UFC 94: Georges St. Pierre Thinks B.J. Penn Is Training Hard

As UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn and welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre prepare to fight each other at UFC 94, their lives are being chronicled on a weekly TV show, UFC Primetime. And one of the subtexts of the show is that St. Pierre is taking his training more seriously than Penn is.

But when I asked both Penn and St. Pierre about that today, they both insisted that they don't think conditioning will determine who wins on January 31.

"I don't believe that he's not training hard," St. Pierre said. "I believe he's going to be at the top of his game, and I want him at the top of his game because I'm a proud champion and those are the great fights. ... I know he's training hard."

Penn added that Primetime is "definitely not a true representation of how my training is going," but he downplayed reports that he was angry at the producers or UFC President Dana White over the way the show has depicted him as vacationing while St. Pierre is busting his butt in the gym.

"How can I hate Dana White?" Penn said. "I've known him too long."

The biggest question is whether Penn, who's moving up from 155 pounds, can put on the right kind of weight to fight in St. Pierre's customary class of 170. St. Pierre said he expects to cut down to 170 for the weigh-in and then rehydrate and get up to 185-187 pounds by the time he steps into the Octagon, while Penn said he won't have to cut weight at all and will weigh 170 on fight night.

"The weight feels great," Penn said. "I'm at 170 pounds right now. I feel good. I don't have to cut weight. I'm going to be strong, I'm going to be healthy."