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December 14, 2009

Fallout from UFC 107

*B.J. Penn is unquestionably the greatest lightweight the UFC has, and I don’t think there’s anyone currently on the roster that can challenge him at that weight. Is it time he gets another shot at Georges St. Pierre? Given the whole grease-gate brouhaha the first time around and the fact that the next-in-line contender for GSP is Dan Hardy (weak), would it make sense to make this happen again? And if it did, would the outcome be noticeably different? White says he’ll have to fight the No. 1 contender at welterweight before getting a shot at GSP. If that’s Hardy, I’d like Penn’s chances. If it’s Fitch or Alves, it would get a lot more interesting.

*Frank Mir’s win over Kongo says just as much about Kongo as it does about Mir, at least to me. Kongo is not an elite heavyweight (even in the UFC) and Mir is back in the hunt. I don’t want to see him against Lesnar anytime soon (the only positive of this would be the fact that Lesnar could fight soon, which would mean he’s healthy again) but I would like to see a rematch against Nogueira. If he takes down a healthy Nog, then the next title shot is his. And if Lesnar can’t go and they need an interim champ, the Carwin v. Frank Mir bout is the way to go. Velasquez is good, but not good enough for Carwin and possibly Mir at this point.

*Wilson Gouveia and Alan Belcher certainly put on a show, solid enough to earn Fight of the Night honors. Tough to point to any other fight on the card that could’ve deserved it, especially among the featured bouts.

*Kenny Florian had an easier time with Clay Guida than I thought he would. Florian and Sanchez is a fight I’d like to see next. Those guys look impressive against anyone other than B.J. Penn, which says a lot about Penn. He’s just on a different level, but Sanchez and Florian are elite-level lightweights.

Posted by Andy Knobel at 4:34 PM | | Comments (7)
        

Comments

You obviously dont know much about the sport, Mir is the best heavyweight in the business brok is just a big guy dont have no skill what so ever he wins fights by the size of him an i dont want to see him fight that is'nt what mma's about he ruins the sport mir will beat him next time they fight it will be him pounding brock you seen brock fight on his feet with mir he was lucky not to be knocked out, Kongo is loads better than Carwin also Carwin will after get Kongo down on his back if he is to beat him, Cain hes a good prospect and i think after a few more fights he'll beat Brock, i think brock should'nt be in the MMA maybe if he learnt abit about it then maybe but he gets scared and then uses is weight in the octagon to win if thats how the sport is going im not going to be watching it hes a disgrace. he's no champ!!

Velasquez and Dos Santos are two best HWs in the UFC. I do not understand what people are talking about demanding Mir-Nog fight again. Isn't it clear for every stupid being out there that Nog can't be really healthy after all the beating he took over his long career? nog is the past and Mir didn't do much to prove he is among the best. I would be innterested to see Carwin-Velasquez and Mir-Dos Santos fights or any combination among those four fighters. Nog should retire and not to block the road of Dos Santos.

"Kongo is not an elite heavyweight (even in the UFC)..." What does that mean? Is there some other organization with a better pool of heavyweights than the UFC?

Also, calling Hardy "weak" is garbage. He cruised to 4-0 in his fights against strong competition in the UFC WW division.

Two of the worst comments I have ever read... Mark don't even waste your time here with them.

I however think GSP doesn't need to worry about BJ Penn. It's already happened twice with both being victories. A third fight victory would do nothing for him but a loss would be quite harmful. Maybe after GSP cleans out the WW division he can move to MW and let BJ take over at WW.

Mark is simply referring that the UFC Heavyweight Division has been fairly weak for some time. Its no secret; many of the best certainly aren't in the UFC, and collectively, they could possibly make up a better pool.

ok all u guys are wrong in a sense first off Brock may be big but he was a division 1 national wrestling champion in 2000 so he isn't just big he is skilled as well. most likely if brock doesn't get better there will be an interm belt made for mir vs carwin. and what makes the heavyweight division so interesting is not knowing who is going to have the belt next. look at the other divisions B.J. Penn is going to have the light weight belt forever, as is GSP and Silva will have the welter weight and middle weight belts forever, this is what makes the heavy weight championship cards way more exciting to watch

are you serious? "Brok has no skill what so ever"? Total ignorance. Fact is, as chris stated previously, "Brock" Lesnar was the 2000 Div 1 national wrestling champ and had finished in second the previous year. And as far as him using only his size to win fights is hardly a good arguement, ask Bob Sapp about that. MMA is evolving. The sport is becoming more and more lucrative to "outsiders" and with it, the fans must also evolve. I have heard the same nonsense about other fighters who entered MMA after enjoying success in other areas. Bobby Lashley and Mariusz Pudzianowski to name two. These aforementioned fighters have done nothing but make this sport better, we are seeing a new Frank Mir because of Brocks involvement in UFC, the heavyweight division is by far the most exciting now after being stagnant for ages, and MMA is being recognized as a top tier sport. I still cant believe we're seeing MMA fights on CBS, it's great, and hopefully that's just the start of it all. I understand your die hard, gracie MMA outlook but seriously, the sport will never go back to that. This IS the new look of MMA, get used to it.

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About the blogger
Kevin Richardson has been a fan of mixed martial arts competition ever since UFC 3, when 600-pound sumo wrestler Emmanuel Yarborough was beaten by Keith Hackney. Kevin will cover the world of MMA — in Baltimore, nationally and internationally. He plans to take readers into the locker rooms and MMA schools, where they'll hear from local fighters and trainers. If you have a news tip or suggestions for the blog, please e-mail him.

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