UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn will defend his title against Diego Sanchez at UFC 107 on Dec. 12 in Memphis, Penn and UFC President Dana White revealed Thursday in a video posted at BJPenn.com.The fight will serve as the main event on a very strong UFC 107 card that is also expected to feature Rampage Jackson vs. Rashad Evans in a battle of Ultimate Fighter coaches, Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo in a heavyweight clash, and Thiago Alves vs. Paulo Thiago in a fight between two Top 10 welterweights (and two Brazilians named Thiago).
Sanchez earned the right to fight for the lightweight title by defeating Clay Guida in June, in a fight that the UFC later declared one of the 10 best in the promotion's history. Penn last defended his title in August, when he beat Kenny Florian at UFC 101.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-03-2009 @ 6:01PM
kevin said...
i hope Sanchez curls penn into a ball and beats on him like lesnar mir 2
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9-03-2009 @ 6:40PM
RJ said...
Well I guess this means the UFC won't be adding a 3rd event in November.
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9-03-2009 @ 7:04PM
richardbikle said...
i like diego's chances, sanchez.
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9-03-2009 @ 7:06PM
johnnynumber5 said...
I see this ending very bad for Sanchez. Anyone remember how easily Guida held Sanchez down in the 2nd round of their fight? The difference is that if Penn takes him down it's game over. Another difference is Diego won't be able to stand and flurry with BJ like he did against Guida because Penn will knock him out with his heavy hands.
Much like the fight with Florian I just can't envision a scenario where Sanchez beats BJ Penn. Seriously, whats he going to do better than BJ? The only thing is if BJ goes back to his lack of training and gasses out. But, I don't suspect that is going to happen because BJ won't embarrass himself like that again.
If Penn is agressive instead of cautious like he was against Florian then I expect this fight to end no later than the second round probably via RNC. Penn will take him down or drop him with a big punch, mount him and either get the TKO or choke him out when Diego gives up his back to avoid damage from those big bombs.
When BJ is on top of his game no one at the LW division can do anything against him. His wrestling, boxing, takedowns, takedown defense, grappling and jujitsu are just to good for any of the current crop of LW's to do anything with. The only guy I could see having a shot is Shinya Aoki and I think even he would get knocked out before he could get it to the ground. Even if Aoki got it to the ground he won't be able to easily submit Penn who probably has the best jujitsu in the world aside from maybe the Noguiera brothers or Maia.
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9-03-2009 @ 10:52PM
richardbikle said...
i dont think penn has great take downs. Penns best skill is he can take really good shots to his head. theres two things you really have to have as part of your game plan against penn: dont let him move forward and kill his body. you make him back up and go after the body and he'll quit again.
9-03-2009 @ 9:23PM
mitch said...
I hope this is the fight where everyone realizes BJ is the best at his natural weight. He only gets beat when he moves up in weight to challenge some of the heavier elite fighters. He should dominate Sanchez.IMO.
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9-03-2009 @ 10:54PM
richardbikle said...
mitch penn (5'9") and gsp (5'10") are a lot closer in size than penn and most of the LWs. Most of the top ten in the LW division are about 5' 6".
Penn does best fighting naturally smaller guys.
9-04-2009 @ 8:12AM
Eric said...
Richard - I'm uncertain why you talk about height as if it has something to do with size. You keep insisting that BJ is as big as GSP because their is only 1" difference in height, when it's obvious that BJ is much smaller. If the 2 guys were the same size then GSP would be capable of making 155 too! Is he? NO
BTW
Florian - 5'10"
Sanchez - 5'10"
Aoki - 5'11"
9-04-2009 @ 11:18AM
richardbikle said...
if GSP didn't train for 6-8 months, him and penn would be about the same. penn walks around at about 180.
its true i dont like penn. his buddies and club affiliates in da hui are mostly criminal/thug types that are very prejudice - hating whites (haoles) unless you're a good looking chick, (imo).
9-04-2009 @ 4:35AM
rumorroundtown said...
penn and gsp close in size? height doesnt have anything to do with natural body size.. gsp walks around a whole lot bigger than when he cuts for weigh ins. richard, your comment made as much sense as brock and mir being similiar in size cus one's 6'3' and the other's 6'2. haven't you noticed by now that most of the ufc's champions are all champions because they are fighting smaller fighters in their fighting weight class?
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9-04-2009 @ 11:50AM
richardbikle said...
actually that was a great comparison - almost the same heigth and one guy worked out and increased his muscle mass.
most of the light weights are about 5'6"/5'7". Penn is a real big lightweight.
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9-04-2009 @ 1:58PM
Eric said...
Fair enough ... I'm unfamiliar with Penn's buddies etc.
I like Penn because of his ferocity & hard head. Like Dan Henderson, he shows no fear & will come right at hard strikers.
I'd have to disagree that he picks on the lower weight divisions. He has shown by facing Machida, Renzo, Rodrigo and others at 185+ that he is willing to mix it up with anyone.
9-04-2009 @ 12:23PM
M13 said...
I think this fight will be a little tougher for BJ than his last fight against Florian. Diego will try to bring the fight to BJ. Whether or not Sanchez could win is tough to say. The only edge I could give to Diego is his wrestling ability, but BJ has great takedown defense too. My guess is that Diego's best chance of winning is to stand and trade with BJ and attain a decision.
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9-04-2009 @ 1:59PM
adidaspimp4ever said...
Yeah and GSP is a big Welterweight and A Silva is a huge middleweight i dont see where your going with this Richard...I dont think Sanchez has a chance of winning stand up or on the ground. So i got BJ
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9-04-2009 @ 2:23PM
Eric said...
I don't see Sanchez having a chance in this fight either. Decision wins over Stevenson & Guida(split) aren't particularly impressive compared to what BJ has done to his opponents at 155.
Sanchez hasn't shown much KO power and BJ has an incredible chin ... and we know that the ground is no place to be with BJ.
BJ will be the first person to stop Diego ... guaranteed.
9-04-2009 @ 6:27PM
richardbikle said...
i just dont like penn and cant go with picking him if he was fighting paris hilton.
9-08-2009 @ 5:21AM
kepalidragon said...
BJ and Sanchez will be a good fight. Both are good fighters and possess incredible ability. Speed and Technique I have to attribute to BJ. Ferocity and Sheer Focus I give to Sanchez. Whoever is ON on fighting day will take the fight. Remember when no one gave GSP a chance against Hughes, and then they laughed at Matt Serra when he fought for the WW belt? Nowadays, it's impossible to foresee what's going to happen in the UFC. I'm excited about this one.
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9-09-2009 @ 3:25AM
-IsA BoYz- said...
Brah Our Big Island BOY Going Dominate Sanchez He Going Rippum' Up...I Hope Sanchez Brings A Body Bag With Him Cause Dats Wat He's Gonna Need To Leave The Ring With!!!!!!!
Penn v.s. Sanchez Dec 12. 2009 Watchum'
SHOOOOTZ
HILO BOYZ ALL DA WAY!!!!!
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10-26-2009 @ 6:41PM
THOMAS said...
matt hughes beat bj rember that?
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