Jon Fitch looking to become a legend after beating BJ Penn at UFC 127 in February

BJ will only win this in my opinion by TKO or KO as good as he is. Fitch is good at everything GSP had an advantage over BJ with. I think Fitch will win but BJ has a chance for sure.

True its hard to see Penn win but I'm still going to be rooting for Penn mainly cause hes one of my fav fighters but also cause his takedown defense is top 3 in MMA history and when he does get takedown he can use sweeps n get on top only way Fitch is beating Penn is by holding him down for three rounds

Interesting match up. I wonder if Joe Silva was on his third Old English 40 oz. and a plate of LOCO MOCO when he put this fight together.

unfortunatly we are all quite aware of how good fitch is at holding a man down for 15 minutes

Surprised I haven't seen anyone mention something though. BJ's biggest weakness is one of Fitch's greatest strengths: cardio. BJ's in much better shape than he used to be, but he was still wilting a little bit after just a round and a half of trying to keep up with Frankie Edgar. As skilled as Penn is, Fitch can punish an opponent for having less gas than him, and Fitch has a helluva tank. If Fitch is actively grinding on him over the course of 3 rounds, he's going to turn him into a Hawaiian hamburger. We might actually see Fitch finish this fight if BJ's body can't keep up.



That said, I'm a Jon Fitch fan, and if I see him run BJ out of gas in two rounds and then dry hump him for the third, I'm gonna be PISSED.

Honestly where Fitch says "I think the fans are going to be very happy about this" i think the fans will be happy when they see BJ Penn but then it says Jon Fitch they say "Another boring fight really?"

Fitch is active when he is on top and has some nasty ground and pound. That is a big part of MMA and I dont find it boring from a personal perspective. Smashing a man's skin open with elbows in the guard is boring? Okay...

last time he did that was????

The winner of this fight gets a title shot against the winner of GSP/Kos vs Jake Shields? So it would probably be about one year from now, right?

I think so, Shields vs GSP/Kos is prolly going to happen in like April/May or somthing so if the winner of Fitch/Penn gets the next title shot that would most likely be around August/September, thats wat i'm guessing and thats only if no one is injured

I agree, Fitch has really good ground control, arguably better than GSP's (though Georges definitely has better takedowns), but Penn is very active from the bottom.



Honestly, this fight will say a lot regardless of the outcome. If Penn can manage to finish Fitch, he'll have accomplished something no one else has ever come close to doing, not even GSP who dominated Fitch in his title shot. If Fitch can finish Penn, he'll silence every critic who think he's boring and doesn't know how to go for the kill. But even if Fitch can just hold BJ down and control him for all 3 rounds, making it seem like another day at the office, It speaks volumes about how extensive Fitch's control actually is.

I hope BJ doesn't let Fitch just lay on him. That;s the only way I see Fitch winning because he's NOT gonna sub/tko/ko BJ for sure

Seems like BJ has been hand picked to knock Fitch out of contention so that they do not have to give him a shot. Also, Penn defeating Fitch will allow the UFC to justify rushing him into the title mix after just a couple wins. As far as who wins, its hard to say. We didn't really get to see what BJ looked like out there. Not to take anything away from him, but a flash knockout happens... How his overall game will look at 170lbs. is still yet to be seen.

or u can look at the fight in the way that it solidifies Fitch as the next contender if he beats Penn, UFC can not deny Fitch a title shot if he is able to beat Penn and the same goes for Penn if he beats Fitch who is considered the number 2 WW it will be hard to deny him a title shot

Yah i see it that way to, but at the same time I'm thinking if that is there intention then they made s goofy move. All Fitch has to do IMO to win is not throw a punch in the first round cause a fresh BJ is extremely dangerous. Plus Fitch is very hard to finish, and I don't see BJ getting a decision win. But hell maybe that acupuncture this works wonders and BJ is reinvigorated.

I really hate Fitch's style of fighting but i kinda look forward to seeing Penn defending Fitch's take down attempts.

Agreed. Should be great fight. I just hope that Fitch would be little more aggressive with g&p. Fitch by decision or BJ by sub.

Also I´m not sure if Sotiropoulos vs Siver should be co-main event. Great fight but still.

his style of fighting is hand out as much damage without taking any yourself. thats fighting. he fights smart fights and will always be a problem for anyone, even the ridiculously overhyped bj, who fought a matt hughes who is in the twilight of his career.

I don't see Fitch doing much damage in his fights. Mostly blanketing his opposition for 15 mins.



How can someone who's held belts in 2 weight classes be

overhyped??



Matt's best days are behind him sure, but he came in on a 3 fight winning streak.



Who the F 'shaped' you?

As impressive as BJ was on saturday night, I believe the ufc are just trying to catapult him into a title fight with GSP, as they are more interested in selling ppv rather than given the deserved fighter(fitch) his long overdue shot. I for one think Fitch will control Penn for 3 rounds and eek out a decision. Bj has the punchers chance as we seen on saturdy night though.

Seems to me that Fitch is that kind of grindy wrestlers type that pushes you up against the fence and works takedowns from there, BJ is immune to that kind of takedown. As I remember both GSP and Franky are more the kind of fighter that sets up a fast double leg with strikes, that is what BJ has trouble with.



So I think Fitch will have real difficulty taking BJ down and standing up BJ will have a massive advantage. And as we have seen BJ hits HARD and I can see him dropping Fitch and subbing him. Fitch and Hughes are actually very similar imo.

I agree with some of the posts so far, but I don't understand the whole not know what BJ brings @ 170. He lost to Edgar because he gets frustrated when he can't punch, and Frankie is quick and in n out. In UAE when he originally lost, he looked sluggish and the weather seemed to affect both him and A. Silva. Weight cuts do matter, and he looked great against Hughes the other night. Just look at him, and he looks fresh and in shape and full of energy.



That said, Fitch does have all the tools GSP used to beat BJ, even if he is not as good. I truly believe BJ will come in the best shape of his life @ 170, and will be ready to beat Fitch. The key for him would be to train extra with wrestlers, and be ready to stuff all takedowns. He knows what's on the line, and he is one of the best ever. Go BJ!!!

I would rather see BJ work his way up the divsion than get the top

cotender

i would really like BJ to win just because he went to fight against Hughes not just win, and it disappointing to see someone of Fitch's talent waste it on laying and praying on people

if i wanted to see bj under a blanket for 15 minutes I'd just go to bjpenn.com

Looks like Fitch should be doing the complaining about taking away title shots, not rashad.



But Fitch has a huge oppurtunity here, if he can beat BJ in decisive fashion he can silence the critics and get his title shot. If he lay and prays BJ and gets a decision i dont see his situation improving. and if he looses he is really screwed. but i dont think laying on a undersized Penn will make you a legend fitch, finish it then we'll talk

What I cannot fathom is how Shields is given a title shot anf not Fitch, particularly as Shields lost his debut but the judges are idiots.

Okay - lets say Penn beats Fitch, please explain to me why that entitles Penn to fight for the 170 title?



In his last six fights he's 3 - 3, with one of those losses coming to the current Champ; and it was a thrashing. A thrashing so bad that at the end of round four, it caused his corner to throw in the towel. I guess people have forgotten that.



I do not think that a 21 second victory (no matter how dramatic) over an aging and soon-to-be retiring veteran, who himself is 3 - 3 in his last six fights, establishes Penn as a contender in the division.



Might he beat Fitch? Sure. My guess is that JF will take him down and control him for three rounds, in a 30 - 27 decision. However, even if he wins and I think the only way is by KO or TKO, I still don't think it proves his merit as someone who has "earned" a title shot. I'm sorry, but I just see this as Penn favoritism. Heck, just look at how quickly they threw the fight together; it sounds like (literally) minutes.



If BJ plans on staying @ 170, then fine. However, he should have at least two or three fights, before being given a title shot; come on. I personally would like to see him scrap it out with Diego Sanchez, again and lets see what happens @ 170.



My personal belief is that BJ is running away from his problems in the 155 division and (that) he, for some reason, has got it stuck in his head that the solution to those problems lay in the WWD; it does not.



Penn and his legacy would be better served by going back to 155, getting back into that Diego Sanchez fight shape and regaining his belt and his legacy; because a 21 second KO victory over Matt Hughes doesn't really mean much in the WWD, these days; no matter how impressive it was.

I agree w/ a lot of what you say, but realize that Dana knows what fans want, and Fitch was denied the title shot because he is boring!! Don't forget that he started training and the new workout regimen after the 2nd GSP fight....he is naturally around 170, similar to Edgar being natural at 155. He looked great the other night, physically and mentally.



A fight with Diego @ 170 would be good, but Diego can take on another contender and is younger so has time. BJ needs to fight often, and get into the contender spot ASAP. He is not running away from 155, just needs to work on wrestling and see if 170 actually suits him. Fitch is a bitch, and this makes sense so he actually fight to prove he deserves a title shot.

I agree with you, If Penn fights JF and wins then it will be a while until we see a new contender get his chance at the belt as there is no doubt in my mind that Fitch would work his way back to contention in no time and if BJ does somehow take care of GSP they will give GSP another shot at taking it back and then I think it will be a cycle of Fitch, GSP, BJ and whoever is the next top contender at each interval of those fights meaning 4 or 5 guys will be the only onbes moving into position for a shot no matter how good the up and comers. This is ring around the rosie of the top selling fighters and John fitch.

BJ cannot not take that belt away from GSP. He will struggle to beat Fitch but I am intrigued with this one.

I agree with you on GSP vs Penn but unsure about him beating Fitch. He may have the style to beat Fitch but Fitch may just hang on to him. I look forward to it as well.

He can't get motivated for anything but fights against legends, for top contender status, or for the belt.

Which is a problem.

fitch is a bitch, huh?



wow. really killed your credibility with that statement.

My bad, I was thinking that but I was typing hella fast. being from NorCal and loving AKA as a local gym, I do really like Fitch but hate his boring style. Kos is an exciting version of Fitch, and I just really like BJ. Good fights are all that matter, and Dana knows this fight makes sense for the fans and title implications.



Gotta say tho, lots of us NorCal folks love Cesar Gracie JJ, and hope that Gil and Nick come over also. Nick @ 170 would be awesome!!

fitch is awesome, yea his style might not be so great but the fact is is controlled and basically dominated everyone except gsp, also i think fitch can win on his feet, bj is a better striker but fitch did tko alves in the first fight, plus fitch is a very big ww, i think he might strike to set up some takedowns and control bj on the ground, ive been dyin to see gsp vs fitch 2 and i hope it happens

BJ is probably gonna get overpowered but i hope he can pull the upset and KO FItch

Fitch submission via Dry hump

grease or no grease, GSP still handed BJ's azz to him 2nd time around. BJ is a great fighter no doubt, but he would never beat GSP if they fought 10 time without grease.

bj has all the tools to win this but i think fitch will overall just be too much for him push him up against the cage dirty box the fight for the takedown will be hard and if fitch gets it bj will just get back up but the struggle will take its toll on bj and wear him down

I really want to see BJ pull this off. To me, having him without a belt is pretty cool. We would of never of scene this match-up other wise. Kinda the same with Lesnar even though I'm NOT a fan of his. We will get to see him tested against a wider array of opponent now. When guys get a belt, it seems like it takes a long time to see them in action. As we all know, just because you're in a contenders spot, it doesnt mean your the best in the division. Not having to worry about a strap to defend means we will see more interesting fights for BJ imo.