Fitch vs Penn .................

I think it may eventually go the way of usual Jon Fitch fights but im betting BJ is highly competitive in maybe the 1st 6-7 minutes. BJ is a wayyy better striker and his takedown defense is good enough to keep it standing until Fitch is able to wear him down. I can see BJ winning clearly in round 1 and Fitch cleary and round 3 with the 2nd being up in the air kinda like a Tito-Belfort or Sherk-Dunham fight where it depends on who won that 2nd.

 

"Tucking his tail between his legs" ???? Really man?

BJ Penn is clearly a natural 155lber, yet he has fought Hughes, GSP, Renzo Gracie and ****ing Machida!

And then you call yourself a stanch BJ fan...

 

I don't think BJ can go 15 mins hard with Fitch. Fitch is a grinder who will keep pushing BUT the fight will depend on the first 5 to 7 mins. In that time BJ might be able to put some hurt on him or get to him mentally thus making the second half of the fight more winnable.

 

i think this will be hard for bj. he has an advantage in the stand up, but if he gets taken down it will be a long night for him.

 

People who hate Penn trash talk him too much, but the "He fought Machida at heavyweight!" thing is just as bad. Machida should probably be at 185 and the fact the he was fat enough to weight in at heavy and fight another overweight guy shouldn't really be counted as some huge and serous event. More like and exhibition than anything else.

 

Why is BJ getting the second best guy in the division so soon? Is it cause BJs getting old? Or does he hope to see a GSP Penn 3 ASAP?

 

penn will put on a great fight, always does for the first fight!

 

This is an interesting fight. I can see numerous outcomes. This post by jimmie is definitely one possibility:

Fitch has a much better chance of pulling off the strategy Florian attempted against Penn, than Florian did. Florian's goal was to press BJ against the fence and wear him down from there. If Fitch can keep BJ against the fence, he could really force Penn to work hard from there. Penn does not want to run out of steam against an opponent like Fitch. If Penn gasses after 1 round, he'll be lucky to just lose the decision to Fitch.

If Penn can find a way to keep generating space, as Fitch will certainly want to close the distance, then BJ stands a chance of winning this fight with his hands. Penn's speed and dexterity are well apparent at 155. Penn will look even faster, if given a chance, against larger opponents.

 

I like this fight alot because a win puts BJ right in the mix at 170. BJ arguably has the better boxing and jiujitsu - so Fitch's only real advantage is that he is more well rounded than BJ in that he uses kicks from time to time.

 

John Fitch is all wrong for BJ. Fitch will control this fight.

 

he has a huge fanbase, because if it makes dollar$, it makes sense.