UFC On FOX 23 event, the first “big FOX” fight card promoted by the UFC in 2017 so far, which features a UFC Women’s Bantamweight Title Eliminator in the main event, as number one ranked division contender Valentina Shevchenko meets number two contender and the UFC’s first-ever female winner of The […]
Ahead of this Saturday’s UFC On FOX 23 event, the first “big FOX” fight card promoted by the UFC in 2017 so far, which features a UFC Women’s Bantamweight Title Eliminator in the main event, as number one ranked division contender Valentina Shevchenko meets number two contender and the UFC’s first-ever female winner of The […]
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer B.J. Penn had a rough return to the Octagon this past Sunday night (Jan. 15). He took on Yair Rodriguez in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card in Pho…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAy5VTQrJ7A
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer B.J. Penn had a rough return to the Octagon this past Sunday night (Jan. 15). He took on Yair Rodriguez in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card in Phoenix, Arizona. The speed difference was glaring and “The Prodigy” was never in the fight.
“El Pantera’s” flashy kicks had Penn off balance and backing up in the first round. Even when Penn tied his opponent up against the fence momentarily, he couldn’t hold him there. At the start of the second round, Rodriguez blasted Penn with a front kick followed by a straight punch that dropped him. A series of strikes later and the fight was stopped.
Former UFC fighter and opponent of Penn’s Kenny Florian said enough is enough at the FOX Sports 1 post-fight show. The analyst made his advice to Penn clear:
“Retire, at this point. No one needs to see a legend like B.J. Penn go out like that. That was very hard to see and not to mention the last fight against Frankie Edgar was very hard to see. And now we’re seeing it again against Yair Rodriguez.”
While there have been exceptions to fighters excelling beyond their supposed prime such as Randy Couture when he won the UFC heavyweight title at the age of 43, that was the exception and not the rule. Florian said there are other money making opportunities for the 38-year-old legend.
“The sport has passed him by. This is an eventuality for every single fighter. It doesn’t matter. Eventually, you don’t move the same way. If you don’t keep up with the sport, you’re gonna get beat down like this and this sport is way too hard. There’s other ways to make money and I hope B.J. Penn finds some kind of peace in retiring finally.”
UFC Hall Of Famer BJ Penn made his return to fighting action last night (Sunday, January 15, 2016) when he took on No. 10-ranked featherweight Yair Rodriguez in the main event of UFC Phoenix, suffering a brutal second round knockout loss to ‘El Pantera’. Rodriguez systematically picked apart ‘The Prodigy’ throughout the first six minutes
UFC Hall Of Famer BJ Penn made his return to fighting action last night (Sunday, January 15, 2016) when he took on No. 10-ranked featherweight Yair Rodriguez in the main event of UFC Phoenix, suffering a brutal second round knockout loss to ‘El Pantera’.
Rodriguez systematically picked apart ‘The Prodigy’ throughout the first six minutes of the contest, before landing a devastating hook that dropped the former lightweight and welterweight champ and eating a barrage of punches to end the night. Penn did not speak to any media following the loss, however, a few fellow fighters chimed in on the matter (via FOX Sports) during the FS1 post-fight show, stating that they believe it’s time for Penn to hang up the gloves.
Former UFC featherweight and lightweight title challenger Kenny Florian, who lost to Penn back in 2009 in their 155-pound title clash, believes the sport has finally caught up to ‘The Prodigy’ and doesn’t want to see Penn take another vicious beating like that again:
“Retire at this point. No one needs to see a legend like BJ Penn go out like that,” Florian said. “That was very hard to see, not to mention the last fight against Frankie Edgar was very hard to see. Now we’re it again with Yair Rodriguez. The sport has passed him by.
“This is an eventuality for every single fighter. It doesn’t matter, eventually, you don’t move the same way if you don’t keep up with the sport, you’re going to get beat down like this. This sport is way too hard. There’s other ways to make money and I hope BJ Penn finds some kind of peace in retiring finally.”
Photo by Mark J. Rebilas for USA TODAY Sports
Previously Penn’s return was scheduled to take place against lesser-caliber competition, as he was at one point booked against Dennis Siver, followed by Cole Miller soon thereafter. Unfortunately neither of those bouts were able to hold up, eventually landing Penn standing across the Octagon from Rodriguez.
Current UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley isn’t too quick to tell Penn to walk away from the sport, but to perhaps ease back into things by picking his opponents more carefully:
“From the beginning this matchup was problematic,” Woodley said. “Maybe a Cole Miller or a matchup like that would have been a better interest fight back into the UFC.
“Coming in and fighting Yair Rodriguez, who has been on a complete tear might not have been the wisest choice by BJ Penn so I’m not going to completely say retire but he needs to consider his opponents in his next bout.”
Do you think Penn should fight again? If so, who should he throw-down with next?
