Juiceboxing 101: Memphis Will Be Laid to Waste

Justin Orel — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:45:51 -0500

Welcome to another installment of Juiceboxing 101. This time, I'll be previewing UFC 107, and little else.

Let's get juicy.

UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez comes to you LIVE from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn.

This PPV, like every other UFC event this year, has undergone some serious reconstruction due to injuries, illnesses, and acting ambitions.

UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn vs Diego Sanchez

The main event pitting UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn and Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez has got to be a disappointment to many fans, considering this show was supposed to host the much-anticipated grudge match between Ultimate Fighter 10 coaches Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans.

Perhaps nobody was more disappointed than Dana White himself, who went out of his way to book that fight in Jackson's hometown of Memphis.

Alas, Jackson bailed to portray B.A. Baracus in the upcoming A-Team movie, and the title fight between Penn and Sanchez was given in the main event slot of UFC 107.

As much of a bummer as it was to some people, I wasn't exactly getting a chubby over that fight, and the Penn-Sanchez fight is much more appealing to me.

The reason why is because this fight can take all sorts of directions. With Rampage and Rashad, we can all basically imagine what a fight between those two would look like.

A lot of big right hands, some juking and jiving from Rashad, some birdcage defense from Rampage.

Of course it would've been an entertaining fight to see, but predicting what will happen between Penn and Sanchez, who don't mind standing or fighting on the ground, is a little more exciting...and difficult.

Exciting because we get to see the two best lightweights in the UFC going five rounds for a title. Difficult because as much as I want to predict a title change, I can't do it.

If you were one of the 257+ wonderful people who read my prior article, Know Your Juice, you know I listed Diego Sanchez as one of my favorite fighters.

He's insanely positive and positively insane.

He's a character and a great fighter, and one of my favorites in the lightweight division. The problem is, he's not BJ Penn. He's not on his level, and maybe never will be.

Diego has a tendency to win fights that go the distance, which will favor him against BJ, whose cardio has been scrutinized for years. He's got to realize that grinding out a decision probably isn't an option.

He's going to have to finish the champion somehow. As good as he is standing, BJ's boxing is better. As good as his wrestling is, BJ's BJJ is better.

I'll be rooting for Diego, no doubt, but I'm not going to be surprised to see Joe Rogan asking an exhausted Penn who his next challenger's going to be following the fight.

Frank Mir vs Cheick Kongo

We all know the story here. If it stays standing, Kongo will kill Mir. If it hits the mat, he's tapping like a bitch. I'm going to keep things interesting, if only for myself, and go a different route. Mir by vicious head kick in round 1.

Kenny Florian vs Clay Guida

I love watching Clay Guida fight. Besides his penchant for lay and pray, and a stupid nickname, Guida's won me over.

Florian's definitely a more well-rounded fighter, but if Guida's on his A-game, he could probably pull off a decision win.

I just hope he doesn't try and bang with Kenny and end up getting kneed like crazy.

Jon Fitch vs Mike Pierce

Okay, this was supposed to be Thiago Alves vs. Paulo Thiago . Jon Fitch was to fight Ricardo Almeida at UFC 106, but Almeida got hurt. Fitch was given Thiago Alves as an opponent, even though Alves was scheduled to fight Paulo.

Then Alves got hurt. Then they gave Mike Pierce a fight with Fitch at 107, while Paulo fought Jacob Volkmann at 106...I'm pretty sure.

Assuming everyone is alive and well by the time the show starts, Fitch gets a decision while I take a bathroom break and eat some wings.

Paul Buentello vs Stefan Struve

18 of Struve's 21 wins come by submission. Buentello has 16 wins by T(KO), and 17 by submission, but a lot of those submissions were from strikes and junk, so don't let the numbers fool you.

He's a striker, and a pretty damn good one. Also, he doesn't get submitted anymore. At 35, he's a wildcard in the heavyweight division.

He could either pummel the massive 21-year-old Struve, or he could give up a choke and head back to Strikeforce.

I say Buentello by TKO in round two. I hope I'm underestimating Struve; that kid's going to be excellent one day.

The prelims are stacked, with names like Alan Belcher, Wilson Gouveia, Matt Wiman, Johny Hendricks, Rousimar Palhares, and Ultimate Fighter runner-up DeMarcus Johnson all making appearances.

The Blecher-Gouveia and Wiman-Shane Nelson fights will most likely be showcased for free on Spike TV, and probably again on the PPV.

I'm pumped for this one, and all of you should be, too.

Drink your juice, kids.

Read more Kenny Florian news on BleacherReport.com

Bleacher Report - Kenny Florian

Juiceboxing 101: Memphis Will Be Laid to Waste