St. Pierre Vs. Penn: Just Enjoy It

So there's a lot of people out there, who are a little annoyed about the GSP Penn fight. 

The reason that they are annoyed though, has little to do with the prospect of the fight itself.  In this article, I'll attempt to explain the reasons for complaint, and then argue that in the end, this fight is a good thing. 

First though, I'll start with the complaints.

Complaints:

1. Many people believe that BJ Penn doesn't deserve the fight.  After all, beating Jens Pulver and Joe Stevenson, and Sean Sherk isn't really that impressive.  Leonard Garcia just destroyed Jens Pulver, and Uriah Faber beat him soundly.

2. BJ is a jerk and I don't like him.

3. BJ should have to put his belt on the line, because GSP is risking more in this fight.

4. The fight slows down both the lightweight and welterweight divisions.

5. Alves deserves the fight more.

Why the fight should happen anyways.

BJ Penn's fights with Pulver, Stevenson, and Sherk weren't even close.  I know there are some who think that Sherk put up a good fight, but the truth is that BJ Penn jabbed away at Sherk's face, until he got bored, and decided to finish the fight.

BJ Penn would be a huge betting favorite against any current UFC lightweight.  Being such a huge favorite would mean fewer pay-per-view buys.  Which means less money for the UFC, which means the UFC doesn't really care about those fights right now.

Since the fight business is about money, "deserving" a title shot doesn't matter, and it never has. For further examples of this, see Lutter vs Silva, Couture vs Sylvia, Lesnar vs Couture, etc, etc.

In the end, match making is all about timing.  If Penn had beaten Hughes back in 2006, we would have already seen Penn vs St. Pierre 2.  Dana White realizes that at the present time, the demand for this fight is as high as it is going to get. If Dana lets GSP fight Alves first, what happens if GSP loses? Then a fight with Penn would lose a lot of it's lustre.

Making this fight right now is the only way to insure that this fight gets the attention and hype that it deserves.

So despite how much some of us may dislike Penn, we have got to realize that this fight is about UFC money.  Dana White pretends that BJ is difficult to control, but the reality is that Dana wants this fight, because he knows it will make millions.

Others have suggested that the fight is unfair to GSP, because Penn doesn't have to put his belt on the line.  However, people need to understand that every champion puts the belt on the line against someone without a belt. 

Furthermore, you can't have them fight for the 155lb strap when they are weighing in at 170.  GSP would never want to cut that much weight anyway.  And, if BJ were forced to vacate the 155lb title now, it would only make the belt seem illegitimate until the time that BJ returns to the 155lb division.

Now I'll agree that the fight will slow down both divisions, but only by one fight.  The only contenders that have emerged from the 155 and 170 divisions are Thiago Alves and Kenny Florian.

But Thiago only solidified his claim to the #1 contender spot last month when he beat Koscheck, anyway.  True, he'll have to wait a little bit longer, but a 6-7 month wait is worth the title shot.  Florian is in the same sittuation.

Really, though, there aren't any other really commpelling matches that come to mind at this time. 

In the welterweight division, Koscheck, Fitch, Sanchez, Hazelett, Swick, and a theorrhetical Jake Shields are all at least a victory or two away from deserving a title shot, and at this time, there's little to suggest that any of them would match up particularly well against GSP, which means lower PPV buys again.

The UFC lightweight division has the same problem.  All of the contenders have either lost in their last few fights, havent faced any real competition, or have already lost to either Sherk or Florian. 

And very few people want to see Sherk fight Penn again... That fight was watching someone bang their head against a wall for 15 minutes, without thinking that maybe that's not the best idea.  The rest of the division could actually use some time to sort itself out again.

So really, for Dana White, it comes down to weighing considerations for Florian and Alves against millions and millions of dollars.

If there is any consolation prize for GSP fans, though, here it is: Dana White wants GSP to win.

A GSP win will force Penn back into the lightweight division where he belongs, and will crack his new-found aura of invincibility.  A cracked aura of invincibility will actually generate a little excitement for a Penn vs Florian fight, and make more money for Zuffa.

He doesn't want to have to try to get Penn to fight for 2 titles.

Furthermore, a GSP win will increase interest in a possible superfight with Anderson Silva, should GSP make it past Alves as well.  Should GSP make it past Penn and Alves in decisive fashion, the popularity of GSP will be high enough that the GSP vs Anderson Silva fight will break the UFC PPV record.

All that being said, I truly think that Dana White believes GSP is a big favorite to win the Penn fight. Otherwise, I don't think he would have taken the small gamble.  I myself would put GSP at about -300 (or 3-1) to beat BJ.  Dana has of course been wrong before, but I think he's made a good bet here.

In the mean time though, just enjoy the fact that the fight should be incredibly entertaining.  And if it is GSP crushing BJ, isn't that what you complainers want to see anyway?