B.J. Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre: Ramifications to the Lightweight Division

In the grand scheme of things, I don’t think anyone can argue that the rematch won’t be great for the UFC and mixed martial arts.

The fight is of epic proportions and, along with Couture/Lesnar, will take the UFC to new heights of popularity in 2009. However, there are some definite consequences to the UFC for scheduling this fight.

One issue to address is that of the place of the No. 1 contender. Let’s look at the lightweight division. Under normal circumstances, B.J. Penn would have defended his title against Kenny Florian by year’s end.

Instead, B.J. Penn put on a relentless personal marketing campaign to secure a rematch with Pierre. Dana White acquiesced, and I can’t say that I blame him. Since KenFlo is a true warrior and realizes he can’t sit around and wait, he has decided to take on a game Joe Stevenson.

If Kenny loses the fight, obviously that will put the winner of the Sherk/Griffin fight in title contention and knock Florian down a notch. Cheers to him for keeping the level of fights in the lightweight division at a premium.

The question then becomes, when will Penn be able to defend his title again? He last fought Sherk back on May 24 and won’t be fighting St. Pierre until Jan. 31,  2009. That’s 10 whole months without fighting and defending his belt. So let’s go through the two possible scenarios and see how it plays out.

B.J. Penn Loses the fight

If B.J. loses, he will most likely lick his wounds and go back to the lightweight division to defend his title. Assuming no major injuries, he can squeak in under the year deadline for defending a title and fight on an April or May fight card (Most likely UFC 95 or 96).

So whom will his opponent be for this theoretical fight? The winner of Florian/Stevenson will be settled Nov. 15, five to six months prior to this supposed fight, and Sherk/Griffin will be settled on Oct. 25, a few weeks prior to that.

This will be too long for either of the winners to sit on the sidelines (Although Penn seems fine with doing it). Does this mean we are looking at a “winner vs. winner” fight somewhere in-between?

I don’t see any other way to settle what has built up by Penn taking a year to defend his lightweight title. He has essentially let the division go on without him. Perhaps it was intentional. He wanted the “cream of the crop” to rise to the surface.

Perhaps this is the best thing to happen to the lightweight division. There is nothing worse than watching an uninspired champion losing to the lesser opponent.

So now let us assume that Penn beats St. Pierre and wins the Welterweight belt. Will the UFC let Penn carry around and defend both belts. While that would be great for his ego, I surely hope not.

I would hope that Penn would be “strongly encouraged” to relinquish his lightweight belt, and he would return to a division that will offer him way more competition. Hopefully enough for him to not get bored. He is too great a talent to see this happen.

If he does win, this would allow the lightweight division, which is loaded with talent, to move on and crown a new titleholder. It would also create all kinds of great matchups at welterweight! I would love to see Penn vs. Fitch or Penn vs. Koscheck. Could Penn be to St. Pierre what Franklin is to Silva?

I think it goes without saying that the winner of Florian/Stevenson and Sherk/Griffin should square off. Theoretically, that fight could happen as early as UFC 93. Perhaps give B.J. something to think about before fighting St. Pierre!

More likely, it would happen at UFC 94 in late February or early March. Either way, I think that “winner vs. winner” fight should be for the interim lightweight championship.

Then, when and if Penn decides to come back to the lightweight division, he can fight Florian, Stevenson, Sherk, or Griffin, (the last man standing) in a unification title fight.

In my opinion, B..J. falls just short in his rematch with St. Pierre.

So, my prediction and hope for the lightweight division: B.J. Penn, lightweight champion vs. Kenny Florian, interim lightweight champion in the unification title fight at UFC 96 in May!

After B.J. Penn wins, he can let go of the lightweight division and find a permanent home at welterweight. That’s assuming he doesn’t retire! ( I'm sure there will be much debate on who will actually win the mini- tournament shaping up in the lightweight division!)

 

This is my first article at Bleacher! Hopefully it isn’t repetitive and doesn’t disappoint.