You are hereNick Diaz vs. Bj Penn Scheduled For UFC 137:
Nick Diaz vs. Bj Penn Scheduled For UFC 137:
Yep you read that right.
The UFC has decided to allow the Stockton Outlaw Nick Diaz another shot at UFC 137 and this time it is against MMA legend BJ Penn. Penn was originally slated to face Carlos Condit, who was called up to replace Diaz against champion Georges Saint Pierre when Diaz missed two mandatory press conferences.
The UFC was originally punishing" Diaz by pulling him from his title shot but now has decided to play nice and match him against Penn. Because I am more interested in what happens inside of the fences rather than outside, I will keep my rant short. This is a pointless move on the part of the UFC and Dana White. I would rather have Penn Vs. Diaz over nothing, but it seems like all of this could have been avoided by simply fining Diaz for missing the pressers and moving on.
On the fighting side of things:
This is a compelling bout because both Diaz and Penn offer similar styles. They both are decorated jiu jitsu fighters with a penchant for striking and the knack for finishing fights. I believe that Diaz is at an early advantage based on his striking abilities and overall style but Penn has the pop to end fights with one punch and he will step into the pocket with impunity.
As far as Condit verse GSP, call me a hater but I would like to see a changing of the guard here. Condit is respectful, talented and dangerous, he doesn't sound fake or put on when asked a direct question and take risks to win fights. Because Gsp and Condit are were training partners, one would have to give the advantage to the champion in this situation. The last minute change up may stir things up, but the "Hold him down" game plan applies to almost anyone and GSP is better than anyone at doing it.
What do you think? Is this another example of Zuffa's savvy damage control or Dana White being a drama queen who tantrums at the drop of a hat?
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This might be fight of the year. BJ got dynamite in his gloves, but Nick's chin impressed me vs Daley. I do think this ends in a flash ko in Penn's favor though. Nick's weird ass stance is going to leave too many openings for Penn to exploit.
If Dana is going to pull Diaz from the title fight with GSP then he should have the balls to stick by his guns and not permit Diaz to fight on the card. On the other hand I think Diaz vs Penn should be a great fight. I just dont understand switching opponents.
Amish I feel ya on the flash KO. Daley cracked him and put him down, he just over pursued a bit to much and walked into some stuff he could have avoided.
Moon my thoughts are the same. Unless they are that desperate to hype the fight and will pull out all the stops including verbally trashing the guys slated to the be the main event, this whole move makes no sense to me other than Dana threw a fit,they took a step back and realized they destroyed the card and then came the damage control.
Even though I think I am going to delve deeper into this match up, I think that unless Penn finds the mark early hes going to get outworked here. Bj has pop but hes a natural 55er moving up a class and aside from the hard to explain hughes Ko, hasnt exactly been throwing hammers at 70.
That BJ hasn't been a 155er since the second Edgar fight, and that was almost two years ago now, and it's not like BJ moves up, per se, he just doesn't cut any and fights at his walking around weight.
Where BJ wins this fight is from the top postion on the ground. His top bjj>Nick's bjj from the bottom. Not to mention that Bj's wrestling is light years ahead of Nick's. BJ is going to end up on top throwing elbows and it's going to cut Nick quite badly. Remember how bad Joe Stevenson was leaking when he fought BJ? Yeah, it's going to be worse than that. I predict this fight will be stopped by cuts.
On the feet, it'll be more even, but I still give BJ the slight edge. I know you've mentioned that Nick loves to stand in the pocket and thrwo down and that's what makes him dangerous (and I agree), but he is a train wreck defensively. You can't expect to get hit on the jaw clean multiple times from a guy like BJ Penn and stay vertical. The striking game will resemble Nick's fights with KJ Noons, except BJ is much more dangerous than KJ could even dream of being. Think about it, Diego Sanchez thought it would be cool to stand in the pocket and bang with BJ Penn. Remember what happened to him?
One of the ways Nick was able to get away with getting hit in the Daley fight was because Paul was deathly afraid of following Nick to the ground (because Daley, like most Brits, has an absolutely atrocious ground game). BJ won't be. He'll happily jump into Diaz's guard and will rough him up from there.
Nick definitely possesses a cardio advantage. I don't think anybody will dispute that. But think about it, has BJ ever gassed when facing a striker? Nope. Big. strong wrestlers (and little, speedy wrestlers with tight boxing) are what gas him out. Nick is not that dude, so his cardio advantage won't mean much of anything.
Like I said in the other thread, this fight is going to be much, much rougher than the GSP fight. The worst that would have happened to Nick in a fight with GSP is him leaving feeling molested (and the feelings associated with that leads to counseling, I imagine. Carlos better start scheduling sessions now). In a fight with BJ Penn, the potential for Nick to be hurt pretty badly is very high.
Maybe so, but your also sort of highlighting the best Bj Penn (diego) ever versus the worst Nick Diaz (kj) ever and in that scenario your right, but both guys are far and away different from those bouts.
I can easily see Penn struggling to keep up with Diaz on the feet especially when the fight catches fire, which by my guess will be about 3 seconds in, but you do have a point about Bj following Diaz down as opposed to Daley. I dont think about this fight and compare it to the Daley fight, I would compare it more to Noons Diaz 2.
I guess well see wont we.
And I have to say, I'm far more pumped for Nick Diaz vs. BJ Penn than I was for Nick Diaz vs. GSP. We may even have to place a small wager on it.
Sounds good to me but I will have Smithwick place my wager, so to not alter the future. If you know what im saying
You have to place the wager. That way I'm 100% guaranteed a win.