Wrapping Up UFC 107: Analysis, Bonuses, and What's Next

The quote of the night was, "Hard work beats talent when talent refuses to work hard."

The talented BJ Penn worked plenty hard at UFC 107 Saturday night, breaking the will of Diego Sanchez and defeating him via fifth round doctor's stoppage to retain the UFC Lightweight Championship, opening up a discussion of what could possibly be next for Penn.

Sanchez never gave up in battling Penn but couldn't do anything against him, trying for takedown after takedown after takedown to no avail. Penn did just enough to win every round, battering Sanchez in small spurts that were enough to decimate his face.

Penn couldn't finish him early on, which is a testament to Sanchez's will and drive but then, the fifth round happened.

In the fifth round, Penn connected with a head kick that opened up a deep gash on Sanchez' forehead that prompted the referee to bring the doctor in. Sanchez didn't fight the doctor's decision to stop the bout as there was no doubt he was beaten. The kick turned a good win into a great win for Penn (15-5-1) in his third defense of the Lightweight gold.

For more running notes on Penn/Sanchez, Frank Mir's dominance, bonuses, and the final wrap on all that was UFC 107, read on!


Lightweight Champion BJ Penn def. Diego Sanchez via fifth round ref stoppage (2:37)

- Through three rounds, Sanchez is getting nowhere, but Penn couldn't finish him. Penn seems content to wait and attack in spurts, but is spending a lot of time on the defensive. Where's the aggression?

- I love the term "championship rounds." It's just an awesome term.

- This crowd is restless in the fourth and is booing every time Sanchez attempts to take Penn down.

- I'm not sure why Sanchez's corner keeps telling him that he's got to take him down. Guys, it's obviously not working. Tell him it's time to swing for the fences!

- In the fifth, Sanchez's face is beat up but he's still going. Rogan says Penn is "calm as glass." What?

- Penn's face probably got more hurt by him hitting himself than anything Sanchez did. Dominant performance. What's next for him? Gray Maynard? Frankie Edgar? At this point, he needs to move up in weight to 170 as no one is going to come close to touching him at 155...he's just too damn good.

Frank Mir def. Cheick Kongo via first round submission (1:12)

- Mir was simply dominant in destroying Kongo, knocking him down with a hard shot and then locking in a guillotine choke for the win. Give Kongo credit—he didn't tap out as the ref stopped the fight after checking Kongo's arm and finding he was out.

- Next up for Mir? No doubt he's got options, but it's obvious that he wants Brock Lesnar. But with Lesnar's return possibly not scheduled until the summer, it's doubtful he's going to wait that long. I'd love to see Mir in the spring against Shane Carwin for a shot at Lesnar. That'd be a great match.

Kenny Florian def. Clay Guida via second round submission (2:19)

- Florian was patient in executing his game plan and connected with a right hook to Guida and then pounced for the rear naked choke submission. In the first, Florian opened up a nasty cut on Guida's head that was bleeding like crazy.

- As the doc was checking on Guida, Joe Rogan was about to make a comment about the doctors stopping fights early and then, the doctor let him go. Rogan said "Let 'em fight!" which came off as more fanboy than professional color commentator.

- Anyone else catch the Guida burp as he was getting checked out? Hilarious.

- Guida is possibly the most popular average fighter the UFC has, but he needs to start winning. Every time he gets close to a possible title shot, he loses a few fights in a row.

- Florian recovered well from the Penn loss and would probably be thrilled if Penn moved up to welterweight. He's still a top contender at 155 but needs 1-2 more good wins to earn a title shot again.

Damarques Johnson def. Edgar Garcia by first round submission

- Fun short fight that Garcia had won a few times but couldn't finish him off. Early on, Garcia had Johnson locked in a Peruvian necktie but Johnson survived and even gave a thumbs-up while it was sunk in. Garcia had him grounded and was landing some punches from the top, but Johnson got him close enough to snag a triangle choke to get Garcia to tap.

- I like Johnson a lot and was impressed with his first effort since losing in the TUF 9 finale. He's got a nice future at 170.

- Johnson earned $65k for Submission of the Night. 

Alan Belcher def. Wilson Gouveia via first round TKO

- Belcher made the most out of his performance, considering he had been quite vocal this week about not being on the main show. This was a straight-forward slugfest with no kicks and no takedowns but just punches, punches, and more punches.

- This was at a 195-pound catchweight, so Belcher has options at both 185 and 205 if he wants. It's time to see what this guy has against some better competition, so hopefully we get to see him on the main card against a name-value fighter that will show us what's he made of.

- Both guys earned $65k for Fight of the Night. Hmmm...interesting. 

Jon Fitch def. Mike Pierce via unanimous decision

- Just a few minutes in, people were already bored with this. This was your typical 15-minute Fitch decision victory with a ton of grappling, wrestling, and some strikes sprinkled in. Bleh.

- Pierce has a nice effort in the last minute, connecting on a hard punch that stunned Fitch and almost had him out. It was too little, too late.

- I understand Fitch is a winning fight, but are you excited to see GSP/Fitch II? Me neither. For a guy that hates decisions, this is his sixth straight fight that has ended in a decision.

Stefan Struve def. Paul Buentello via unanimous decision

- Struve is so lanky that he's a unique fighter to face, considering he's got submission skills and an improving stand-up game. He's also just 21 years old, so there's plenty of room to grow.

- Is he too skinny to compete against the Lesnars, Mirs, and Carwins at the heavyweight level? Time will tell, but he needs to put on some weight or else he's going to get killed by those guys when the opportunity presents itself.

- Buentello looked OK in defeat (I had him winning the fight 29-28) and almost knocked Struve out with a right hand as Struve was going for a big knee strike. The two exchanged in a fun stand-up exchange in the second fight, the most entertaining round of the night.

- Buentello was gassed in the third round. He's a good gatekeeper, but not a contender at this stage of the game.

Other Notes

- TJ Grant earned Knockout of the Night with his win over Kevin Burns on the undercard. The prelim didn't make the PPV telecast. 

- I thought there was some great production tonight and awesome camerawork, especially the tight up in the cage shots for Fitch punching Pierce on the ground and Sanchez connecting on an uppercut to Penn. It was almost like a fan cam view, and I loved it.

- Man, Memphis is a tough crowd. They booed a lot at various points throughout the night but they were definitely in it most of the night. This was a crowd that wanted finishes and luckily got some.   

- Total gate at the FedEx Forum was 13,869 for roughly $1.5 million.


Josh Nason has published MMA, wrestling, and boxing blog Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. He is a contributor to Fight Magazine and Bleacher Report and appears regularly on Fight Network Radio and Mauro Ranallo's Fight Show . Follow him on Twitter .