UFC 94: BJ Penn Vs. Georges St. Pierre 2

BJ Penn and Georges St. Pierre will face each other in the octagon for the second time at UFC 94 scheduled for the 31th of January.

GSP won a controversial decision the first time they fought, but the fact is that Penn inflicted more damage to GSP, who had to check into a hospital immediately after the fight was over.

On the other hand, the loser of the fight left the octagon and went for a drink without a scratch on his face. The deciding factor in the match were GSP's repetitive takedowns, though he never delivered any significant damage once he took Penn down. Obviously, judges valued these takedowns much more than the stand-up battle, which Penn undoubtedly won.

After the fight, GSP's face was battered, bruised and bleeding. It was clear who inflicted more damage, but judges have seen the fight differently, appreciating GSP's takedowns more than Penn's domination in the stand-up.

TALE OF THE TAPE

BJ Penn

BJ Penn is 29 years old, he stands 5 ft 9 in tall (175 cm) and weighs 155.5 lb (70.5 kg).
He became the first non-Brazilian to win the black belt division of the 2000 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship held in Rio de Janeiro.
He holds a professional record of 13 victories (five knockouts and five submissions), he lost four times (one TKO, three decisions), and has one draw. He has notable wins over Matt Hughes, Takanori Gomi, Renzo Gracie, Sean Sherk, etc.

Georges St. Pierre

GSP is 27 years old, 5 ft 10 in tall (178 cm) and weighs 169 lb (76.7 kg). His professional record consists of 17 wins (seven knockouts, five submissions), and two losses (one knockout and one submission).
He holds wins over Karo Parisyan, Sean Sherk, Matt Hughes, Josh Koscheck, Frank Trigg, etc.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Georges St. Pierre

GSP is one of the most well-rounded fighters in the sport. He's mastered every part of the game due to his specific training approach which consists of separate trainings with professionals in wrestling, boxing, BJJ, instead of training in an MMA camp.

He possesses great explosiveness and a strong work ethic. On top of that, he carefully prepares his strategy for a fight and executes it perfectly, remaining unpredictable for his foes. He likes to put grapplers and wrestlers on their backs.

He outwrestled Josh Koscheck (the NCAA Division 1 Champion in the 174 lb weight class), he took BJ Penn down at will. He finds his opponents' weaknesses and tailors a game plan.

Great strikes usually don't like to shoot in for a takedown. That's what makes GSP different from the others. He is a great, explosive striker, but he can put anybody on their backs.

It's hard, almost impossible, to find a flaw in GSP's game, but BJ Penn won the stand-up battle as he outsmarted GSP with a superior timing.

BJ Penn

One of the most talented fighters in MMA, the world BJJ champion, the guy who ended Matt Hughes' 13-fight win streak, the two-time UFC lightweight champion. He possesses excellent boxing skills and a legendary ground game. He has great flexibility, which allows him to do amazing things from his back. One of his strongest weapons is his timing.

The only weakness could be his cardio as he tends to rely heavily on his talent and sometimes doesn't work on his conditioning as hard as he should.

He should work on his wrestling and takedown defense more in order to prevent GSP from taking him down and stealing rounds.

WINNING STRATEGIES

GSP

Some will say that GSP doesn't have to change anything in his strategy as everything worked well for him the first time, but the fact is that his face was pretty messed up and he surely doesn't want to experience that again.

GSP lost the stand-up battle in that fight. And the reason why is BJ Penn's perfect timing. A moment when his opponent starts a combo is a moment when BJ Penn throws his jab. He intercepts his opponents with his jab, and catches them unprepared as they are focused on their own attack.

GSP should do what Joe Calzaghe did to Bernard Hopkins. He should fake an attack, and when Penn counters with a jab and misses, GSP should immediately counter with a fast combo. Calzaghe beat Hopkins with the similar tactic.

GSP's superior wrestling was a deciding factor in their first match and GSP will surely try put BJ Penn on his back again. Should his takedowns be successful, he will score another victory over “The Prodigy.”

BJ Penn

Had BJ Penn stuffed those takedowns he would have won the fight at UFC 58. Judges value takedowns highly and it is possible to get beaten for four minutes and then steal a round with a takedown.

BJ Penn will likely win the stand-up unless GSP finds the key to Penn's timing and counter punches. It's going to be very difficult to submit explosive GSP and even the master of submissions like Penn wasn't able to do much from his back in the first bout, and there is no reason why we should believe that it is going to be any different this time.

Penn should focus on his sprawl and stuffing GSP's takedowns, while picking apart GSP with his counter punches and a perfect timed jab. Should he succeed in stuffing GSP's takedowns, he will avenge his loss.

PREDICTION: BJ PENN, SPLIT DECISION

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