White would have to set an elimination fight for the vacant title. It is rumored that BJ Penn would be one selected, and the others are unknown to me. I would assume it would be either Florian or Stevenson. My question is; is this pretty much guarunteeing Penn the title? I don't see any way either one of these guys will even win a round against Penn. Basically neither have the striking to stand with him. Florian has great BJJ skills, but come on, its BJ Penn. Stevenson is very strong and has great wrestling, but better and stronger than GSP or Hughes? No. And they could barely control Penn on the ground, getting made to look silly at times (when Penn slivered around to Hughes back or got GSP in that sub attempt at the end of the 3rd). I don't see any way. Thoughts?
Stevenson might be actually technically slicker on the ground than hughes and gsp. He's got better striking than Hughes, and probly better subs than GSP, but I agree, I don't think he would beat BJ over 5 rounds. I do think he is probably the closest anybody's going to come at 155 in the ufc right now though, assuming Sherk gets suspended.
True. Florian has good chances and his striking is solid(as far as i remember). Those are the only 2 names in the UFC.
Stevenson is also a very compact and strong guy ... like a small Monson...he'll be hard to sub. I think Joe gives BJ real problems. If the out of shape BJ comes to fight then Joe has a real chance. I think Florian as smart, skilled and tough as he is does not pose a threat to BJ in any situation.
That is a great comparison, I had never made the connection in my mind, but they are very similar. Theres some differences of course as they are two different people, with Monson being the better top game player and Stevenson using the guard more, but still, that really jumped out at me.
