I'll take Fortune for $500, Alex.
I guess that answers that.
So the Matt Hughes/BJ Penn rematch brought all the excitement it promised. Hughes weathered a beating and put an apparently injured Penn away in the third. But, now that he has established himself as the undisputed welterweight champ, does this mean that Hughes is now the best welterweight out there? This question goes to the whole nature of MMA fighting. The best fighter doesn’t always win. As good as Matt Hughes’ all-around skills are, BJ Penn may be the better fighter…faster hands, better striker, incomparable BJJ skills, and obviously just as strong. In their first fight, Penn simply disregarded the warnings of Hughes superior strength and ran right over him. Hell, if it wasn’t for his falling out with Zuffa, Penn may have been the one defending his belt Saturday night.
The rematch showed that he could still hang with a Hughes who had improved since their last fight. But winning in this sport depends on many things: hard work, ability, heart, and luck. And while Hughes has all these qualities in spades, it was Penn’s bad luck that lost him the title, just as much as it was Hughes’ skill. Hughes is the kind of perfect workhorse/gladiator that Pat Miletich loves and who thrives in his system. But BJ Penn is some sort of MMA Mozart; a boundless talent who’s gift invariably and unfortunately outpaces his motivation.
Say this much for Penn, he was as classy in losing to Hughes as he was in beating him. I think these two should meet annually. Somebody tell Dana White to forget Shamrock/Ortiz 3 and give us Hughes/Penn 3 through 7.
Will everyone on the Mike Swick bandwagon please bunch up a bit and make room for one more. Now, I told my man Steve, the biggest Mike Swick fan I know, that I hope that he enjoyed the ride because The Crow was going to give Quick a taste of the big time. I was wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! Swick showed a lot of … well, everything in his unanimous decision victory. He came out strong, took the fight to Loiseau, and showed some stones by taking everything right back in the third and not caving in. I don’t know that, if at 5-0, he is next in line for Rich Franklin, but he is legitimate. Maybe we could see Anderson Silva and Swick go at it, and let Franklin have winners? Maybe? Loiseau looked a little unwilling to get in the thick of it until too late and heads home with his second consecutive loss. I thought that he was building a head of steam. Now he’s back in the play-in line and needs to start all over.
The IFL continues to make it happen with another great night in St. Paul. There were 6000+ in attendance to watch Renzo Gracie give Pat Miletich a little of the ol’ “you can’t go home again”. Gracie hooked Miletich up in a guillotine choke and in a sensible display of valiant discretion; Pat tapped to avoid damaging the neck that ended his in-ring career the first time. Fighter Pat had a rough night, but Coach Pat has got to be loving how his Silverbacks have been fighting. They have picked up where they left off last season and are tearing through the tournament. They will meet Carlos Newton’s Dragons in December. In the other semifinal, Bas Rutten’s surging Anacondas will go against Matt Lindland’s Wolfpack. Great fights gong on in the IFL. Don't sleep on this thing.
So the Matt Hughes/BJ Penn rematch brought all the excitement it promised. Hughes weathered a beating and put an apparently injured Penn away in the third. But, now that he has established himself as the undisputed welterweight champ, does this mean that Hughes is now the best welterweight out there? This question goes to the whole nature of MMA fighting. The best fighter doesn’t always win. As good as Matt Hughes’ all-around skills are, BJ Penn may be the better fighter…faster hands, better striker, incomparable BJJ skills, and obviously just as strong. In their first fight, Penn simply disregarded the warnings of Hughes superior strength and ran right over him. Hell, if it wasn’t for his falling out with Zuffa, Penn may have been the one defending his belt Saturday night.
The rematch showed that he could still hang with a Hughes who had improved since their last fight. But winning in this sport depends on many things: hard work, ability, heart, and luck. And while Hughes has all these qualities in spades, it was Penn’s bad luck that lost him the title, just as much as it was Hughes’ skill. Hughes is the kind of perfect workhorse/gladiator that Pat Miletich loves and who thrives in his system. But BJ Penn is some sort of MMA Mozart; a boundless talent who’s gift invariably and unfortunately outpaces his motivation.
Say this much for Penn, he was as classy in losing to Hughes as he was in beating him. I think these two should meet annually. Somebody tell Dana White to forget Shamrock/Ortiz 3 and give us Hughes/Penn 3 through 7.
Will everyone on the Mike Swick bandwagon please bunch up a bit and make room for one more. Now, I told my man Steve, the biggest Mike Swick fan I know, that I hope that he enjoyed the ride because The Crow was going to give Quick a taste of the big time. I was wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! Swick showed a lot of … well, everything in his unanimous decision victory. He came out strong, took the fight to Loiseau, and showed some stones by taking everything right back in the third and not caving in. I don’t know that, if at 5-0, he is next in line for Rich Franklin, but he is legitimate. Maybe we could see Anderson Silva and Swick go at it, and let Franklin have winners? Maybe? Loiseau looked a little unwilling to get in the thick of it until too late and heads home with his second consecutive loss. I thought that he was building a head of steam. Now he’s back in the play-in line and needs to start all over.
The IFL continues to make it happen with another great night in St. Paul. There were 6000+ in attendance to watch Renzo Gracie give Pat Miletich a little of the ol’ “you can’t go home again”. Gracie hooked Miletich up in a guillotine choke and in a sensible display of valiant discretion; Pat tapped to avoid damaging the neck that ended his in-ring career the first time. Fighter Pat had a rough night, but Coach Pat has got to be loving how his Silverbacks have been fighting. They have picked up where they left off last season and are tearing through the tournament. They will meet Carlos Newton’s Dragons in December. In the other semifinal, Bas Rutten’s surging Anacondas will go against Matt Lindland’s Wolfpack. Great fights gong on in the IFL. Don't sleep on this thing.
posted by Larry at 8:01 AM
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