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)