The combat sports community was shocked when it was announced that the UFC gave BJ Penn another fight. Penn will settle his longtime rivalry with Nick Lentz inside the Octagon at a date and location yet to be determined. The legendary Hawaiian is on a seven-fight losing streak, and hasn’t won since 2010 when he […]
The combat sports community was shocked when it was announced that the UFC gave BJ Penn another fight.
Penn will settle his longtime rivalry with Nick Lentz inside the Octagon at a date and location yet to be determined. The legendary Hawaiian is on a seven-fight losing streak, and hasn’t won since 2010 when he knocked out Matt Hughes in 21 seconds at UFC 123. UFC President Dana White was asked about the situation during last night’s (Sat. July 27, 2019) UFC 240 pay-per-view (PPV) post-fight press conference.
In regards to why White granted Penn another bout, he admitted the fight was agreed upon on one condition only. That it be Penn’s final in the UFC – win, lose, or draw:
“Cause he terrorized me for, freaking a week, and wouldn’t stop texting me for three days straight,” White said. “He talked me into it. We have a deal now. Win, lose, or draw, this is BJ Penn’s last fight. Because I won’t give him another fight. It’s very clear between us now that there won’t be another fight no matter what.”
When asked about the possibility that Penn take a fight somewhere else after his bout with Lentz, White said there’s nothing he can do to control such a decision:
“There’s nothing I can do about that,” White said. “I’ve voiced my concerns, I’ve known BJ Penn since he was, like, 19-years-old. You know, BJ is gonna do what BJ wants to do. I’ve had a very crazy relationship with him and his family for the last 20 years, and BJ walked me through a million reasons why he needs this fight and why he has to have it.
“He talked me into it, and, you guys know me, when I’m in, I’m in and I’m gonna do what I’m gonna do. So, we’re doing this. He has promised me; win, lose, or draw, he will retire after this fight. We’ll see if he keeps his promise. He won’t fight here though. That I guarantee you. We won’t be sitting here doing this again. That I promise you.”
Penn’s last bout resulted in a decision defeat to Clay Guida at UFC 237 after 15 minutes. As for Lentz, he recently had a two-fight win streak snapped by Charles Oliveira. Lentz was finished in the second round at UFC Rochester.
What do you think about Penn fighting the final bout of his UFC career against Lentz?
By now, you know the deal when it comes to Dana White’s videoblogs, and today’s “episode” is no different. Taking a behind-the-scenes look at the aftermath of the UFC’s second Fox event, the UFC 143 videoblog contains the familiar mix of upper and downer moments, with an emphasis on the downer. Especially tough to watch is Joey Beltran’s realization that his Zuffa career may have reached a temporary standstill in the wake of his first round KO loss to Lavar Johnson. Keep your chin up, “Mexicutioner.”
Let’s get right to the highlights.
(0:45) –Jon Jones, seen here for the last time before disappearing into a thicket of notes from which he has yet to emerge.
(1:40) – Eric Wisely, still in awe of the calf-slicer Charles Oliveira was able to pull on him. The pain was apparently so incredible that Wisely has trouble explaining to the backstage physician where exactly the strain was.
By now, you know the deal when it comes to Dana White’s videoblogs, and today’s “episode” is no different. Taking a behind-the-scenes look at the aftermath of the UFC’s second Fox event, the UFC 143 videoblog contains the familiar mix of upper and downer moments, with an emphasis on the downer. Especially tough to watch is Joey Beltran’s realization that his Zuffa career may have reached a temporary standstill in the wake of his first round KO loss to Lavar Johnson. Keep your chin up, “Mexicutioner.”
Let’s get right to the highlights.
(0:45) –Jon Jones, seen here for the last time before disappearing into a thicket of notes from which he has yet to emerge.
(1:40) – Eric Wisely, still in awe of the calf-slicer Charles Oliveira was able to pull on him. The pain was apparently so incredible that Wisely has trouble explaining to the backstage physician where exactly the strain was.
(3:30) – “Shit man, he take some knees, huh?” – John Olav Einemo, who seems a little more pissed about the clusterfuck of a plane ride he had to take from Norway in retrospect. He still manages to congratulate Mike Russow on his win, however. Stay classy, J.O.E.
(4:45) – Another look at the gash under Nick Lentz’s left eye that “cut” *snicker* his bout with Evan Dunham short.
(5:10) – Does anyone know who the older gentleman responsible for hyping up Michael Bisping is? He could give Flavor Flav a run for his money is all we’re saying.
(5:50) – The agony of defeat, paired here with the thrill of victory. And it’s honestly hard to tell which one is which.
(6:08) – Example #327 of why you never let it go to the judges. It’s like jumping off an air hockey table; it only opens the door for bitter disappointment.
(6:27) – After mirroring the above sentiment, Bisping says that Chael Sonnen “punches like a woman,” before congratulating him on the win. Oh, the ironing.
(6:50) – Bisping, now claiming that Sonnen agreed “The Count” may have taken the first two rounds of their middleweight clash. Man, Bisping just doesn’t have it in him to give a straight compliment to someone, does he? Though we agree, 30-27 was bullshit.
(8:19) – We’d be more grossed out by Phil Davis‘ shin wound if we hadn’t recently come across this.
(9:07) – Perhaps it’s due to my limited knowledge of the Hip hop genre, but it took me like 10 rewinds to figure out that the gentlemen asking DW for an autograph wasn’t T.I. It isn’t, right?
Totally illegal in NCAA competition. (Photo: UFC.com)
“It’s usually not like this.” With that text I found myself apologizing to a UFC-virgin for the first time in a long time. My friend had just told me that she was at home watching the the show on FOX, without any provocation from me mind you. “This is that fighting you like, right???”. I assured her that the event had yet to capture the energy and excitement indicative of the sport. “I’m going back and forth between this and figure skating,” she replied. I can’t really say I blame her, either.
While we expected plenty of grappling in the bouts themselves, the wrestling theme seemed to carry on throughout the production at large. The usually-charismatic Jon Jones wrestled with his notes, relying on them not just for in-depth fight analysis but for simple things like his thoughts on fighting Rashad. The opening act wrestled with fatigue, leading to a performance as exhausting for fans as it was for the competitors in the cage. And once again, FOX wrestled with an underwhelming broadcast that left the most exciting action behind in the prelims.
Enough belly aching about the show itself, let’s take a look at what made such a promising event so forgettable for the masses.
Totally illegal in NCAA competition. (Photo: UFC.com)
“It’s usually not like this.” With that text I found myself apologizing to a UFC-virgin for the first time in a long time. My friend had just told me that she was at home watching the the show on FOX, without any provocation from me mind you. “This is that fighting you like, right???”. I assured her that the event had yet to capture the energy and excitement indicative of the sport. “I’m going back and forth between this and figure skating,” she replied. I can’t really say I blame her, either.
While we expected plenty of grappling in the bouts themselves, the wrestling theme seemed to carry on throughout the production at large. The usually-charismatic Jon Joneswrestled with his notes, relying on them not just for in-depth fight analysis but for simple things like his thoughts on fighting Rashad. The opening act wrestled with fatigue, leading to a performance as exhausting for fans as it was for the competitors in the cage. And once again, FOX wrestled with an underwhelming broadcast that left the most exciting action behind in the prelims.
Enough belly aching about the show itself, let’s take a look at what made such a promising event so forgettable for the masses.
The first fight of the FOX broadcast was a dreadful match between Demian Maia and Chris Weidman. The All-American wrestler showed little fear of Maia’s proven BJJ, taking him down numerous times throughout the bout. Though he went down without much trouble, Maia impressively scrambled back to his feet more often than not. His striking, however, left much to be desired. The Brazilian showcased limited weapons in the stand-up, though neither man went for the kill, even when they had the stamina to do so. Weidman’s cardio woes are easily forgiven; he took this fight on eleven-days notice following Munoz’s departure from the card. Maia’s lethargy is a bit less understandable. The pair were beyond exhausted in round three, opting to forgo the opportunities they found themselves in simply because it was far less tiring to do nothing at all. Weidman took the split decision in a (hopefully) easily forgotten performance. As the lone lead-in for the co-main events, this bout really set the stage for a disappointing evening.
Perhaps it’s best that Michael Bisping and Chael Sonnen had a scant eleven days to talk up their bout, as it didn’t live up to the hastened hype it received. It’s not their fault, really. They both fought their asses off, it’s just that each man made the other look bad. The opening seconds reflected what many expected from this bout, with Chael landing an instant takedown and going to work. A moment later, however, Bisping threw the script out of the Octagon and popped right back up to his feet. His defensive wrestling wasn’t limited to the ground, either. The Brit surprised many everyone by repeatedly circling off the fence, pinning Sonnen against the cage and controlling much of the action. Though not much happened in the clinch, he outworked “The American Gangster” in the center of the cage as well, finding a home for his hands. Round three was all Chael; the self-proclaimed Middleweight champion put “The Count” in peril while taking his back and mounting him. If Twitter is any indication, exactly 50% of you are outraged with Sonnen’s unanimous decision victory. If even industry experts can’t agree on who won and by what margin, what must new fans have thought of the outcome? A fist fight should be a relatively easy affair to judge, but a bout like this puts MMA’s nebulous scoring system in the spotlight. The UFC now has the momentous rematch with Anderson Silva that they’d hoped for, but Chael’s performance hardly commanded the second bite at the apple like his submission win over Stann did.
The main event pitted perennial #1 contender Rashad Evans against the undefeated Phil Davis. Evans insisted that he would out-wrestle “Mr. Wonderful” convincingly, collegiate pedigrees be damned, and was confident that the rising star would fade under the bright lights of a high-stakes bout. As the final seconds of round one ticked away, and he stared up at those bright lights with his back against the canvas and his arms pinned in a crucifix, Davis must have heard Rashad’s claims echoing in his mind. Davis’ stand-up, though vastly improved, was still too sluggish for Rashad’s fast hands, and he repeatedly found himself in compromising positions on the ground throughout the bout. At times Davis looked disillusioned, but he never stopped fighting, he never allowed Rashad to put him away. He’ll benefit from this loss and has ample time to develop his skills and grow as a fighter. Evans will find no such respite. Following his unanimous decision win, the UFC has once again dangled the Jon Jones carrot in front of him. Fortunately he has little time to question if the fight will actually take place. The former training partners and friends are slated to dance at UFC 145 in Atlanta, Georgia. Assuming Evans picked up no injuries in his five round battle, this gives him just enough time to recover and get in a full training camp for the April 21st bout.
You need look no further than last night’s bonus checks for proof that the best of last night’s tussles were left on the cutting room floor. Lavar Johnson hurt Joey Beltran early with body shots, but it was a torrent of brutal uppercuts that dropped “The Mexicutioner” late in first round. Johnson picked up $65k for the evening’s “Knock out of the Night” and the first win for a Strikeforce heavyweight since their formal assimilation into the Octagon. Eric Wisely’s UFC debut was short lived. Charles Oliveira welcomed the rookie to the cage with some hard leg kicks before taking him to the ground and raining down shots. The Brazilian quickly transitioned from leg lock to leg lock before catching a rare calf-slicer and drawing the tap in just 1:43 of the first round. A terrific debut at Featherweight for “Do Bronx” was made all the sweeter with a check for the “Submission of the Night”. In the evening’s “Fight of the Night”, Evan Dunham and Nick Lentz swung away early and often. There was little feeling out process as the two traded shots in close quarters throughout the first frame. Both fighters slowed in round two, but their assaults were just as spirited. Dunham battered Lentz on the ground, swelling and cutting the fighter just below his eye. The damage was serious enough to limit his vision and force cage-side physicians to halt the bout between the second and third frames.
Main Bouts (on Fox at 8 p.m. ET on Fox): -Rashad Evans def. Phil Davis by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45), R5
-Chael Sonnen def. Michael Bisping by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28), R3
-Chris Weidman def. Demian Maia by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28), R3
Preliminary Bouts (on Fuel TV at 5 p.m. ET on Fuel TV):
-Evan Dunham def. Nick Lentz by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00, R2.
-Mike Russow def. Jon Olav Einemo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
-Cub Swanson def. George Roop by TKO (punches) at 2:22, R2
-Charles Oliveira def. Eric Wisely via submission at 1:43, R1
-Michael Johnson def. Shane Roller by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
-Lavar Johnson def. Joey Beltran by knockout (punches) at 4:24, R1
-Chris Camozzi def. Dustin Jacoby by submission (front choke) at 1:08, R3
