B.J. Penn will face Joe Stevenson for the interim World Lightweight Championship at UFC 80.
Penn is a submission expert with an above-average stand-up game. His toughness and his desire to win make him a special fighter.
Joe Stevenson, at 25 years old, is three years younger than Penn. He's known for his takedown ability and also his submission work, and is coming off two impressive wins in a row.
First Stevenson beat Melvin Guillard in all of 30 seconds, making him tap-out on a guillotine chokehold. He followed that win by beating Kurt "Batman" Pellegrino on a unanimous decision at UFC 74.
In the other main event of the night, Gabriel Gonzaga will look to rebound against Fabrico Werdum. Gonzaga shocked the world with a massive head kick that KO'd Mrko Cro Cop, then lost to Randy Couture in a well-contested fight for the Heavyweight Championship.
Gonzaga may have the best knockout power in the world, and was one punch away from the title no less than three times against Couture.
That said, Fabrico is no pushover, and Gonzaga will have to work to get back on track. Fabrico hasn't fought in the UFC since he was beaten by Andrei Arlovski in April. He sports a 9-2-1 MMA record, has a good ground game, and has proven he can go the distance.
My predictions?
I think Stevenson will surprise people by beating by beating Penn and establishing himself as an elite fighter in his division. Gonzaga will win the other fight by KO—I guarantee it.
Comments (7) Add a comment »
from 6 months ago
Amen, Ben.
from 6 months ago
I agree about Gonzaga, but Penn is a tough bill to pay for Stevenson. I think he might be outclassed here.
from 6 months ago
not so sure about a KO from gonzaga, would seem more like a submission or ref stoppage. i keep getting the idea that he is going to take it to Werdum as he did to Marrero. as for bj and joe, i see joe getting KO'd in the first. he is a good wrestler with some strength, but he is not an elite fighter. bj has world class jiujitsu and crazy striking abilities.
from 6 months ago
Are you talking about BJ "the Prodigy" Penn. The same BJ Penn that (I believe) won a decision against the GSP. The same BJ Penn that subbed Matt Hughes when he was deemed unstoppable. The same BJ Penn who made Matt Hughes look amateur again when he took a fight on ~1 month notice, and injured himself in the third round after 2 dominating rounds. The fact of the matter is Joe Stevenson is outclassed BJ is just on another tier still than Big Daddy. I see no where that Joe can win this fight. Standing doubtful, ground (um it's Bj Penn), later rounds? perhaps but BJ looked in prime condition for the Pulver fight and is actually training hard cardio now. BJ Penn wins this by a sub in round 2 or 3
As for Gonzaga Werdum. Werdum and Gonzaga have fought before and that ended in a TKO win for Werdum. I actually think Gonzaga has improved a lot since that fight and he should take this fight, just by sheer power over Werdum. The ground game will probably be a stalemate, and Werdum is too defensive standing to really damage Gonzaga. Gonzaga wins by Decision.
from 6 months ago
i hear you zach on bj, but ive watched and done some review on stevenson and i really beleive in him, i think he is and is going to be the real deal
from 6 months ago
penn's got this and I wouldn't give anyone that beat Cro Cop too much credit. Cro Cop has knock out power but hasn't demonstrated much else. He was better in the ring. He is somewhat sloppy on his feat and drops his hands too much. You could be completely right I am just weighing in.
from 5 months ago
No way in hell Stevenson beats BJ. That's like me saying I'm gonna beat up Diego Sanchez. That shit just ain't happening.
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