UFC Officially Announces 118: Penn vs. Edgar, Couture vs. Toney

The UFC has officially announced their first trip to Boston, MA for UFC 118 August 28th. The main event is the rematch of the closely contested fight between Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn. The co-main event is to be the first appearance of James "Lights Out" Toney into the UFC fold as he faces off with Randy Couture. The full press release from the UFC after the jump.

MMA WISH-LIST FOR 2010

(Holy Hell This Guy Likes Violence!)

It is that time again folks; the time that we make resolutions that we never keep, a time to gain excessive weight from holiday meals, and a time to look at bank statements and regret buying all of those gifts. This is my new year's wish list for the sport of MMA. As the old saying goes sh*t in one hand and wish in the other to see which one comes first.

FEDOR TO THE UFC:

I don't care how it happens or if we have to see an M-1 Global stamp all over the UFC broadcast to get it done, but it needs to happen and soon. This one is on every fan's wish-list every year so lets hope that this will be the magical year in which it happens. Fedor's contract with Strikeforce is only for a couple more fights, so it is within the realm of possibility. Who doesn't want to see the Russian bear come over and pound out Brock Lesnar, or face the other behemoth Shane Carwin? A resurgent Frank Mir would be an awsome match to see just how well Mir fares on the ground with Fedor, or if he can take any of Fedor's power shots before getting to the ground. MAKE IT HAPPEN DANA, FEDOR, AND M-1.

A HEALTHY BROCK LESNAR:

A Wordsworth he may not be, but Lesnar is a dominant and fascinating individual. We hope to see him well again and putting other people in the hospital: The way it shoud be. With title challengers chomping at the bit to get to Lesnar, it should be an interesting year should the Champ return to defend his belt.

BJ PENN STAY AT LIGHTWEIGHT:

There is already talk about a third match between Penn and his arch nemesis Georges Saint Pierre after Penn's dominant performances against Ken-Flo and Diego Sanchez. What needs to happen in my opinion is that Penn needs to stay at lightweight and defend his title. He could be the most dangerous person at that weight and reign for as long as he's healthy and able. His legacy is to be at lightweight and to be a long reigning champion. After a few more performances like his last one, then let's see him move up and face some challengers before getting another crack at GSP.

THE UFC ON NETWORK TV:

The door has been potentially opened for this to happen with Comcast's recent purchase of NBC. The fanfare would be immense and give the fans of this sport what the Boxing fans had with ABC's Wide World of Sports back in the day. Now with the ratings giant Kimbo Slice on the roster along with proven draws like Lesnar, GSP, and Penn the sky is the limit.

THE CONTINUED GROWTH OF STRIKEFORCE:

Scott Coker has been on a teat recently with the high profile signings of some of the sports greats like Fedor and Dan Henderson. In the states where UFC=MMA, Strikeforce could be the Mike Tyson of MMA leagues and finally make the UFC open it's doors to Co-Promotion to make the best possible match-ups.

SANCTIONING IN ALL STATES:

While the UFC's team of people have been doing a crack job of getting it done like the recent sanctioning in Boston, and the UFC's first trip to Philly, MMA has still yet to hit NY. Madison square garden is a pinnacle of fight venues in the county and would really mark the sports staying power when it does happen.

These are some of my MMA wishes for the next year in the fight world. For now we will probably get sh*t on our hands before some of these come true, but here's one guy who will keep trying no matter how much fiber I have to eat.

BJ Penn Dominates, Muggs Sanchez

(Photo Courtesy of Sherdog.com)

BJ Penn left no questions as to who is the number one lightweight in the division last night as he assaulted Diego Sanchez for four and a half rounds. Penn used superior boxing and his superior take down defense to completely outclass Diego. The fight was almost finished as soon as it started when Penn countered Diego's initial rush attack to knock him to the canvas and pound on him. Sanchez was able to survive, but was never able to mount any type of successful offense throughout the rest of the contest. Sanchez shot for takedown after takedown only to be punished every time for his efforts. At the time of the stoppage Diego was already battered and bruised but a high kick from Penn left Sanchez with one of the nastiest gashes in recent memory and the fight was called. Penn showed no signs of slowing going into the fifth he looked as fresh as the first round. Lightweights beware: Penn is focused and looks better than ever.
In the Co-Main event a newly bulked up Frank Mir had one of his most impressive performances ever as he knocked the French striker Kongo to the mat in the opening seconds of the bout and pounced on a guillotine choke to remove the Frenchman from consciousness. Mir is near obsessive compulsive levels in his urge to fight Brock once more and avenge his loss. Mir says that he will continue to bulk up and look to be cutting 15-20lbs by weigh in time to try to neutralize the champs size and strength advantage. The full results from UFC 107 are below:
OFFICAL RESULTS
B.J. Penn def. Diego Sanchez via TKO (cut) - Round 5, 2:37
Frank Mir def. Cheick Kongo via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 1:12
Jon Fitch def. Mike Pierce via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Kenny Florian def. Clay Guida via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 2:19
Stefan Struve def. Paul Buentello via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Alan Belcher def. Wilson Gouveia via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 3:03
Matt Wiman def. Shane Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Johny Hendricks def. Ricardo Funch via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-25)
Rousimar Palhares def. Lucio Linhares via submission (heel hook) - Round 2, 3:21
DaMarques Johnson def. Edgar Garcia via submission (triangle choke) - Round 1, 4:03
T.J. Grant def. Kevin Burns via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 4:57

Good Old Fashioned Violence: Penn vs. Sanchez Edition

(Who has the better B-Boy stance? Only one way to find out.....DANCE OFF!!)

B.J. Penn (14-5-1)  vs. Diego Sanchez (21-2)  

Unlike some of the cards that have passed and a couple in the near future, UFC 107 has a main event that truly has the right to be named as such. Now, some may argue that Sanchez has not yet earned his shot at the Lightweight Champion just yet with contenders like Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar waiting in the wings for their shot at gold. However, this is a fight that not many will argue has fireworks written all over it. For Mr. Yes Cartwheel, see UFC 107 Countdown show for the reference, it is his chance to live up to the potential that he showed on his way through The Ultimate Fighter house and up the UFC Welterweight and Lightweight ranks. Aside from two hiccups in his career in the form of rival Josh Koscheck and gritty wrestler Jon Fitch, Diego has had a stellar run against good competition as a professional. In the lead up to this fight people have been citing Diego's strong almost manic belief in himself as an advantage that will keep him from wilting under the bright lights of his first title shot. Diego faces one of MMA's greatest fighters of all time in Lightweight Kingpin BJ Penn. Penn has looked stellar in all of his lightweight fights since returning to the UFC and has made top contenders Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson look completely out of their leagues in addition to handing a beating for the ages to former Champion Sean Sherk. Diego will look to put the pressure on Penn in this fight and land hard shots as he did in the first round against Clay Guida, but Penn is no Guida in the Boxing department. A man that has been called "The Best Boxer in MMA" by famed trainer Freddie Roach it is no easy task to out-strike Penn on the feet. Sanchez will have to use leg kicks to get a lot of his striking in and keep Penn guessing. Diego is a better wrestler and has a mean ground and pound game so there will be a good chance that he will get Penn to the ground. Sanchez has been training with renowned Jiu-Jitsu specialist Saulo Ribeiro for a while now and has legit submissions but does not have the kind of BJJ game that Penn has. Overall I have to go with the champ to retain his title and keep on trucking as the UFC Lightweight ruler. That is not to say that it won't be an interesting fight and worth tuning in to as Sanchez has the power to pull the champ into deep water and take his shiny gold and place at the top. 

COMPLETE FIGHT CARD UFC 107:
Main Bouts:
B.J. Penn (14-5-1)  vs. Diego Sanchez (21-2) 
Frank Mir (12-4) vs. Cheick Kongo (14-5-1)
Jon Fitch (19-3) vs. Mike Pierce (10-1)
Kenny Florian (11-4)  vs. Clay Guida (25-10) 
Paul Buentello (27-10) vs. Stefan Struve (22-3)

Preliminary Bouts:
Alan Belcher (14-6) vs. Wilson Gouveia (18-6)
Matt Wiman (10-5) vs. Shane Nelson (12-4)
Johny Hendricks (6-0) vs. Ricardo Funch (7-0)
Rousimar Palhares (9-2) vs. Lucio Linhares (13-4)
DaMarques Johnson (9-7) vs. Edgar Garcia (7-1)
Kevin Burns (10-3) vs. T.J. Grant (14-3)

Penn Retains Title At UFC 101

Penn stopped Florian with a rear naked choke in the fourth. Penn was superior in every aspect of the game from the onset. Florian tried to wear him down with wrestling and take down attempts, but was not successful. Penn seemed to pace himself and reaped the benefits of his new strength and conditioning coach.

Full Results:
* B.J. Penn (c) def. Kenny Florian via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 4
* Anderson Silva def. Forrest Griffin via KO (punch) — Round 1
* Aaron Riley def. Shane Nelson via unanimous decision
* Johny Hendricks def. Amir Sadollah via TKO (strikes) — Round 1
* Ricardo Almeida def. Kendall Grove via unanimous decision
* Kurt Pellegrino def. Josh Neer via unanimous decision
* John Howard def. Tamdan McCrory via split decision
* Alessio Sakara def. Thales Leites via split decision
* Matthew Riddle def. Dan Cramer via unanimous decision
* George Sotiropoulos def. George Roop via submission (kimura) — Round 2
* Jesse Lennox def. Danillo Villefort via TKO (cut) — Round 3