(Props to Sherdog for the picture)
This past Saturday BJ “The Prodigy” Penn extended his reign as UFC Lightweight Champion by dismantling number-one-contender Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez (above). The momentum shifted towards Penn right from the start, flooring the Nightmare and rocking him with several shots on the ground. Props to ref Herb Dean who was all over the action and allowed the fight to continue. Unfortunately for Sanchez, there would be little offensive success for the next twenty plus minutes of action, at least not on his part. The fight was stopped by doctors in the middle of the fifth round after BJ opened Diego’s forehead with a kick and followed it up with a series of short uppercuts.
Penn once again showed that he’s the best fighter in the world at 155 lbs. He stuffed and sprawled his way out of all 24of Diego’s take-down attempts throughout the fight and credited Manny Pacquiao’s influence in the post fight press conference for his striking advantage, which landed at a whooping 70%.
The Nightmare shouldn’t have lost any fans for his effort. Despite being battered to a pulp for nearly 23 minutes Diego never gave up and showed his warrior spirit. In the post fight press conference UFC president Dana White said, “In 10 years of being in this business, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anybody more busted up than Diego is right now.”
In the co-main event of the evening Frank Mir backed up all the shit he’d been talking and finished Cheick Kongo at the 1:12 mark of the first round by guillotine choke. Mir blasted Kongo with a left hook that floored the French striker early in the round, Kongo attempted to gather his wits quickly and went for Mir’s legs. Mir was able to latch on to Kongo’s neck and didn’t let go until the ref pulled an unconscious Kongo from the black belt’s clutches.
The win should put Mir up with the top contenders of the heavyweight division and puts Kongo’s back against the wall in his next trip to the octagon, fighting to stay relevant in the division.
Rest of the pack:
- Kenny Florian showcased his skills by finishing Clay Guida by rear naked choke at 2:19 of round two
- Alan Belcher slugged his way to a fight-of-the-night T.K.O. victory over Wilson Gouveia in round one
- John Fitch earned his third consecutive decision victory since his loss to GSP at UFC 87
yikes diego got brutalized. bj is the man, p4p top 5!
diego is a pussy
[...] One of the few decisions on the card came in the main event as ex-Michigan State wrestler “Sugar” Rashad Evans edged out tough contender Thiago Silva. The “w” should set Sugar onto a collision course with his greatest nemesis and fellow TUF 10 coach, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, in a fight that was supposed to go down last month in Memphis at UFC 107. [...]
[...] Maynard had a relatively dominant win over Edgar in April of 2008, and though neither has lost since that fight (Maynard is currently on a 7 fight win streak in the UFC), Edgar has been more impressive in his victories. Along with being extremely likable, Edgar is now 6-1 in the UFC and has taken home three fight of the night bonus checks. He’s proven to be a threat on both the ground and on the feet and has yet to be finished in a fight. Then again, he’s never been locked in a cage with BJ Penn for 25 minutes. Good luck Frankie, and yeah, you’ll probably need it. [...]