UFC 107 Penn vs Sanchez

the longer the fight goes, Sanchez could very well have better results. However if BJ takes it to the mat and the fight stays there, then Diego’s odds lean toward a loss. However this can all change when one fighter trains for his opponent. When they both train that way, watch out.

I have to say that the guys who fight for cards like the UFC always put their best foot forward. If they don’t they are soon weeded out, and fast mind you. Some guys loose for a while and win for a bit longer. All the guys IMO give one of the best shows in almost any sport. Way better then baseball, basketball and even football. There is only one sport I enjoy better. Plus it’s all about 2 wheels! When you can experience a sport first hand the better you can appreciate what the professionals do! Again, just my opinion ; )

[quote]darraghoconaill wrote:
how “weird” you perceive him to be is of no relevance to the outcome of this fight.

you call him “weird” because you can’t understand his level of mental focus, and dub it “retarded” as a childish way of insulting a man who has already achieved far more then you ever could.

this will be a great fight and i would be utterly stunned if bj “wrecks” him. rather, i see sanchez pushing his usual pace early and overwhelming bj ala GSP.

of course, bj always has the ability to bust out an incredible performance, but for the UFC’s sake, i’d like to see Sanchez win.[/quote]

True that however weird he perceives Sanchez to be has no relevance to the outcome of the fight, but he is correct about Sanchez being a bit on the fruit-loops side.

He does come across as being a bit retarded…I think he’s just socially awkward, and is the last person you’d want to host an awards show or conduct a speech in a university. Anytime Diego talks on the mic, I cringe.

Damn good fighter, though, and his fight with Guida was one of the best fights I’ve seen in recent memory.

As for how the Penn-Sanchez fight will go, Penn obviously has the edge in experience, and has an edge in overall skills, but Sanchez has the edge in cardio & work-rate. I could see Penn being lazy and getting overtaken. Hell, it’s also quite possible that Sanchez’s abilities might be closer to Penn’s than we realize. Doubtful, but possible.

I look forward to a good fight.

I can guarantee the guida-florian fight is going to be entertaining. guida’s pace is rediculous and if he does win the fight it will be because his cardio is off the chain. i look forward to it.
sanchez’s striking is vastly underrated and may be just unorthadox enough to throw bj off a bit. i think bj wins by decision and its going to be an entertaining fight. good card top to bottom.

Since everyone else in this thread has been pretty gutless…

Penn by KTFO.

My picks (note this is not necessarily who I think will win, but the odds I’m taking):

Sanchez: +260
Mir: -170
Florian: -200

All bias aside, I’m still going with Penn. Dogged determination does not beat skills that are twice as good as your own.

That said, I’m not inspired by BJ’s pre-fight commentary, sounds like he’s taking it easy with the whole “Now I’m learning to just get in there in and enjoy myself/have a good time”. That doesn’t sound like a winner’s mindset.

I think Penn will probably win, but I’ll take the 5:2 odds on Sanchez all day. My main worry is that Diego doesn’t have enough power to finish BJ and eventually BJ will submit him.

I hate betting on Mir because he seems like a fucking tool and a half, but he already has 6 submission wins. There’s a decent chance that Kongo catches him and drops him like Vera did, but I think all signs point to Mir submitting Kongo in the first round or two.

I also think that Florian grinds out a win over Guida. Florian’s standup is far superior to Guida’s and I think he will pick him apart on his feet and win by decision.

Penn’s lack of training know-how caught up to him fighting guys who outweigh him naturally by like 15-20lbs at 170. Eventually, especially as he’s getting older, this will again come true at 155.

Sanchez has better coaches, better training, and the skill level isn’t that much different.

Sanchez via 3rd round KTFO!

[quote]BantamRunner wrote:
Penn’s lack of training know-how caught up to him fighting guys who outweigh him naturally by like 15-20lbs at 170. Eventually, especially as he’s getting older, this will again come true at 155.

Sanchez has better coaches, better training, and the skill level isn’t that much different.

Sanchez via 3rd round KTFO![/quote]

I agree that Sanchez has more proven coaches and training, but there’s a huge difference in skill level between Penn and Sanchez in both boxing and definitely BJJ. The only thing that Sanchez does better than Penn is kick, because Penn doesn’t.

Penn by rear-naked choke in 2nd round.

BJ via RNC 3rd round
Mir via sub
KenFlo via dec

[quote]BantamRunner wrote:
Penn’s lack of training know-how caught up to him fighting guys who outweigh him naturally by like 15-20lbs at 170. Eventually, especially as he’s getting older, this will again come true at 155.

Sanchez has better coaches, better training, and the skill level isn’t that much different.

Sanchez via 3rd round KTFO![/quote]

There’s definitely a huge skill difference between penn and diego. BJ is superior in both standup and his ground game.

Hell if Diego had a glass jaw someone would’ve capitilized on those wildly open strikes of his by now.

I personally think if you have a great mind set and good-great fighting skills you will win. Sanchez has those abilities.

Pen on the other hand has good mind set and great fighting skills. Only thing I think he has on Sanchez is knockout power.

I ALWAYS base my fights of interviews of the fighters with how they talk and their mind sets for the fights.

This is why I am giving Sanchez my vote for the win. Sanchez: 55% Pen: 45%

Just my opinion.

x2 to Sanchez being a moron. Every time I hear him speak I get a little bit dumber… BJ asks Diego what the square root of ice cream is as they touch gloves and the fight is his.

LOL

[quote]chitown34 wrote:
x2 to Sanchez being a moron. Every time I hear him speak I get a little bit dumber… BJ asks Diego what the square root of ice cream is as they touch gloves and the fight is his.[/quote]

the sad thing is, he will try to answer it, and we’ll have to listen to it!

He’s only bad in interview and conferences.

Pretty awesome in the press conference they asked if he cared that people thought he was weird. He said no and yelled YES!!! really loud.

Frank Mir weighed in at 264.5 for ufc 107 and 245 for ufc 100.
Looks like he kept busy.

It a shame he is such a huge shit talker it detracts from his good qualities.
This one can go either way.

speaking of huge shit talkers Diego Sanchez didnt make weight first attempt, then came in at 154.5
his second attempt.

I’ll give this Tony Robin’s yes man some cred he works hard and he is going to bring a physicality
to the fight that is hard to top. However this is Baby Jesus Penn.
they are about the same size, height and reach wise, Diego might be stronger,has some decent power, but he is lacking Penn’s Iron chin, hand speed, and Pen does have KO power.
Diego is gonna rush in with strikes, He might actually get the crazy take down- he did take down Fitch.
and then after that He will get punched up and rode out.

some of the undercard fights are good, I want to see the Pallhares fight,
hendricks is kind of interesting.
Kevin Burns is interesting too.

LOL@ Diego…dude kills me with his “intensity.” Lets just hope he doesn’t get all “gun shy” come fight time…like he did with Koscheck.

BJ by murder death kill, let’s be real here. Diego beat Guida in a decision, could not finish him, I’m not dissing on Guida just saying. Penn has stopped every one of his fights at 155 since he returned full time to the weight class. Mir by sub and Kenny by sub, I don’t think he can KO the caveman.

I’m picking Penn in the main event as well (either by Sub or TKO). I just don’t see any skill set that Diego has that Penn isn’t either better at, or won’t be able to counter. Penn is a better striker, has never even been rocked (granite chin), is better at BJJ, and has some of the best takedown defense in the business (his flexibility and balance is just ridiculous).

Really Sanchez’s only advantage is his endurance, and maybe his strength. He could possibly grind out a decision, but I’d say the odds are against him doing that.

I’m picking Mir as well. He definitely woke up after his annihilation at the hands of Lesnar, realized that he had some weak points in his game, and (it appears) has worked hard to strengthen those areas. I think he’ll use his improved striking skills to try to close the gap against Kongo, take him down and either sub him for TKO him.

I’m also picking Florian. I like Guida a lot and the dude has some crazy conditioning, but I think that Florian is just a notch above Guida in terms of skill and strategy. Guida’s only real chance is (like Sanchez) to try to grind out a decision. Florian has been in wars (one a 5 round war with Sean Sherk) and I don’t see him gassing.