UFC 107 Penn v Sanchez

[Ben]

Holy cow, what a bloody mess of a night. First Florian busts Guida's head open with a gnarly elbow, then BJ rocked Sanchez with that high kick. Shin to forward equals busted skull. Great night of fights though.

[MrKadash]

Always liked Diego Sanchez, but knew he had no shot against Penn, who is one of the best ever. Just simply outclassed in every sense of the word. Had a hunch Florian was an easy pick as Guida is just a high revving engine without the matching skill set. Somewhat surprised by Mir's easy victory, but he also has serious skills that should never be underestimated.

[Ben]

You really thought Penn/Sanchez was going to be that one-sided? My buddies and I were really torn. Sanchez has a great fight resume behing him. He certainly looked like he was ready to go pre-fight. How nuts was the look on his face!? Can't deny BJ Penn though. Like you said, one of the greatest ever. Clearly after yesterday.

I wasn't terribly shocked by Mir. He said a few things of Kongo's abilities and determination to fight that led me to believe that Mir would dominate him. It did happen a bit quicker than I though. But, no shock on the ease of the win.

I also got to watch Machida v Rua yesterday. From what I heard previously, people made it sound like Machida gave up and didn't really put up much of a fight. I didn't see any of that. Rua was simply a great opponent.

[MrKadash]

I just had a sense about Penn. The only way Diego was going to win was on the ground, and Penn isn't that easy to take down. Penn is great with his legs both in striking and with his defense and balance, which was incredible last night.

[Ben]

I really wish I would have seen BJ go to the ground. He's no slouch down there. And like you said about his great legs for striking. He's also really good with them on the ground. Flexibility like I've never seen! I wanted to see some of his ground work. The positions he gets into is beyond belief. But yeah, still a great fight, an ultra impressive stand up win!

[denver_nuggs_15]

You really thought Penn/Sanchez was going to be that one-sided? My buddies and I were really torn. Sanchez has a great fight resume behing him. He certainly looked like he was ready to go pre-fight. How nuts was the look on his face!? Can't deny BJ Penn though. Like you said, one of the greatest ever. Clearly after yesterday.

Yeah, BJ just dominated. I'm not sure about one of the best ever in the entire UFC, but certainly in his weight class. The head kick really surprised me; I didn't really think he had that in his repertoire.

As a fan of Kongo, I was disappointed at the result, but I expected it, just not like this. Kongo just took a huge punch. If the fight went longer, Mir probably would have won on the ground. I still think Kongo is the best striker in the heavyweight division, but he has no ground game at all. Mir's guillotine was deep for sure and Kongo did eventually lose consciousness, but you have to move when you're in that position. Don't just stay in his guillotine. Mir didn't even have his legs around Kongo. He should have tried to move to the side since it's much harder to finish the guillotine from there. And he should have tried to keep his chin a little lower when he was in the sprawl position. Easier said than done, but there are certain things that Kongo needs to learn. But, a few more wins for Mir and he'll have the title shot again.

I really wish I would have seen BJ go to the ground. He's no slouch down there. And like you said about his great legs for striking. He's also really good with them on the ground. Flexibility like I've never seen! I wanted to see some of his ground work. The positions he gets into is beyond belief. But yeah, still a great fight, an ultra impressive stand up win!

BJ is amazing at BJJ. He's won the world championships IIRC. If you search youtube, you can actually find a video of BJ putting his leg behind his head...without using his hands. His flexibility is out of this world, and that really does help in BJJ.

Glad to see there are others here who are UFC fans.

[kevink2]

The way BJ destroyed his face, I was wondering if he was just torturing Sanchez. I know BJ was somewhat cautious about gassing out, since it was a 5 round fight, but I can't help but think he could have finished Diego in round one, no problem.

Probably the best fight I've ever seen of BJ. He wasn't even breathing hard at the end! I don't know if he'd ever be able to take St. Pierre, the guy is simply too big IMO, but BJ is definitely the best lightweight on the planet.