UFC 94, St. Pierre vs. Penn 2, has the potential to be one of the best fight cards of the year.

The main card is stacked from top to bottom and the rematch between BJ Penn and Georges St. Pierre could perhaps be one of the best fights in UFC and MMA history.

Georges St. Pierre is on a four fight winning streak and is the current welterweight (170-pound) champion. GSP made his UFC debut at UFC 46 in 2004.

He earned a title shot against former nine-time welterweight champion Matt Hughes at UFC 50, but was caught by an armbar. GSP then bounced back from that loss to go on a five-fight win streak and win the welterweight belt in a rematch with Hughes at UFC 65.

Many believed he would be the champion for a long time, but he lost his belt at UFC 69 in his first title defense against Matt Serra by a shocking TKO upset.

That was the turning point in GSP’s career, because he came back as the most powerful and dominant GSP we have ever seen. He won a unanimous decision at UFC 74 over The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 1 cast member and top five contender, Josh Koscheck.

Then he defeated Matt Hughes for the second time in his career at UFC 76. He went on the win his belt back in a rematch with Matt Serra at UFC 83 via TKO in front of his hometown in Montreal.

It was the second time he won the belt and he successfully defended it at UFC 87 against Jon Fitch via unanimous decision. He has an impressive 13-2 career and he has avenged both of his losses, to Hughes and Serra.

He already holds a unanimous decision win over Penn in 2006, at UFC 58. He is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA and clearly the best welterweight in the world right now.

BJ Penn is on a three-fight winning streak and is the current lightweight (155-pound) champion of the UFC. He is one of the most dominating fighters in UFC history and has been with the promotion since 2001 when he made his debut at UFC 31.

He started off in the lightweight division, where he earned his nickname “The Prodigy”. The lightweight belt avoided him early in his career when he dropped a decision to Jens Pulver at UFC 35 and went to a draw with Caol Uno at UFC 41.

He then moved up to welterweight where he beat Matt Hughes to win his first belt. He lost it in a rematch with Hughes and then dropped a decision to GSP. After two consecutive losses, he left the UFC to compete at different weight classes and even fought at heavyweight.

He made his return to the UFC as TUF 5’s coach against Pulver and avenged that loss at the finale. Penn had returned to the UFC’s lightweight division. He went on to dominate TUF 2 winner Joe Stevenson at UFC 80 and finally win the lightweight belt.

Penn was the second man in UFC history to win a belt in two different weight classes. He defended his belt at UFC 84 against former champion Sean Sherk and has now set his sights on regaining the welterweight belt.

Similar to GSP, Penn is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA and undoubtedly the best lightweight fighter in the world.

His current record is 13-4-1 and if he is successful in this fight, he will be the first fighter in UFC history to hold a belt in two different weight classes at the same time.

In their first fight, Penn dominated GSP in the first round in a standup battle. In the following two rounds, GSP came back to outscore Penn with takedowns and win the unanimous decision.

Penn’s conditioning was always a question, and it showed in that fight. Its been over two years since they’ve fought and both of these fighters are now at the peak of their careers.

Penn is moving up a weight class and many argue that GSP will have an advantage with his size and strength.

Penn is a black belt in jiu-jitsu and has amazing submissions. His standup is unquestionable, he has knockout power and speed, and he is dominating when it comes to controlling the ground game.

GSP is one of the most athletic fighters in the sport and is very well-rounded with training in wrestling, ground and pound, jiu-jitsu, muay thai, and boxing.

Both fighters believe they are better than the other on the ground or standing up. On spike TV, every week on Wednesdays at 10 p.m., you can watch UFC Primetime to take a closer look into the training camps of both Penn and GSP in preparation for this fight.

There has been some smack talk and bad blood leading up to this rematch. I think both fighters will be looking for the takedown, but it may be a stalemate on the ground. I believe they will test each other in a standup war.

Currently, GSP is favored to win. If both fighters fight to their full potential on Jan. 31, I see it hard for either of them to finish one another.

Anything can happen from a knockout/TKO or a submission, but I believe it will go five rounds to a decision. Even though GSP is favored to win this fight, I believe Penn can get the upset and pull out the win.

Final Prediction: Penn via split decision.

The UFC 94 website is up and running and you can take a look at the complete fight card at www.94.ufc.com