UFC 107: 10 Things We Learned Last Night

1. Best. Lightweight. Ever.

If there was ever any doubt (and there shouldn't have been in all honesty), BJ Penn made it abundantly clear within the first 45 seconds of his fight with Diego Sanchez that he is simply on another level than everyone else at 155 pounds.

In each of his last two title defenses, we've heard the build up of the challenger being a great test for the champion, and each time, said challenger was thoroughly dismantled by Penn. There isn't a lightweight in the world who can hang with Penn, and there hasn't been one better in the history of the sport.

Not Aoki, not Pulver, not Gomi, not anybody. BJ Penn is the best lightweight ever and one of the greatest fighters of all-time.

2. Now What?

Each of his last two opponents were supposed to have the skills to be a challenge and potentially end the reign of the kid from Hilo. Both those men were sent home with their tails between their legs.

After dominating Diego Sanchez last night, there isn't a sole lightweight who could honestly challenge BJ Penn remaining in the UFC. Not because there aren't some talented fighters in the division, but because Penn is a transcendent talent.

Where things go from here is anybody's guess.

Personally, I have no interest in seeing BJ Penn move up to welterweight, as Dana White recently said the lightweight champion would have to start at the bottom and work his way to another title shot.

Joe Rogan tossed out Shinya Aoki's name last night, but that isn't going to happen. In addition to being contracted to DREAM, if "The Tobikan Judan" is fighting in the United States, it will be with Strikeforce. And let's be honest: Penn would smash Aoki.

Keep dominating and defending the belt; a year from now, Kenny Florian will be due for another title shot and then we'll see if the third time is the charm.

3. Even in a Bloody Defeat, Diego Sanchez Impresses

For all the jokes and ribbing aside - from the YES! routine to the greatest mean face in the history of mean faces - Diego Sanchez is one tough kid.

Less than a minute into the biggest fight of his life, he was rocked and made painfully aware of what a long and painful night it was going to be. But he just kept coming and coming and coming and coming.

His unbreakable spirit looked broken at the start of each of the championship rounds, yet Sanchez kept walking out to the center of the Octagon. We've seen fighters, including Penn himself, call it quits and give up, but that just isn't a part of Diego Sanchez' makeup.

While he was completely dominated and left beaten and bloody, Diego Sanchez showed the heart of a champion and deserves some recognition today.

4. "Water is Wet"

Yes, Frank Mir quickly disposed of Cheick Kongo, connecting with a big punch before putting the French kickboxer to sleep with a guillotine inside of 90 seconds.

But going into that fight, who didn't know that Frank Mir was going to submit Cheick Kongo pretty damn quickly? Mir is a great submission fighter and Kongo has a pretty horrible ground game, so Mir earning a win by submission is about as shocking as learning that water is wet.

Now, what was impressive and a new development stemming from this bout was the recreated Frank Mir. Holy weight training, Batman!

While I would still pick a 100% healthy Brock Lesnar in their eventual trilogy fight, Mir looks to be a bigger, stronger version of the guy who submitted the current champ in his UFC debut and that could prove problematic, not only for Lesnar, but for everyone else in the division as well.

5. Jon Fitch Needs to Evolve

While partial credit certainly goes to Mike Pierce for putting up a great effort and nearly ending things in the final minute of the third round, Fitch came away with another Jon Fitch victory, earning two-of-three rounds on all three scorecards to move his record to 11-1 in the UFC and 21-3 (1 No Contest) overall.

That said, I don't know if there is a more frustrating 21-3 fighter in all of Mixed Martial Arts. Though his blue collar, Purdue Boilermaker, grind-it-out style makes him an easy-to-appreciate every man, Jon Fitch needs to evolve.

The guy who won last night wouldn't get passed Thiago Alves and his original opponent, Ricardo Almeida, would surely have been a stiff test as well. His boxing needs improvement, from both an offensive and defensive standpoint, as does his overall strength and power.

Interestingly enough, the blueprint has been laid by his teammate, Josh Koscheck. An equally gifted wrestler, though a better overall athlete than Fitch, Koscheck has developed a solid striking game and more power under the watchful eyes of Bob Cook and Dave Camarillo, and Fitch needs to do the same.

6. Lovable? Yes. A Legitimate Contender? No.

Such is life for Clay Guida.

The fans love him and rightfully so; he puts on an exciting fight 99 times out of 100, has crazy hair and energy, let's out monster burps when they're checking his cuts and sings his walkout song on the way to the cage.

That said, he's a gatekepper and nothing more.

Ten fights into his UFC career, he's 5-5 and never beaten a top ranked guy. He's tested them, challenged them and given them fits, but in the end, he's come out on the losing end.

Entertaining the crowd is one thing, but to be considered a contender, you have to beat other contenders and that's not been the case for Clay Guida thus far.

7. Kenny Florian Should Face Diego Sanchez Again

Now that they're both fighting in the weight class they belong in and have grown as fighters, let's get the rematch from The Ultimate Fighter Season One on a card in 2010.

This just makes sense on so many levels.

Sanchez certainly won't want to drop too far down the ladder in terms of his next opponent, and Florian needs to keep beating top level competition if he hopes to earn a third title shot. Mix in their rivalry from TUF 1, and the improvement both have made since their time on the show and you have everything you need to sell this fight.

Besides, I want to see another Florian fight before I officially gush about the improvements that were already noticeable last night. Better boxing, better gameplan, and better execution.

In my opinion, that was the best Kenny Florian we've seen yet.

8. With Time, Stefan Struve Could Be a Handful

While some will certainly speculate about the outcome (I'm not fussed either way...), last night's win over Paul Buentello showed me that with more development and a little added meat on them bones, Stefan Struve will eventually be a very difficult opponent for his fellow UFC heavyweights.

Just because of his height alone, Struve is already a tough test. For starters, it's not like there are a ton of nearly 7-foot MMA fighters with good kickboxing and submission skills to train with in preparation.

What struck me the most was that it has taken this long for Struve to begin utilizing his kickboxing in the UFC, as his barrage of leg kicks in the third round clearly hurt Buentello and could be a very useful tool in not only weakening his opponents, but keeping distance.

Now, he certainly needs to clean up his striking, as a blind man looking the other way would have seen that flying knee coming and it almost got him knocked out. Though he survived, we've seen him (a) get cut up a couple times, (b) be prone to leaving his chin out there to get belted despite having a ridiculous height advantage on everyone and (c) straying from his strengths to stand-and-trade.

He's got room to add 20 pounds before reaching the 265 pound limit, and given that he's just 21-years-old, he's sure to fill out in the future. If he does, and he cleans up his all-around game, "The Skyscraper" could have a very bright future.

9. Dear Alan Belcher...

White boy's with cornrows barely works on Urijah Faber, and "The California Kid" you are not.

Pink shorts don't work on anybody. Period. End of Sentence.

So what makes you think that combining the two is a good look?

You looked like the scrawny, pasty white kid in Take the Lead who put his red-headed afro into 'rows for the big dance competition.

Yes - I've seen Take the Lead and can remember way too many of the details. Tell me something I don't already know...

"The Talent" looked okay in his win over a clearly out of shape, ten-pounds-over-the-limit Wilson Gouveia, but not good enough to warrant declaring he wants that belt with Joe Rogan post-fight.

He gets punched in the face far too much for my liking right now and isn't that far removed from losses to both Jason Day and Kendall Grove for me to take him seriously as a contender.

Personally, I'd love to see Belcher hook up with Mark DellaGrotte and Team Sityodtong. Belcher has a great deal of potential and is just 25, so there is time and room to grow as a fighter. Sometimes all a guy needs is the help of a great teacher, and DellaGrotte would be the right match in my opinion.

10. 5-0 on the Main Card, 2-4 in the Prelims

Clearly, I need to invest more time and energy into picking the preliminary bouts.

Though some will certainly point out that the pay-per-view portion pretty much ended up going down as many believed it would, I'd like to point out my string of three consecutive "dead-on predictions" in the Florian / Fitch / Mir bouts that would have turned into a four-pack had BJ Penn's shin not tore Diego Sanchez' forehead apart.

Yes, this is my Barry Horowitz moment where I pat myself on the back.

Now that it's over - man did my prelim picks suck!

Wilson Gouveia came in fat and got dropped, Matt Wiman dominated Shane Nelson (who needs to drop to '45 immediately), "Toquinho" submitted Lucio Linhares and DaMarquis Johnson fought off a submission attempt to choke out Edgar Garcia.

Still, 7-4 isn't all that bad.

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Friends As Foes: Tackling the Teammate Debate

MMA Weekly is reporting that uber-talented light heavyweight prospect Jon Jones has joined forces with Greg Jackson and his team in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

While this certainly increases the expectations for the undefeated up-and-comer, if that is even possible, the addition of "Bones" to the Jackson Camp also helps one of the most discussed topics in Mixed Martial Arts rear it's ugly head once again.

The idea of teammates fighting has been getting a lot of play lately, most recently with Dana White's insistence that if Anderson Silva continues to lay waste to top level talents in the light heavyweight division, a fight with champion, friend and training partner Lyoto Machida will happen.

Now we have arguably the best prospect in the entire sport joining a team with former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans and gatekeeper Keith Jardine, who go from being potential opponents to out of the question.

We know what side the UFC is on and we know what side the fighters are on.

Where do you stand on the issue of teammates fighting?

From a business standpoint, the stance of Dana White and the UFC is very understandable.

Their aim is to help determine who is the best in each division, making the most compelling and entertaining fights imaginable to meet that end. Friendships do not factor into the equation, as this is a solely a business issue for the UFC.

Even though White says making a Machida-Silva fight happen is "about seeing who's best," there is no question that it is also, if not primarily, about potential revenue.

A fight pitting two of the best Pound-for-Pound fighters in the world against each other atop a pay-per-view card would do massive numbers for the company.

Stepping outside of the boardroom and away from the bottom line, there is also the advancement of the divisions for the UFC to be concerned with.

For instance, a fighter like Jones is certainly in need of a step up in competition after reeling off three straight impressive wins, and a fighter like Jardine would have fit the bill perfectly. With that option now unavailable, who stands opposite Jones the next time he enters the Octagon?

A fighter the caliber of Rich Franklin would presumably be too much of a jump, while pitting Jones against fellow up-and-comer Luiz Cane would send one of the two prospects in the wrong direction.

Of all the light heavyweights on the UFC roster, Matt Hammil is the only fighter without a fight already lined up. Despite the great depth of the division, the options are actually quite slim.

Perhaps even more potentially problematic is the welterweight division, where American Kickboxing Academy members Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck and Mike Swick all reside in the Top 10 of the USA Today / SB Nation Consensus Rankings.

Playing extremely hypothetical Devil's Advocate, what happens if Swick gets passed Martin Kampmann and manages to pull a Matt Serra and defeat Georges St-Pierre early next year?

Though Fitch is widely considered the #1 contender and would be the obvious choice of the fans and the UFC as Swick's first opponent, he's gone on the record numerous times stating that he will never fight one of his AKA teammates.

Then the UFC is left with a champion who immediately eliminates two strong challengers because they are teammates and has the unenviable task of trying to build interest in what would clearly be a lesser fight.

Of course, there is the fighter's side of the coin as well.

First and foremost, and perhaps something that doesn't get stated enough in this discussion, the UFC (or any other organization for that matter) cannot force a fighter to sign a contract.

Dana White can tell the media and the fans as many times as he would like that he'll "make that fight," but the simple fact of the matter is that he simply doesn't have the power to do so.

Just as Martin Kampmann was able to decline the UFC's offer to fight TJ Grant earlier in the summer, the AKA teammates can do the same if asked to stand opposite one another.

And for those who will undoubtedly bring up potential firings or coercive tactics to entice fighters to square off with their friends and teammates, there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that the UFC would let a top tier talent like Jon Fitch become a free agent simply because he didn't want to fight Josh Koscheck or Mike Swick.

These guys work and train together day in and day out, building a chemistry and rapport that exceeds any monetary benefit facing each other could potentially yield.

The best argument against these potential teammate matchups should actually make a great deal of sense to both sides and comes courtesy of Sherdog's Jake Rossen:

With their reluctance well-documented, can you imagine the level of hyper-analysis that would follow their every move? Say one gets knocked down with a stiff jab -- or worse, someone torques an ankle or knee. Happens all the time. But if it happens in the context of two reluctant sparring partners in a prizefight neither wanted, there would be no end of speculation over the potential for choreography.

Certainly, the last thing that both the fighters and the organization would want is rumblings of a fight being fixed and that would surely start should something like this happen to take place.

He also discusses the difference between friends competing against one another in other sports to doing the same in MMA, citing that two chess masters don't have to deal with the ramifications and implications of punching one another in the face should they decide to face off.

Is the stance taken by the UFC wholly understandable from a business perspective?

Absolutely; the best fights make the most money and they're in the business of making both.

But are the fighters in an equally understandable position, having little interest in lining up opposite their closest friends?

Without a doubt.

So what is the solution?

In truth, there probably isn't one.

Dana White will continue to talk tough about making these fights happen and the consequences of saying no, while the fighters remaining opposed to such an idea.

Sometimes the arguments of both sides make perfect sense and can leave you stuck in the middle, unable to choose a side.

That's where I'm at.

What about you?

Pictured (L to R): Mike Swick, Bob Cook, Jon Fitch - American Kickboxing Academy

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The UFC 100: The Dirty 30's

With each passing day, we're getting closer to crowning the Greatest Fighter in UFC History.

This is where things really start to get interesting, as from here on out we're talking champions and icons, guys who have had a strong impact on the UFC in one way, shape or form. Like the two guys pictured.

They may have squared off in Pride, but both have what it takes to make it into The Dirty Thirties.

40. Kenny Florian
UFC Record: 9-2
Victories Over: Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta, Joe Lauzon

Later this summer, we could be referring to him as Lightweight Champion Kenny Florian. It's a real possibility, as few fighters have evolved as much as Florian over his time in the UFC. Now that Diego Sanchez has dropped down to lightweight as well, I'm eagerly anticipating a rematch between the two Ultimate Fighter finalists.

39. Oleg Taktarov
UFC Record: 6-2-1
Victories Over: Marco Ruas, Dave Benenteau, Tank Abbott

My favorite former fighter turned actor, Taktarov is a more forgotten man than Marco Ruas, a man who many consider his chief rival. The winner of the UFC 6 tournament, Taktarov's losses came to Dan Severn and the draw is courtesy of Ken Shamrock, so this is clearly a guy who was performing on the top level back when the UFC was still in diapers.

38. Matt Lindland
UFC Record: 9-3
Victories Over: Travis Lutter, Phil Baroni (twice), Pat Miletich

"The Law" is more widely known these days from his attempted foray into politics, the documentary about said foray and his overall reputation in MMA as a founding member of Team Quest. Before the politics and the movies about fighting and politics, Lindland was a UFC staple who handed out losses to some quality opponents and helped David Terrell earn a place at No. 67 by getting knocked out in 24 seconds.

37. Maurice Smith
UFC Record: 4-3
Victories Over: Marco Ruas, Tank Abbot, Mark Coleman

Smith was a champion kickboxer with an average MMA record when he stepped into the cage with Mark Coleman at UFC 14. Twenty-one minutes later, the judges gave Smith a majority decision and the UFC Heavyweight title, which he defended at UFC 15 by defeating Tank Abbott.

36. Josh Barnett
UFC Record: 4-1
Victories Over: Gan McGee, Semmy Schilt, Randy Couture

Welcome to what could have been. If not for a positive test he still disputes, Barnett could have been a UFC Heavyweight mainstay for years and held the Heavyweight title for who knows how long. Instead, he's another of the "win it and leave it behind group" and the youngest champion in UFC history.

35. Guy Mezger
UFC Record: 4-1
Victories Over: Tito Ortiz

No Guy Mezger, no Tito Ortiz feud with Ken Shamrock. It's as simple as that. Well, that and he was a pretty damn solid fighter in his own right and the winner of the UFC Lightweight (read: under 200 pound) tournament over "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" after all.

34. Wanderlei Silva
UFC Record: 2-5
Victories Over: Keith Jardine

Introducing the hardest fighter on this whole list to rank. He's 2-5 which is close to Elvis Sinosic territory and the Aussie certainly didn't make the list with his 1-6 record. But despite only one win over a household name, the five losses come at the hands of Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Rich Franklin. With 33 fighters left to go, none of those guys have made an appearance yet, but all of them will.

33. Dan Henderson
UFC Record: 4-2
Victories Over: Carlos Newton, Rousimar Palhares, Rich Franklin

When you have back-to-back title fights in different weight classes immediately upon returning to the organization, you're pushing the Top 30 in my books. While that opportunity came from his storied career in Pride, Hendo gave both Anderson Silva and Rampage all they could handle and now he's riding a two fight winning streak heading into Saturday's matchup with Michael Bisping.


32. Jon Fitch
UFC Record: 9-1
Victories Over: Akihiro Gono, Diego Sanchez, Thiago Alves

Another member of the fight card at UFC 100, Fitch is looking to become the 13th member of the Ten Win Club. While I won't go as far as saying he gave GSP a scare in his one career loss, the former Purdue Boilermaker did go the distance with the champ and that counts for something with me.

31. Pedro Rizzo
UFC Record: 9-5
Victories Over: Andrei Arlovski, Dan Severn, Josh Barnett

You can add Mark Coleman, Tank Abbott, Tre Telligman (twice), Tyusyoshi Kohsaka and Ricco Rodriguez to the list of victories for "The Rock" during his UFC career. With losses to Randy Couture (twice), Vladimir Matyushenko, Kevin Randleman and Gan McGee, not one of Rizzo's fights in the UFC came against a sub-par opponent. You gotta respect a guy who takes on some of the best every time out.

A couple more days of this and we'll be done. Who will be #1?

Track back to see what you missed with the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's.







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