I’m here in Las Vegas. I just saw the weigh ins and was at the autograph session. Wanderlei, Kenflo, and Thiago Alves were there signing. I took some pictures with my cell phone. I sent them over to my buddy over at MMA-Extreme hopefully he’ll post them up soon.
This is an amazing event with an awesome fight card.I can go on for days on each match up, but I’ll just focus on the GSP vs. BJ Penn fight. This fight is one of the most anticipated fight in a while. BJ Penn is re-focused on his MMA legacy and wants to win this fight badly. Penn’s talent is ranked right up there among the best in the world. But GSP is very well-rounded and Penn’s raw skills are not enough to defeat GSP. Penn will need to come with the right fight plan to take on the Welterweight King. Penn will need to utilize his stand up skills and set it up for the takedown. Penn will have to use this BJJ to control GSP on the ground. This will help him control the pace and reserve his energy. If history is any indication BJ Penn hasn’t shown any decent stamina in his fights. If BJJ is able to bring GSP down he can win via submission or by decision. The Candadian has the edge in this fight because he holds the win in their last meeting. GSP will need to bring a fast and furious pace and stay away from any takedowns, and he will need to utilize his kicks and jabs to setup takedowns of his own. The Champ will need to wear Penn down with some ground and pound. He probably won’t submit Penn and will have to take the fight to the later rounds and force a stoppage by the ref. In the end, it comes down to who has the better takedowns in this fight will likely win.
My Picks:
George St. Pierre beats BJ Penn
Thiago Silva beats Lyoto Machida
Jon Jones beats Stephan Bonnar
Don Hyun Kim beats Karo Parisyan
Clay Guida beats Nate Diaz
Jon Fitch beats Akihiro Gono
Thiago Tavares beats Manny Gamburyan
Chris Wilson beats John Howard
Christian Wellisch beats Jake O’ Brien
Matt Arroyo beats Dan Cramer