UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch Recap and Aftermath

I im tired of seeing Bj fighting the same people. even tho this ended up in a draw id rather see him fight someone else at 170. and as for Fitch that performance definitely doesnt get him a title shot. If Bj Penn could take down Fitch who was obviously much bigger and stronger then Penn what do you think GSP would do to Fitch.

Maybe he should fight the winner of Hardy/Johnson or maybe even Condit? Even if he keeps fighting, he isn't going to be a contender until he takes his training serious.

I want BJ back at 155. If he comes motivated and prepared Edgar and Maynard will not be able to beat him. Why play around with bigger boys when your not the top of your own size.. It's kind of like if Hughes would have went to middleweight after losing his title. Just no point.

thing is he would just take all of those guys down and do what he does best which yea isnt exiting. i actually turned the bj fight off at the start of the 3rd and have only just found out it was a draw.

No, what'll happen is GSP will beat Shields and vacate his belt, then Fitch vs. Penn will rematch for the vacant belt. And if BJ was gassing in the third round here, he's gonna get choked out in the fifth for the title shot.

I`m referring to BJ Penn but nice try.

I feel so sorry for Fitch. The man is thrown to the other side of the pool by Dana White simply bcause of his style. Is it exciting? No but the man dominates and what matters in the end is the win, nothing else. Jon's record speaks for itself [13-1-1].



I also felt that Jon Fitch had that fight in the bag (winning the second and third rounds).

Doomsday i saw in another post u said someone must not be a "true fan" if they dont like wrestling matches. I come from watching boxing and i like MMA a lot too but i think Fitch should never be a main event fighter, his record speaks for himself like u said hes great but just dull. Hes a rope a dope fighter just the mma version. He deserves his doos but i think BJ is more exciting and that is a big deal when it comes to expanding this sport. To me BJ should fight a guy like winner of hardy/jhonson maybe and fitch should try his hand at condit

No, this has nothing to do with 'wrestling matches'. This is MMA. If you can't stop the takedown then boo-hoo. And if you can't stand watching it then stop watching the sport.



The fact that Fitch was able to neutralize Penn's BJJ does make him a 'main event' fighter.



The art of combat has nothing to do with flashy moves and bloody knock outs and high level submissions. It is strategy. A so called 'no talent' wrestler in Jon Fitch completely defused the MMA legend and fan favorite BJ Penn - how is that not impressive? How is that not main event material?



I suggest you 'fans' man up or shut up. If you can't stop Fitch from manhandling you then bitch your way to another sport. It's that simple.

the truth is you're both wrong. Ensonlnoue im glad that as you were originally a boxing fan you can enjoy the sport of MMA. But Fitch has done what it takes to be a "Main Event" fighter. he's beaten the best of the best. and has the second most dominant record in UFC history, second to only Anderson Silva. he without doubt deserves Main event status.

doomsdayapex. i agree that Fitch won the second and third rounds as well. however he did not "completely diffuse" BJ like you said he did. and the art of combat has everything to do with bloody knockouts and high level submissions. even flashy moves because they are often distracting and damaging to the opponent but puts the user in a vulnerable position.

your completly wrong, and eventually people will stop watching if all main events are like that. ive been getting this bad feeling latly that mma is on a slow decline because it is becoming ruled with these boring wrestlers. the sport of mma is all about excitment and action, if you take that away from it, then its not much different from baseball. i also think it looks bad for the sport to have one guy sitting on another guy punches his face while the guy on bottom is bassicaly helpless, especialy when the guy on bottom is smaller. i garauntee that if all fighters took the 'jon fitch' approach, mma why die fast. thats why the future of the sport lies with fighters like anthony pettis.

if all fighters took the Jon Fitch approach they'd get submitted or theyd meet a sprawl and brawl fighter that would knock them out. it takes alot of talent to punch a MMA fighter from the top for 15 mins and not get caught in an armbar, kimura, or triangle. Fitch, gsp, and Maynard all use the same game plan prettly much. Maynard and GSP go to the distance a higher % of fight's than Fitch but they're Fan Favorites. so you are obviously wrong. mma is like baseball? do you even understand what it is these guys are doing? what exactly am i wrong about? DID YOU SERIOUSLY JUST CALL BJ PENN HELPLESS? MORON!!!

ok sorry. you're not a moron. that was going too far. But you can never call b.j. penn helpless. and bj has fought Lyoto Machida, so trust me, Fitch wasn't too big for him. again i apologize for calling you a moron jesse. personally i like Fitch's style of being able to get a victory over the highest level of competition without taking much damage. i see it as a very intelligent way of fighting, but i understand how less die hard MMA fans wouldn't enjoy his style. i just don't really get why guys that dont like Fitch freaking love GSP and Grey Maynard.

bj only had about two minutes of offense in the whole fight both times he was reversed and began to eat punches and elbows. john should of won that fight but i just chalk it up too the judges inability to properly score a mma fight. bj gets points for two takedowns and two dominant postitions gained and one half ass sub attempt. fitch get points for controling the majority of the fight two takedowns two reversals and the damage and striking clearly to fitch even before the third round he out struck bj 2-1. plus the 150 unanswerd punches on the ground.

Wow really? Jon Fitch dominated, a legend, BJ Penn and he gets no credit at all. Am i the only one that gets excited with the expense of whose going to impose his will and win, when to high level guys fight ??? Im always pretty chill on lowkicks, but im calling out u basis nuthuggers. GSP has been taking all this fights to decision and no one says shiz. I dont like Rashad Evan becuz of his personality not style. So if ur pissed when ur fave fighter lose just says thats the reason, dont blame it on other fighters style. Im tried of people saying someone doesnt deserve a title shot because of style as opposed to their accolades. I kno this is a fan friendly sport but its still a sport, give the athlete what theyve EARNED.

was I the only one angry when fitch started grinding on penn? it was like i was watching a replay of one of his other matches....mad i even paid for that ppv

same man i turned it off. ppl will weak me here but i often do it when gsp is fighting.. i know its a major part of mma but i just cant stand watching it.

...That's what happens when you leave it in the hands of the judges. Fitch throws pitty pat punches. He doesn't even throw his weight in any punches on the ground. He threw so many damn punches and Penn wasn't even dizzy!

nick ring should have lost that fight 30-27

You're absolutely correct and here's why:



http://blog.fightmetric.com/2011/02/ring-vs-fukuda-official-ufc-statistics.html

Only just watched the fights. Fitch clearly won the third, but I was wondering halfway through the 3rd round if it would be enough as the first two rounds were very close. I don't know how the judges scored each round but seeing the 3rd could easily be a 10 - 8 round for Fitch, possibly BJ got the first two rounds. Fitch did not clearly win the 2nd round like some seem to think. He may have won it but by no means clearly as it was a very even round IMO.



Overall I think Fitch won, but on a round by round scoring system a draw seems perfectly reasonable.



Those knocking Fitch for his style gotta remember he GnP BJ Penn for the majority of the 3rd round and how many fighters have ever GnP BJ for a whole round? It may not be pretty but he is effective.

welterweight tourny make it happen dana.

if gsp beats shields and goes up to middleweight that it. there are so many great match ups.

Penn, Kammpman, Alves, Condit, Koscheck, Fitch, Shields and possibly Paulo Thiago. i think that would be a great (and fair) way to determine the next welterweight champion.

Lame A** event.



Fukuda got robbed.

Fisher got robbed.

Penn/Fitch was a snooze fest.

Rivera got double robbed.



Hats off to Siver for a great win, who nobody picked.

Almost forgot, Bisping is STILL the biggest PRICK in MMA.



Spitting on opposing coaches, unprofessional, over-rated, immature.



Complete DOUCHEBAG.

it was all Fitch in round 3 but definatley not 2. Although Fitch had BJ up against the fence it was Penn who did the most damage with an elbow that busted fitch up bad. Then to add to that he took fitch down, got his back and almost subed him.



I saw that decision coming, BJ won first two Fitch won rnd 3, 10-8

I disagree. I think the first was 10-9 Penn, the second was 10-10, and the third was 10-9 Fitch.

They still have 10-10 rounds. They're just incredibly rare. 10-10 signifies that neither fighter actually imposed enough of an advantage over the other to win the round.

all john fitch rounds two and three? is that why he got taken down and got his back taken in round two? and there was almost no striking invovled, the only way fitch "outstruck" bj was by landing that nice right hand in the 3rd...



i thought it was a split decision for penn and im absolutely shocked nobody else sees it that way. if you get taken down, and get your back taken two rounds in a row, that means you got out grappeled and were very close to being finished on two seperate occasions. Bj out grappeled fitch because he was able to gain better positioning ont he ground, which fitch was not. this was basically a grappeling match in which i didnt see fitch do any remotely close to productive. i didnt think it was possible but i respect fitch less as a fighter then i did before this fight. he does NOT deserve a title shot until he proves to the UFC and its fans that hes not just a wrestler with a good work ethic.

im a huge penn fan but the draw was a good call. I agree bj won the first 2 and almost finished the fight a few times but the 3rd was a 10-8 for fitch. Although he didnt do much damage on top bj did next to nothing from the bottom. Penn could have won that fight if he had just gotten up for a minute or so, thats probably why hes so upset

sorry man but your crazy what did bj do to win round two 1 elbow 1 takedown and he got fitchs back that was it for the whole round and that all happend in like a minute and a half plus bj got almost immediatley reversed was takendown earlier in the round and ate a bunch of punches and elbows. you state it was a grappling match well let me break it down for you takedown+control+aggression+escape+ reversal>takedown+position there was no sub attempt in the second because as soon as bj got his back he was reversed

what position? landing in bjs guard which is a neutral position? and in no way was he IMMEDIATELY "reversed". a reversal is when you go from a bad position to a positive position. Fitch used an escape to escape to bjs full gurd which is a neutral position. so idk what fight you were watching but he was on his back for a good 20-30 seconds.



so let me use your own formula for you



Takedown+ advance in position+ Back take= bj



back escape+takedown+ Neural position= Fitch

On top in your opponents full guard is NOT a neutral position. True, your opponent has options to try to control you and submit you. However, they are bearing your weight the entire time, you have the option to get up way easier than they do, and gravity means all of your punches/elbows hit a lot harder. Some people specialize in using the guard to finish their opponents, but generally speaking if you are on your back with someone on top of you, you are losing.



And here's some revised math for you



Takedown + advance position + take back = BJ

Takedown + back escape + reversal + more than quadruple his opponent's hits on the ground = Fitch

Outgrappled Fitch? How?



BJ was able to takedown Fitch and get his back but failed to submit him. Then Jon reversed the position and controlled BJ for the remainder of the rounds. Usually, when Penn has your back, it's over. And yet, Fitch ended up on top. Fitch got points for reversing the dominant position.



It is beyond asinine to state "I respect Fitch less as a fighter" when he clearly took control of the fight. Let's be honest here, you're full of shit. You don't respect Fitch because he doesn't fight YOUR fight.



News Flash: Jon Fitch has broken the will of every fighter he's ever come across (except GSP) and you don't respect that? He has basically cleaned out the division along with GSP and Alves (who he beat twice) and that's still not enough to 'convince' you? Please, save it for someone who hasn't been following the sport for years.

dude why do u think ur the ultimate mma fan. lol ur tellin other people to "man up or shut up" or "stop wathcin the sport if you dont like it" get over yourself man just cause you have watched it for years doesnt make you understand the sport more than anyone else. unless your a fighter yous just a fan like everyone else. My second point is that fitch is still boring and he is good but theres nothing you can tell me to prove hes not boring

dude you know nothing of the art of grappeling so therefore you have no right to say anything about anybody being " outgrappeled".



If somebody gets taken down, held down, then gets their back taken in two different rounds then they are getting out grappeled. Fitch stayed in penns guard and couldnt even pass. if fitch broke bjs will he would be able to mount and finish, but he didnt he won the round no doubt but the point is he couldnt even get out of penns guard therefore it is impossible to score it a 10-8. he didnt even come close to finishing the fight and people say its a 10-8? thats ludacris and uneducated, a 10-8 is a round where a fighter dominates every aspect of the cage during that round, fitch didnt even gain side control.



and i respect the grappeling apect of mixed martial arts because ive trained BJJ for years so idk why you think your opinon is valued cause "youve watched mma for years". big whoop dude me too, and every other person on this site

you know so much about grappeling but so little about grappling.

Right except Fitch won the 2nd round pretty clearly. They each had one takedown, but Fitch reversed BJ when BJ took him down and controlled him for most of the round. Most importantly, Fitch outlanded BJ 59-18. So how do you score that for BJ??? I agree BJ won the first with the dominant position and sub attempt, but he lost the second clearly and got completely dominated in the third.



http://blog.fightmetric.com/2011/02/fitch-vs-penn-official-ufc-statistics.html



I rest my case.

listen... when your in somebodys guard in no way at all are you controlling them. idk who taught you about the ground game but you for some reason you cant grasp the fact that a take down into a back take is a big deal in a round, i really don care what figt metric says because in typical john fitch fashion he didnt even come 1% close to finishing the fight or doing anything that hurt bj or caused him harm(which is the point of a MMA bout). he didnt even pass bjs guard so how did he gain points in the grappelign department? you use the term "control" a little to loosely.



The fact fo the matter is BJ came closer to finishing the fight in the 2nd round while out pointing fitch on the ground. Fitch scored a takdown then landed some "ground and pound" from the top, he came nowhere close to decisively winning the round.

Lmao, Fitch took BJ down 3 times, on the third he folded BJ in half so far he was practically teabagging himself, punched and elbowed BJ literally 143 times on the ground, and forced BJ to sit there and accept it for over four of five minutes. BJ was trying to push Fitch off and he COULDN'T DO IT. Hell, he wasn't even able to move enough to give up his back. How much more controlled can you get?



BJ's entire contribution to round 3 was to throw two (count em) punches and look like he was having acid flashbacks to his second fight with GSP. Fitch dominated BJ in round 3.

Fight Metric said that Kharitonov was out striking Arlovski BEFORE the KO. They suck and so does your analysis. BJ won rd two.

Tough fight but good call on a draw, I had it 10-9, 10-9 penn, 10-8 fitch. Bj almost finished Fitch twice with rnc , once each round. No way does the second round go to fitch, Bj had the takedown, and his back, and landed the most significant strike, the elbow that had jons nose spurting blood. The third round penn got battered, no question, but a draw is a decent judging, I honestly don't know why the writer of this article is so surprised.

That is exactly how I saw it.

I was actually impressed with BJ, and I am not a fan.



That BJ was able to do what he did to Fitch, a top wrestler and bigger man--I view a positive for BJ. I had thought BJ could not grow as a fighter, but this fight proved he can change and improve. If only BJ had secured a body triangle, he might not have been reversed.



That said, I think Fitch won the fight--but barely. The only question was the second round, as I have the first to BJ and the third clearly to Fitch. In the second, Fitch reversed the RNC and that was a sweet move.



I am a bit amazed that some fans think that Fitch was throwing 'pitty-pat' punches in the third. I saw BJ getting beat up badly. If it was a five round fight, it would not have gone the distance.



This fight reinforces the need to have 5 round contests for main-events--regardless of whether they are title fights.

I thought that BJ clearly won the second. That said, I agree that Fitch won the "fight" but going by points if anyone won it would have been BJ. I had rd 3 10-8 for Fitch but if it had gone 10-9 for Fitch and BJ got the W it would have been legit. This is a sport. I agree on the 5 rd main events too. If it had been a five rounder I think Fitch would have gotten the decision.

Fitch won that fight... he got screwed. boring or not, he won ...