BJ will be at a big weight disadvantage

[tn94z]

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One week before his UFC 123 co-main event, BJ Penn is already in Michigan, awaiting his matchup with Matt Hughes, so travel problems during fight week will be no concern to the Hawaii star.

Cross one other potential concern off his list as well: making weight.

During Saturday night's UFC 122 broadcast, Penn told Joe Rogan that he'd be several pounds under the welterweight divisional limit, saying he currently weighed 165 pounds. Welterweight fighters in non-title fights can weigh as much as 171 pounds.

Hughes usually maintains a body weight of 185 pounds, and through dieting and weight-cutting, makes it to 170 for weigh-ins. After rehydrating, by fight night, he will likely be between 175-180 pounds, giving him as much as a 15-pound edge in size over Penn.

It will be Penn's first fight in the division since UFC 94 in January 2009. Prior to that fight, Penn played coy, refusing to divulge what his weight would be in an attempt to confuse opponent Georges St. Pierre about whether he'd focus on size or speed.

This time, for a fight that will settle their nearly seven-year-old trilogy, Penn willingly gave up the information, noting that with less than a week to go, Hughes would not have enough time to change his camp and bring in lighter sparring partners.

Penn (15-7-1) is badly in need of a win after dropping two straight decisions to current lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.

Meanwhile, Hughes (45-7) is the winner of three fights in a row.

The two first fought in January 2004, with Penn winning via rear naked choke before Hughes evened the score in September 2006, earning a victory via third-round TKO

So what do you guys think? Will this be a problem for Penn or will it make him even more quick than Hughes? I am hoping we will see a better BJ because there won't be any weight cut issues. But we all know how BJ can be.....it will just depend on which one shows up

[FUZO]

TweetI do not see 5lbs being a issue at all if anything it could make BJ mnore quick. If BJ comes out and dominates then he is determined to win again and if not then he should retire for good.Andf lets all not forget BJ was winning the 2nd fight and then injured himself that lead to the loss to hughes

[tn94z]

TweetMatt will be around 175-180 fight night, so he could have a 15 pound advantage.

But here is my thinking. BJ dominated the first fight and was doing well the second fight until the rib injury.

Comparing the fighters then to now:Hughes doesn't look as good and BJ looks better. Now this is just my opinion and Hughes is on a win streak while BJ is on a losing streak, but I think that BJ should dominate this fight.

[Strella]

TweetWow? BJ dominate? Not saying it couldnt happen, and would prob rather him win than Hughes, but BJ has shown absolutely nothing in the last year or so that makes me think he could dominate this fight. And, no, i dont think Hughes is all that good either. IMO if BJ doesnt win in the first round then Hughes will take it.

[tn94z]

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Wow? BJ dominate? Not saying it couldnt happen, and would prob rather him win than Hughes, but BJ has shown absolutely nothing in the last year or so that makes me think he could dominate this fight. And, no, i dont think Hughes is all that good either. IMO if BJ doesnt win in the first round then Hughes will take it.

Why not? He dominated Diego who is a top LW and good WW. He dominated Kenny who is a top LW. He dominated Sherk is was a top LW. He dominated Stevenson who was a top LW. And he pretty much got out pointed by Edgar.

He dominated Hughes in their first fight and was winning the second until the injury.

Hughes has dominated Almeida who is a mid level WW. Renzo who is a low level WW in MMA. Matt Serra who is very over rated and a low level WW. And lost to Alves in dominating fashion and GSP in dominating fashion.

If BJ wins this fight, most MMA people will consider that 3 wins for BJ in that match. So why do you think that BJ couldn't dominate? His standup is better, his chin is better, his ground game is better, his TDD is top notch....the only question will be if he is flat or not.

[O2BESOHUGE]

TweetLIKE EVERY FIGHT HES IN...IT DEPENDS ON WHICH BJ SHOWS UP TO FIGHT!

[Strella]

TweetAgain, all of those fights are old news. The most recent win was to an anorexic Diego Sanchez like a year ago and BJ actually showed up for that fight. His last 2 fights he has looked lethargic as hell and my take on him moving up is that now he isnt the bigger fighter which he has been by far in his last 4 fights (miniature frankie and anorexic Diego, Kenny). Im not saying he couldnt come in there actually fired up for the first time forever and beat Hughes down, maybe even KO him in the first. But to relish in the BJ of old to me is like saying Hughes used to be the man so he will always be a WW contender, which I just dont think is the case anymore. I would like to see BJ back in top form if not just to have another good fighter to watch. But unless BJ can change my mind with this fight I will conclude that he has officially lost "it", maybe not really physically, but mentally it looks like he has changed.

[tn94z]

TweetBJ has never been the bigger fighter in WW....even when he had the belt. No one is relishing in the BJ of old. I would say on a P4P level, BJ's opponents are higher ranked than Hughes' opponents as of late. These guys fight 2 fights a year. So unless you go back a year, you can get a good read on a fighter. If you judge a fighter by his last fight only, then you will have a very skewed ranking of fighters. If you follow BJ's entire career, he has always been like this. It's not that he has lost anything IMO, it's that he has ALWAYS fought and won on natural talent alone. He has never changed up his game plan or anything to do what he has done. Now that the sport has caught up with him, it makes him look like he has lost something. It's not that him or Hughes are getting old or worse or losing "it." It's that the new breed of fighters are just that much better than they used to be. You take BJ Penn and put him in GSPs training camp and have him train like GSP does year round and he would be almost unstoppable!

With that being said, I can see why anyone would doubt BJ's desire. But when you stack up BJ versus Hughes in this fight comparing them on skills, past fights, and the past two times they have fought each other and it becomes rather likely that BJ can (and hopefully will) dominate this fight.

But that's just my opinion and i'm not saying that you are wrong in any way. Just justifying my prediction.

[tn94z]

TweetOh and as of this week, BJ is at a lean and very good shape 170lbs. He looks nothing like he looked in the GSP fight.

[FUZO]

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You take BJ Penn and put him in GSPs training camp and have him train like GSP does year round and he would be almost unstoppable!

CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT IF BJ TRAINED LIKE THAT. I HOPE HE WENT BACK TO THE MARINAVICHIES-SP

[Strella]

TweetTrust me, i would love to see a really fit mentally prepared BJ come in and put on a good show. I dont even like Hughes. He has just layed some eggs as of lately, esp with so much on the line last time. If I absolutely had to put a bet on it I would go with Hughes, not cause I think he is a more skilled fighter, cause hes not, but like you said BJ relies too much on his pure talent alone.

[Strella]

TweetWell it looks like the good BJ showed up. This guy is too confusing to figure out

[tn94z]

TweetI told you he could dominate! He looked good the week before!

[Strella]

TweetYou were right for sure. Although, I did say he would have to win in the first round haha

[tn94z]

TweetTrue! We didn't get to see if he was really in shape or not. He looked a little more flabby than the week prior.