MMA: The 20 Burning Questions That Will Be Answered This Fall

Times change, seasons change, and fight cards change, but one constant remains: No matter what fight is on a card, it always leaves you asking yourself "what's going to happen next?"

Is a fighter going to fade if he loses? Will a fighter get a title shot if he beats his next opponent?

Can a fighter do the impossible and beat his unbeatable opponent?

All these and more are what you'd call "burning questions": the questions that always make people wonder "what might happen?" and keeps them engaged into a fight or an event.

Now when you're done cooling off from this wild summer of fights, you can start asking me whatever questions you're wondering about the world of MMA this fall.

I know you have questions about what's going to happen this fall, because to be honest, I do too.

So what I'd like to do is throw down twenty burning questions that will get an answer this fall, and if you have a question that you'd like to contribute, put it in a comment and I'll put in some insight behind your question (complete with credit to you for asking the question!)

So enough rambling, let's get to the questions!

Can KJ Noons Prove That The First Fight With Diaz Was No Fluke?

KJ Noons holds the distinction of being the man responsible for Nick Diaz's last career loss by TKO

The first time KJ Noons and Nick Diaz fought, there was some post-fight controversy as Noons just seemed to cut Diaz open and bust up his eye, which in turn started an intense feud between the two.

Now, they'll have a chance to settle the score when they fight this October in a bout that'll see Noons move up to welterweight against the current Strikeforce Welterweight Champion.

There's been a lot of heated words between the two fighters and a near riot broke out the last time they were in a cage together.

Diaz will be looking to avenge the loss to Noons, the only loss he's had by way of TKO since 2002, while Noons will be looking to prove that what Diaz suffered back in EliteXC was for real.

As if they really needed any added incentive to kick each other's ass, Diaz's Strikeforce Welterweight Title will also be up for grabs, meaning the end result will be twice as vicious as it would be if the bout was a three-rounder.

So which one will be the result?

Will King Karl deliver a beatdown to Nick Diaz, or will the Stockton Bad Boy pay KJ back for the loss in EliteXC?

When Miesha Gets Her Shot At The Throne, Will Sarah Still Be The Queen?

Miesha Tate wants the belt, but will she wind up having to face Marloes Coenen for the strap, or will Kaufman prevail?

Strikeforce Women's Welterweight Champion Sarah Kaufman watched in the crowd as Miesha "Takedown" Tate defeated two other women via unanimous decision to earn a future shot at her belt.

While we don't known when Miesha will get her shot at the belt, we do know that Marloes Coenen will be the next contender for Kaufman, and the bout will take place in San Jose, California at Strikeforce's Diaz-Noons II event.

This one is real simple: will Sarah Kaufman continue to dominate and stand across the cage once again from Miesha Tate, or will Miesha have to prepare for a brand new lioness atop the Women's 135-lb. jungle named Marloes Coenen?

After DREAM 16, Will There Be Hope For FEG's Survival In 2011?

The minds behind PRIDE could fall once again if they can't afford to put on any DREAM shows in 2011, but could it be possible that DREAM 16 becomes FEG's saving grace?

Everyone knows the situation with the Fight and Entertainment Group.

Their income has been dipping downward while their expenses have increased, and thus it's been tough for them to actually pay their fighters for fighting at their events.

They have DREAM 16 coming up on the night of UFC 119, and from there the promotion will have no shows until Dynamite on New Year's Eve.

The speculation is that after the Dynamite show, the promotion will know for sure where they stand as they head into 2011, but there may be a possibility of the promotion being in less of a jam than anticipated should they be able to put on a successful show on September 25th.

If they should somehow pull off a show that draws some big numbers -- which may be unlikely but it's never impossible that it could happen -- it could be possible that their future could be bright in 2011 without Dynamite even happening.

But could FEG reach that point with DREAM 16?

Highly unlikely, but not that impossible.

How Will The UFC's Second PPV In Germany Affect Their Expansion Agenda?

How familiar of a sight will the UFC banner be in Germany after UFC 122?

When the UFC came to Cologne last year with a Rich Franklin-Wanderlei Silva main event, the general consensus was thought to be "Holy sh!t, dude, Ace and Wandy against each other?! Kick ASS!"

In Germany, and especially in the city of Cologne, not so much.

The public wasn't feeling the event, the media wasn't as warmly receptive about the event as the UFC brass had hoped, and the city council tried shutting down UFC 99.

This time, a Middleweight bout between Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami will headline a card in Germany, and Dana White will bring the UFC brass with him as the promotion delivers a "take two" of their expansion into Germany.

With the hostility shown by the city that hosted their last event, though, does the UFC have any better of a chance of making Germany into another great territory for solid UFC action in Europe, or will the UFC brass have to settle down with the fact that their European expansion will only stretch as far as the United Kingdom and Ireland?

We all hope that it won't be the latter, but we can't say for certain that the German crowd will be warm and fuzzy about the event this time around.

For all we know, they might be so hostile that they end up making what happened to Strikeforce in Nashville seem good for the sport.

But then again, they might not... we'll know in October exactly how it goes this time.

Could The Future Of MMA's 170ers and 135ers Come From WVR?

World Victory Road gets less recognition from US fans than some would like to believe, but that could change starting this October at Sengoku 15 when the promotion launches its Bantamweight and Welterweight tourneys.

This October, World Victory Road's Sengoku Raiden Championship 15 will feature two tournaments -- a Bantamweight title tournament and a Welterweight title tournament to decide the promotion's two inaugural champions.

Also featured on the card is a Lightweight bout between Maximo Blanco and Leonard Santos in what promises to be a very exciting card.

In a sport in which the talk of the lighte rweights surrounds the likes of Jose Aldo, Manny Gamburyan, Urijah Faber, and Mike Brown among others, WVR and DREAM have served as exciting alternatives to American lighter weight action in MMA.

Of course, the question of if DREAM will be able to even launch a Bantamweight division or keep a Welterweight division going relies heavily on the question of whether or not they are able to survive financially as a promotion -- at least for the remainder of this year.

As for WVR and Sengoku, the question is different because they already have set up the quarterfinals for the Bantamweight and Welterweight tournaments that will begin at Sengoku 15.

The question is whether or not a Sengoku-branded Bantamweight or Welterweight can put on an impressive enough performance for people to stop and think, "Could this crazy bastard be the next best thing after the GSPs, the Nick Diazs, the Jon Fitchs and such of today?"

If a man can lose the UFC Welterweight title by a schoolyard headlock, of all things, then it's possible that the next young Welterweight to hit the top 10 of the 170-pound rankings could be waving Sengoku's flag, and the same could go for the next young Bantamweight to hit the top of the ranks in the 135-lb. division.

Only way it happens, though, would be if someone did something in their tournament bout that neither Dominick Cruz nor Georges St-Pierre would've dared to do.

Could Two Undefeated UFC Prospects Cement Their Claims To Title Contendership?

Evan Dunham and John "The Hitman" Hathaway are both still undefeated, and Dunham fights next week while Hathaway fights in October. Can they prove that their show reflects their hype?

You want to talk about two guys that probably should be in the top 10 of the UFC's rankings at the respective limits of 155 and 170, just you take a look at John Hathaway and Evan Dunham.

I'll admit it in print: I ain't that big of an Evan Dunham fan, and I sometimes have started verbal conversations with the phrase "F**k Evan Dunham".

That's the Efrain Escudero loss talking, of course, but I have underestimated greatly what Evan Dunham can do in the cage.

Case in point: Dunham's fight with Tyson Griffin at UFC 115. I never would have guessed that people might make an argument for someone like Dunham beating someone like Griffin after Dunham, but maybe he's proving that there's a reason behind the hype.

I also admit that Sean Sherk is going to be his toughest challenge so far in the UFC when the two face off at UFC 119 in Indianapolis.

Mike Pyle for John Hathaway at UFC 120, not exactly so much, but think about the results that could come from Sherk-Dunham at 119 and Hathaway-Pyle at 120.

One guy snapped the unbeaten streak of the Season 8 Lightweight Winner of The Ultimate Fighter by making him tap out, and the other left no doubt about his win over the original Middleweight Winner of The Ultimate Fighter.

You saw him rock Diego Sanchez. You were wondering if Hathaway would be the first person to finish Diego by strikes.

Heck, I did too, and I was backing Sanchez.

The fact is that whether you consider Pyle a legit test for Hathaway or not, he too has a tough test ahead of him in October, while Dunham faces a former UFC Lightweight Champion next Saturday.

So with that in mind, you have to wonder if we see people say that Dunham deserves the winner of Edgar-Maynard II with a win over Sherk, and for that matter you'd also have to wonder if a win over Pyle would inspire the belief that Hathaway should get a crack at the winner of GSP-Koscheck II.

Maybe after Hathaway fights Pyle, the argument for both men goes from "I think he should get a shot" to "he better get a shot" and then the two really get tested.

But maybe everyone finds out that they're for real.

Wouldn't that be why they got the shot in the first place?

Could That Bold Wikipedia Prediction Come True: Will Cro Cop KO Frank Mir?

This is merely a screen shot of a bold Wikipedia prediction that predicts that the left head kick of Mirko Filipovic will do in Frank Mir in Indianapolis, but could it actually happen?

Above is a screen shot of a bold prediction from a happy-go-lucky Wikipedia user predicting that next Saturday, it'll be Cro Cop knocking out Frank Mir.

That's not a typo: the user predicted that Cro Cop WILL knock Mir out at three minutes and twenty-five seconds of the second round by way of the "Cemetery Left" head kick of the Croatian Kickboxing legend.

Bleacher Report's own James Ryan has the full story here.

Now, some are giving Cro Cop less of a shot than the user, predicting left and right that Cro Cop is either going to tap out or that he will be the one to be knocked out by Mir. Others could see Cro Cop getting a submission or a decision win over Mir.

So far, the user is the only person to be so bold as to predict a KO win for Cro Cop.

If Cro Cop can do it, I will call it the Upset of The Year.

Has Rampage Finally Lost His Instinct Or Is The Dragon Finally Blowing Smoke?

Machida vs. Rampage was actually supposed to happen back when Machida first won the belt, but injuries and complications prevented Rampage from getting his shot at the belt.

Lyoto Machida vs. Quinton Jackson.

The Dragon vs. Rampage.

Black House vs. Wolfslair.

Karate vs. Wrestling/Boxing.

Call this long-overdue fight whatever you like, but note that ever since Rampage beat "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine at UFC 96 for the shot he was supposed to have at the UFC Light Heavyweight Belt, Rampage has been a much different man.

Not to slander or degrade the man, because he's still one of the best Light Heavyweights in MMA today, but we can't deny that the most recent Rampage isn't the same one that wanted to beat Chuck Liddell for the UFC Light Heavyweight title.

He's not the same man that wanted to beat the daylights out of Dan Henderson or Forrest Griffin, nor is he the same one that was hungry to fight Wanderlei Silva one more time.

He talked as heavy of a game as he's talked in his career in the pre-fight hype for his UFC 114 bout against Rashad Evans, but he hasn't been able to back it up.

Machida, on the other hand, was never anywhere close to the sport's top 20 trash-talkers.

All he did was elude and strike his opponents, and before Shogun, it worked every time.

Actually, Tito Ortiz had come the closest of anyone to beat Machida before Shogun got his shot.

Now, it's time to put up or shut up in Detroit.

The two will face off in a bout that could see the winner face the winner of Shogun vs. Evans somewhere along the line, but does Rampage still have what it takes to be a legitimate threat to either Shogun or Evans?

And as for Machida, the man's only loss was to Shogun while he does at the same time hold the distinction of being the man who ended both Evans' Light Heavyweight title reign and his undefeated streak, which would pose two questions for The Dragon: both of which inquire as to whether or not Lyoto's past fights were legitimate or flukes.

In other words, and in the same way Rampage needs this fight to prove that he's far from done at 205, Machida needs to beat Rampage for a chance to prove one of two things:

He's either going to have to prove that he can beat Rashad Evans twice, or he's going to have to prove that he was in fact hindered by the lingering effects of his previous injuries when he agreed to a rematch with Shogun.

Either way, the champ's going to be pretty damn familiar with the guy he faces in the cage (unless it's Jon Jones or Ryan Bader or someone else).

How Legit Is Arizona's Ryan Bader?

People like hyping up undefeated fighters in the early stages of their pro careers and saying "this kid will be the greatest of all time" and all, but the only way that you'd be justified in seeing the undefeated young prospect as the future of the division or even the sport is if you saw them beat legit competition first.

Ryan Bader has a chance to do just that next Saturday against "Little Nog" Rogerio Nogueira.

He's facing a fighter with seemingly more crisp boxing, slicker BJJ prowess, and no wrestling background, sure, but he's still facing one of the two legendary Nogueira brothers.

Rogerio will never make a fight easy for any opponent, even if he looks like he's getting his ass kicked (like most would say he did against Jason Brilz, and this fight will be no different for Bader.

While Nogueira is nowhere in line for title contention, he is still a notable name in MMA and he's still a fighter that can derail the "Ryan Bader Hype Train" if he beats him in Indianapolis.

The way I see it, there are few better tests of a fighter's hype and future in MMA than a fight against a Nogueira brother, and Bader will do just that next week -- he will be tested by the younger Nogueira.

As far as a "Bones vs. Bader" fight is concerned, that's a question that you won't get answered this fall, although there will be a definite shift in the general consensus on the probable result of that dream fight once Bader's fight with Little Nog is all said and done.

Who (Can We Expect) Will Be The Next ULTIMATE FIGHTER?

For the first time since Season Five, TUF will belong solely to the 155ers, and as usual, only one will walk out with the six-figure contract.

The wait is over.

After months and months of being patient, Georges St-Pierre and Josh Koscheck will finally make their coaching debuts in what is really seeming to be a dissing contest between Josh Koscheck and a brick wall on the surface.

We won't know if GSP will let Kos's trash talk get to him or affect the way he fights when the two meet up for the belt, but starting Wednesday night, we'll have our eyes on the sixteen hopefuls that are looking to become the UFC's future in the Lightweight Division.

Starting Wednesday, we'll know two definites:

1.  We'll know exactly who might be shaping up to be the better coach this season
2. We'll know who to put our money on as that person steps closer and closer to becoming the twelfth Ultimate Fighter.

Mousasi Vs. Mizuno: Who Will Be DREAM's First Light Heavyweight Champion?

A star-studded event is a little more than a week away in the form of DREAM 16, and the big question is whether Gegard Mousasi can beat Tatsuya Mizuno.

At DREAM 15, the DREAM Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Finals were set in motion as Gegard Mousasi and Tatsuya Mizuno both earned their spot in the finals by submitting their opponents.

Mousasi submitted Jake O'Brien with a guillotine while Mizuno submitted Melvin "No Mercy" Manhoef with a Kimura, although Mousasi's guillotine took far less time to cinch in than did "Vicious" Mizuno's Kimura.

Either way, this battle should be a wild one from start to finish, but a key thing to remember is that Mizuno has only gone to the judges once in a fight.

Mousasi's only loss by the judges was when he lost the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight title to Muhammed Lawal, but he'd won by the judges twice.

It'd be to Mizuno's advantage to train for Mousasi as if there is no second option -- as if he's going to go the entire duration of the fight with Mousasi.

If he goes the full duration of the bout and convincingly outdoes Mousasi, or if he can do what no one else has done and cut open or knock out Mousasi, he'll have not only left the Nagoya crowd at DREAM 16 with no reason to doubt that he won, but he could also leave Nagoya as DREAM's first Light Heavyweight Champion.

Getting the belt is no easy task, especially if you have to go through Mousasi to get the belt, but while no one said getting the belt was easy, no one also said that getting the belt from Mousasi couldn't be done.

Don't believe it? Ask King Mo.

Did Joe Soto's Loss Send Out an Omen To Bellator's Remaining Three Champions?

Was Joe Warren's win over Joe Soto a sign of things to come for Eddie Alvarez, Lyman Good, and Hector Lombard?

Like Joe Warren or hate Joe Warren, but he left zero doubt in anyone's mind that he beat Joe Soto earlier this season during the first title fight of Bellator Fighting Championships.

You can't say that he delivered that Tiger Knee in round two out of desperation.

What you can say is that the other three winners of Bellator's inaugural season were put on notice with the loss of Joe Soto and the changing of the guard in the Featherweight Division.

In the back of the minds of every Bellator fan, there has to be some part of them thinking, "That guy on the floor that got knocked out... that could be Eddie Alavrez, that could be Lyman Good, or that could be Hector Lombard."

Of course, Alvarez won't be defending the belt this season with Pat Curran out with an injury, but Cyborg and Shango will, and when they walk out of the cage after their respective bouts, it's possible that the Welterweight belt stays with Ben Askren while the Middleweight belt stays with Alexander Shlemenko.

It's definitely possible that it could happen, but will it happen?

We'll know after Lombard faces Shlemenko at Bellator 34 if Warren's win over Soto really was the omen to the now-reigning Bellator World Champions.

Can The IQ Wrestler Control Mayhem In Nagoya?

Wanna have some fun? Sakuraba and Mayhem will give you that feeling for sure!

Kazushi Sakuraba is one of MMA's smartest fighters, while Jason Miller is one of MMA's most colorful fighters.

Both will face off at DREAM 16 in what promises to be one hell of a Middleweight fight, but one definite is that Mayhem will be bringing in youth as an advantage against the likes of The Gracie Hunter.

Will it be too much for Sakuraba, or will experience triumph against the much younger Middleweight sensation?

Mayhem also brings in a solid kickboxing game while Sakuraba bring in some of the best wrestling in the sport, so it'll be interesting to see what happens if the fight stays standing or if the fight hits the ground.

All I see as a definite is that Mayhem come out to an expertly-choreographed entrance.

Could The Second Fight With Matt Serra Be a Different Story For Chris Lytle?

The Terror and Mr. Fight-Of-The-Night were on the same team of TUF 4 before they fought, and Serra got the better end of that fight. Now, they get to do it all over again, but will the ending be different this time?

The last time Chris Lytle and Matt Serra were in the cage together, they were fighting for an established crack at Georges St-Pierre.

Serra won that fight, that shot at GSP, and that fight against GSP.

Lytle has been coming back strong since that loss and the loss to Matt Hughes (which followed the Serra loss), and it's gotten him back to where the new beginning had first begun:

He's facing Matt Serra once again in a fight that is sure to be electric all throughout, and the fight will happen at UFC 119.

Serra took Lytle all three rounds, controlled him as best he could, and earned his crack at the gold back when it was a guaranteed shot.

Now, there's no guarantee that the winner will get a crack at the winner of GSP-Koscheck II, but that doesn't mean that a win wouldn't likely result in the same.

So even if the champ wouldn't be next in line for the winner, could we safely say that maybe Lytle flips the script on Serra this time?

Can The Demolition Man Keep On Demolishing, Even Outside Of Strikeforce?

Can The Demolition Man stay dominant as a force in the Heavyweight Division, even without defending his Strikeforce Heavyweight Belt?

The question of whether Fedor Emelianenko's star has finally burned out yet won't be answered until possibly December, but the question about if Alistair Overeem's dominance still stands.

While he may not get his rematch with Fabricio Werdum for a while, Overeem will be staying active with a K-1 fight against Ben Edwards this October.

Known predominantly as a submission specialist, Overeem's name has recently become synonymous with the Art of Eight Limbs as it concerns the Heavyweight Division.

Now, the Dutch fighting machine will have a chance to prove that there are still no flaws in the motion of his eight limbs when he and Edwards face off, but there's one little catch for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champ:

He must maintain the truth that he is a dominant force even when he's not defending his Strikeforce crown if he is to remain one of the top Heavyweight fighters in the world.

In other words, he can't let Edwards get in one good shot or it'll be all over for him and his credibility as not only one of the best Muay Thai fighters in the game right now, but also as one of the best heavyweights in the game right now.

Who Wins The Rubber Match?

The Prodigy and Hughes are tied 1-1 in their series. Who will take the third fight in Detroit?

Just as the caption says and just as it was reported yesterday, BJ Penn and Matt Hughes will in fact have a third fight at UFC 123.

Hughes is responsible for the only TKO loss in Penn's career, but Penn also has a win over Hughes to his credit.

Now, there's no road leading to the Welterweight Title.

This is just about who the better fighter is between arguably the greatest Welterweight in UFC history and arguably the greatest LIghtweight in UFC history.

On a card that has Karo Parisyan returning and a clash between George Sotiropoulos and Joe Lauzon -- a card headlined by a long-overdue Rampage Jackson-Lyoto Machida bout, we won't have to wait too long to finally get our answer.

Will Scott Coker Regret Not Trying To Compete With The UFC For Jake Shields?

Is this the face of a man Scott Coker should've never let go of?

Everyone knows the whole "Jake Shields to the UFC" saga.

The Nashville brawl, the appearance at WEC 48, Dana mouthing "he's mine" to the camera, the announcement that he's fighting Martin Kampmann in his UFC debut...

We really don't need to add in any more hype to the UFC debut of the former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion.

What we do need to do is speculate on how Scott Coker will react to Shields' debut at UFC 121, especially if it winds up a "W" for Shields.

Clay Guida, Tyson Griffin, Paul Buentello -- them going to the UFC from Strikeforce was one thing, but even though Guida was the inaugural Lightweight Champion of Strikeforce, he wasn't holding the belt when he switched to the UFC, nor were Griffin or Buentello.

Shields had just beaten Dan Henderson when he had talked about making the jump.

One certainly has to wonder how much it might hurt Scott Coker if he watches UFC 121 and sees Jake Shields celebrating a win over Kampmann.

Shouldn't have let him go, Scotty... that's all I'm going to say/

Has Rehab Shifted The UFC 122 Headliner Out Of Vitor Belfort's Favor?

An injury kept Vitor Belfort out of the main event of UFC 112, but will the recovery time also affect his fight against Yushin Okami?

Vitor Belfort vs. Yushin Okami.

The Phenom vs. Thunder.

"The man who wants a shot at Anderson Silva" vs. "The man who handed Anderson Silva his most previous career loss"

Doesn't seem like much in print, does it?

I mean, the fight's on Spike, the fight's in Germany, and even though a shot at the belt is at stake, the fact that it's on free TV and  the fight is against Okami makes it seem like they're giving Vitor an easy fight.

Perhaps, but not just anyone can beat a Mark Munoz, and for damn certain one can say that not just anyone can beat Anderson Silva (or in Chael Sonnen's case, dominate him for 4.5 rounds).

Besides, think of the time Vitor's had off to rehab his shoulder.

He looks like the same Vitor, has the same drive like the Vitor we all know and respect, and he's still the same f**king crazy Brazilian speed demon who many still feel should have gotten Anderson Silva after Demian Maia got clowned by Silva in Abu Dhabi.

But could it be possible that cage rust has gotten to The Phenom?

Is The Nightmare Over, Or Are The Scare Tactics Just Changing Up a Bit?

Is this the Diego Sanchez that Paulo Thiago faces at UFC 121?

Anyone questioning why Diego Sanchez uses the nickname "The Nightmare" should watch some of the fights he had before he fought BJ Penn.

That was Diego Sanchez on a scary-good level the likes of which many were hoping to see out of the TUF 1 Middleweight Winner.

The peak of this intensity was the 2009 Fight of The Year against Clay Guida in the main event of the Season 9 Finale of "The Ultimate Fighter: Team U.S. vs. Team U.K."

Then, Sanchez got cut open by BJ Penn at UFC 107 and then dropped a decision to John Hathaway at UFC 114.

Now, he has Paulo Thiago, the Brazilian Special Forces Agent whose face seems to be stuck on "intensity mode" whenever he wakes up and walks around in the morning.

Diego knows that it's been a long time since he's dropped back-to-back fights, and he knows that if Thiago wins, he could be on his way out of the UFC.

Now would be a good time for the "YES! Man" that we all remember to come back out with the intensity and aggressiveness that we remember, because he can rest assured that Thiago will bring it come UFC 121.

Will Cain Velasquez Terminate Brock Lesnar's UFC Heavyweight Title Reign?

Brock Lesnar. Cain Velasquez. Now THIS is what the world will be talking about this fall.

You've seen the discussions and debates.

You know where I stand on it.

I know where many of you stand on it.

The question is still there though: Can Cain do it?

Can he make every hopeful fan's dream come true: Can he beat Brock Lesnar and be the man standing between Junior Dos Santos and the UFC Heavyweight Title?

Obviously, not if Brock Lesnar has anything to say about it.

Then again, how do you boil this fight down?

Both men are wrestlers, both men do have explosive takedowns, and both men are at the top of their game.

I guess it may come down to whether or not Brock can go five rounds with Cain, because you can bet Cain can go five rounds with anyone if he needs to.

This one has all the potential for "Fight Of The Year".

Now somebody pick a winner, damnit.

Has The Prodigy Lost His Killer Instinct?

Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 08: Lightweight champion BJ Penn (R) battles Kenny Florian during their lightweight championship title bout at UFC 101: Declaration at the Wachovia Center on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Get

"My burning question is if Penn is past his prime? Does he have a chance at a comeback after his last fights? It seems like he's lost his killer instict."

-- J Michael

Good Question, J, and a tough one to ignore.

It does seem like BJ Penn in his two-fight series with Frankie Edgar hasn't been the same BJ Penn who tore through the likes of Sean Sherk and Diego Sanchez, doesn't it?

Clearly, it'll take more than one fight to see where BJ Penn is at in the world of MMA today,and to answer J's question, I'll dare to say that Matt Hughes will be the man to test if he has or hasn't.

It sometimes takes an old foe to bring back that "eye of the tiger", and while it won't be Georges St-Pierre in the cage with BJ Penn in Auburn Hills, the opponent will be familiar, and he will be the man to remind us just who BJ Penn is as a fighter.

So if you ask me, J, BJ will prove that he still has that killer instinct come UFC 123.

Thanks for the question!

Do YOU Have a Buring Question For Me?

If you do, leave it in the comments section and I'll find a place for it in this slideshow.

This concludes The 20 Burning Questions that'll be answered this Fall.

Thank you all for viewing!