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UFC on Fox 5 Penn and Rua: Two Legends Could Fall This Weekend

It could be the end for two mixed martial arts legends this weekend at UFC on Fox 5 from Seattle.Hawaiian fighting legend BJ “The Prodigy” Penn, and longtime Brazilian light heavyweight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua are both in action, trying to main…

It could be the end for two mixed martial arts legends this weekend at UFC on Fox 5 from Seattle.

Hawaiian fighting legend BJ “The Prodigy” Penn, and longtime Brazilian light heavyweight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua are both in action, trying to maintain their status in the pecking order of the UFC.

Penn has been near or at the top of two different divisions for a span of 11 years starting in 2001, and is still considered by many a top-ten fighter at both 155 and 170 pounds. He is clearly nearing the end of his time in the fight game, but will have one last shot at staying in the welterweight title picture by beating new-breed star and rising Canadian young gun Rory MacDonald.

MacDonald is a monster of a man for welterweight, and once again Penn gives up a large size advantage and will need every ounce of his experience, skill and cardio to stand a chance against him.

This fight has the makings of a classic, or it could be a very ugly end for the Hawaiian legend. Can Penn stop MacDonald’s meteoric rise, or will this really be the last time we see BJ Penn in the Octagon?

The fall of MMA legends may not stop there on Saturday night, as immediately following Penn vs. MacDonald, former Pride and UFC champion Brazilian superstar Mauricio Rua will face rising light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson.

Rua has been a champion in both the Pride Fighting organization and the UFC in his ten-year career, and has beaten the best-of-the-best in the world like Quinton Jackson, Chuck Liddell, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Kevin Randleman, Alistair Overeem (twice), Forrest Griffin and Lyoto Machida. Rua lost the UFC light heavyweight title to Jon Jones in March of 2011 and is looking for one final shot to reclaim the gold.

Like Penn-MacDonald, the Rua-Gustafsson fight is another classic case of a possible changing-of-the-guard scenario. Jones aside, established MMA stars like Rua have been ruling the roost of many of the divisions in the UFC for years now, with fighters like Gustafsson waiting in the wings.

If Gustafsson is able to dominate Rua like many believe he will, it may be the end of Rua‘s brilliant MMA career on Saturday night.

Two legends looking to send the youngsters back to the training room. Two rising stars looking to put an end to two brilliant careers.

These two fights are not even the main event on Saturday night, and my Christmas comes on December 8th this year.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and guest blogger for Sportsnet.ca UFC.

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter @wakafightermma.

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[VIDEOS] Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, Donald Cerrone, + More Make Their Picks for Ben Henderson vs. Nate Diaz

Can you guys imagine what the MMA landscape will be like if Nate Diaz is able to defeat Ben Henderson on Saturday, thus becoming the lightweight champion? For starters, this article will be the first and last time you ever see the word “thus” in a sentence where the subject is a Diaz, but on the grander scale, just try and imagine the ways a Diaz with a belt will throw a wrench into the UFC’s plans. Interviews snippets will be so short and incoherent that MMA writers will be forced to resort to rambling, ludicrous conspiracy theories just to pass the time. And as for the brand-promoting public appearances that have become the standard for a champion? You can forget about those; we’re talking about a man who once tried to fight a fictional Brazilian character at a Jiu-Jitsu expo for Christ’s sake. If one fan even mentions the Maynard fight around Diaz in public, the UFC will probably have a full-scale riot on their hands.

If you would, just picture Nate Diaz at an anti-bullying seminar for a moment. After showing up 3 hours late and being reluctantly called to the stage, Diaz will deliver a one minute diatribe aimed at America’s “faggoty yoots” who should “just like, yeah, I dunno” before calling out “that bitch Georges,” his eyes never lifting from the linoleum floor. When he is informed that he is in fact the lightweight champion and can’t fight GSP right now, Diaz will declare that he’s “done with this shit” before slapping that stupid ass hat off the school’s gym teacher on his way out the door. Simply put, it will be glorious.

Anyway, MMAInterviews recently asked a bevy of pros including Frankie Edgar, Randy Couture, Gray Maynard, and Donald Cerrone to determine the likelihood of a world in which a Diaz is champion, and believe it or not, the overwhelming majority of them believe it’s something we should start preparing ourselves for.

Part 1 is above and part 2 is after the jump.

If you would, just picture Nate Diaz at an anti-bullying seminar for a moment. After showing up 3 hours late and being reluctantly called to the stage, Diaz will deliver a one minute diatribe aimed at America’s “faggoty yoots“ who should “just like, yeah, I dunno” before calling out “that bitch Georges,” his eyes never lifting from the linoleum floor. When he is informed that he is in fact the lightweight champion and can’t fight GSP right now, Diaz will declare that he’s “done with this shit” before slapping that stupid ass hat off the school’s gym teacher on his way out the door. Simply put, it will be glorious.

By a final tally of 8 to 3 (with 4 undecided), it appears as if Diaz would be the heavy favorite coming into Saturday’s fight. The most telling pick in my opinion would be that of former champ Frankie Edgar, who you might recall actually beat Ben Henderson at UFC 150 yet was declared the loser (YEAH, I SAID IT). Edgar believes Diaz will lay a good old fashioned 209 curb-stomping on Henderson. The bookies, however, do not share this sentiment, as Henderson is currently a slight favorite hovering around -155.

So we might as well get the obligatory question out of the way: Who do you like for this fight and how, Potato Nation?

–J. Jones

Henderson vs. Diaz: Pros Make Their Picks for UFC on FOX 5 Main Event

Nate Diaz and Ben Henderson will battle for the lightweight title this Saturday night in the main event of the UFC’s fifth Fox card.The bout is an intriguing one, with Henderson entering as a slight favorite and Diaz widely considered to be a very live…

Nate Diaz and Ben Henderson will battle for the lightweight title this Saturday night in the main event of the UFC’s fifth Fox card.

The bout is an intriguing one, with Henderson entering as a slight favorite and Diaz widely considered to be a very live underdog.

The matchup is so tight, in fact, that it is without a doubt necessary to get a little insider information. And who better to provide that information than a cohort of UFC stars?

From heavyweight wrecking ball Shane Carwin to flyweight star Ian McCall, several of the UFC’s biggest talents and most charismatic personalities weigh in on Henderson vs. Diaz and provide insight as to how the contest is likely to play out.

Of the eight fighters solicited, five make somewhat firm predictions, while two sort of sidestep the question and provide a very political response. Ultimate Fighter champion Forrest Griffin straddles the middle, leaning towards Diaz because of Henderson’s penchant for wearing crocs, though I’m not certain that qualifies as a firm prediction.

At least McCall’s forecast (2:28 mark) leaves little room for speculation as to what he thinks.

In addition to Carwin, Griffin and McCall, Rashad Evans, Pat Barry, Randy Couture, Alexander Gustafsson and Frankie Edgar each chime in to add their two cents.

What do you think? Will “Smooth” retain his championship, or will Diaz supplant him as the lightweight division’s next king?

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UFC on FOX 5: Mauricio Rua vs. Alexander Gustafsson Head-to-Toe Breakdown

Alexander Gustafsson has won five straight fights and is beginning to receive recognition as a potential threat to light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. In order to get his shot at the titleholder in the near future, though, Gustafsson must defeat Maur…

While he became UFC champion during that time, Rua has alternated wins and losses since his knockout of Chuck Liddell in April 2009. Coming off a somewhat unimpressive win over Brandon Vera, Rua will be looking to prove he is still a serious contender for the belt that Jones stole from him.

This light heavyweight bout could shake up the division significantly, so let’s take a look at what areas Gustafsson and Rua hold their advantages in and which fighter is most likely to walk away with the victory.

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UFC on FOX 5: Predicting the Fight-Night Bonuses

UFC on Fox 5 takes place this weekend with a great amount of hype behind it, with the lightweight title up for grabs in the headliner between Benson Henderson and Nate Diaz.The card is absolutely stacked from top to bottom. It kicks off with a former t…

UFC on Fox 5 takes place this weekend with a great amount of hype behind it, with the lightweight title up for grabs in the headliner between Benson Henderson and Nate Diaz.

The card is absolutely stacked from top to bottom. It kicks off with a former title challenger, the main card boasts former and future champions and the main event promises to be a classic.

Here are the favorites to win each fight night bonus.

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[PHOTO] It Looks Like BJ Penn Isn’t the Only One In Ridiculous Shape for UFC on FOX 5

Remember that flabby, somewhat haggard version of Mauricio Rua that showed up to about every other one of his fights in the UFC with bum knees and a shit gas tank? He died. And now his freakishly fit doppleganger is here to bang all of our girlfriends and wives. So I have both, big whoop wannafightaboutit?

As was the case for BJ Penn, it appears that Shogun has whipped himself into damn near the best shape we have ever seen him in for his upcoming fight with Alexander Gustafsson. And it’s surprisingly appropriate; both Rua and Penn are aging legends looking to make one last run at a title shot, and both men must get past two highly-touted young bucks in order to do so. And no one wants to show up out of shape on the same network that airs The Choice. A loss is a loss, but having Pauly D mock your love handles with a laser pointer is a punishment no person on this earth deserves.

Although Shogun has been given a slightly better chance of pulling off the upset than Penn, both men are considerable underdogs heading into Saturday’s event, so make sure to swing by CP at 8 p.m. EST to see if these two will rise from the ashes or go down in flames. And if you’re in the Boston/Dorchester area, hit up either Karma or myself on Twitter to see which dive bar we’ll be catching the fights from and come join us. We apologize in advance for getting you thrown out of said dive bar, but that bouncer was totally giving one of us the stink eye.

–J. Jones