PREVIEW: UFC 107 BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez
UFC 107 - Penn vs Sanchez
December 12th 2009, FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tenn.
Here is a brief preview of the event broadcasting live tonight on ESPN and ESPN HD on the Sky and Virgin Media platforms.
B.J. “The Prodigy” Penn vs. Diego “The Nightmare” Sanchez
So who is your money on in this lightweight title contest? The odds on favourite in the UFC 107 main event is veteran Penn but in the world of MMA anything can happen. If I was a betting man Penn would be the fighter I would choose to place a bet on. The Hawaii native is the man with the tools needed for the job, knock-out boxing, awesome Ju Jitsu skills packaged up with experience.
As has been discussed frequently on the internet forums in recent times the UFC fighters wearing the belts around their waists look to remain dominant for some time, although questions look to be answered with light-heavyweight champ since his controversial points win over Shogun Rua. However I don’t see BJ leaving the octagon minus the strap.
Sanchez is an overwhelming force inside the octagon but versus veteran title holder BJ Penn he could well make a mistake rushing in, giving Penn the opening to take advantage of in the heat of cage combat. A question to be answered in this championship showdown is whether The Nightmare has the conditioning required to go the full 5 rounds as the challenger. Tonight we shall find out.
Cheick Kongo vs. Frank Mir
Both heavyweight fighters are on the comeback trail, hoping to avenge their summertime losses. Mir lost to Lesnar at UFC 100 and Kongo to Velasquez at UFC 99. The humble Kongo intends to end the reign of the big mouthed American. A contrast in characters here I feel. Taking on big Brock many UFC fans booed Lesnar and cheered Mir, partly because of arrogance displayed by the former WWE star and partly due to him being a former pro wrestler. In this match-up it’s clear Mir is the one with all the swagger. Despite Mir not endearing himself, I’m picking him to beat Kongo via tap-out within the 2nd round.
The full fight line up:
B.J. Penn vs. Diego Sanchez – lightweight title clash
Cheick Kongo vs. Frank Mir
Jon Fitch vs. Mike Pierce
Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida
Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve
Unaired prelims:
Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia
Shane Nelson vs. Matt Wiman
Ricardo Funch vs. Johny Hendricks
Lucio Linhares vs. Rousimar Palhares
Edgar Garcia vs. DaMarques Johnson
Kevin Burns vs. T.J. Grant
UK viewers can see UFC 107 live as it happens on ESPN and ESPN HD in the early hours of Sunday morning at 3am. As a subscriber you can see the prelims and more from 11:30pm onwards:
11:30pm-UFC Unleashed
12:30am-MMA Live
1am-Countdown to UFC 107
2am-UFC 107 Prelims Live
3am-UFC 107:Penn vs Sanchez Live
UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr
duane@bluraymma.com