The YouTube clip featuring BJ Penn's pool jump is still going strong and attracting video rebuttals from NFL players.
Penn has been documenting virtually every step of his journey to UFC 101 on his website, BJPenn.com, but this video has separated itself from the pack.
And it wasn't even that big of a deal, according to Penn.
"We were always just hanging out by the pool and were always playing around and saying, oh, I'll see you later’ and just saying bye jumping out, just kind of joking around," said Penn during a teleconference promoting his upcoming fight with Kenny Klorian. "And then one time, I was like, I'm going to try and jump out, and I jumped out, and my friend was like, oh, you've gotta blog that. So I went back in and jumped out again.
"To my surprise, I was hanging out and my friend's girlfriend who was visiting him said, 'hey, you're on the front page of Yahoo!' I was like, for promoting UFC 101? 'No, for jumping out of the pool.' I was like, what? Pretty much a surprise to me."
MMA Insider caught up with Sityodtong head trainer Mark Delagrotte in Las Vegas as he assisted Frank Mir and Forrest Griffin for their upcoming fights.
Delagrotte suffered a disappointing loss last month at UFC 99 when prized pupil Marcus Davis lost a close decision to Dan Hardy in a heated grudge match. Afterwards, Davis lobbied the MMA media for an immediate rematch, but Delagrotte advised him against such a tact.
"I told Marcus I have a different view, a different perspective," said Delagrotte. "I have an emotional attachment, a financial attachment to Marcus. He's my guy. I've known him a long time, and he's a very close friend of mine. So, of course, when you have an emotional attachment and a financial attachment to the fighter--we both lost half our money that night.
"I went home in a Hilton bathrobe from Germany, I lost my shirt when I was there. But we never question judges; they're in their place to do what they do. They're there to protect the integrity of the sport. We agree with the decision. I saw the fight a little bit differently because of my involvement with Marcus.
"I told Marcus to try not make a big thing about it, to be humble and if we get that opportunity to redeem our self, we'll do so, if not, we're not going to waste our time looking at the past."
Another prized pupil, Kenny Florian, has a lot to look forward to when he gets his second title shot against current lightweight champion BJ Penn.
Recently, Penn waged a bland offensive over Florian's pre-fight rhetoric, issuing two video blogs on his website (shot in somebody's living room) that welcomed the UFC 101 fight.
Delagrotte hadn't kept tabs on the viral salvo and dismissed Penn's chatter.
"BJ gets very emotional and wrapped up in his opponents," said DeLagrotte. "He needs things to hate his opponents. He needs things to help him get up for a fight. Kenny doesn't need that. He doesn't need to like you or dislike you. He's just going to go in there, train hard, do his job, and get paid. We're looking to play the smart role and outwit BJ in this fight."
Even if there is post-fight trash talk, Delagrotte said there's power in numbers.
"I guarantee there will be a lot more Bostonians than there will be Hilo boys, for sure," he said.
A little more than a month away from his Aug. 8 UFC lightweight title defense against Kenny Florian and B.J. Penn is already down to 166.8 pounds. Not far to go to make 155.
Is B.J. over the "greasegate" issues surrounding UFC 94 and ready for the return to 155 and Kenny Florian?
In a recent posting on the popular mixed martial arts message board, "The Underground," UFC executive Lorenzo Fertitta wrote that the yet-unannounced UFC 101 may not take place in Portland on Aug. 8, as widely reported.
Instead, the Northwest card would be moved to the final Saturday of the month, Aug. 29, with former Gresham resident and heavyweight champ Randy Couture headlining the card against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 102.
MMAWeekly.com first reported that UFC 101 would take place in August, although a date was not available at the time of publication. A subsequent report on mmamania.com stated that Philadelphia had replaced Portland as the city under consideration for the event, leaving "the city of roses" high and dry for the second time since it was passed over for UFC 91.
Not so, according to Fertitta.
Fertitta stated that a lightweight showdown between BJ Penn and Kenny Florian was in the works for the Philadelphia event. Pennsylvania recently passed legislation to legalize MMA in the Northeast state.
UFC 101 and 102 would represent the 22nd and 23rd US states visited by the UFC for a pay per view event.
Light heavyweights Quinton Jackson and Keith Jardine had different takes on the scandal du jour of greasing allegations against welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre by lightweight champ BJ Penn during their UFC 96 conference call.
As a teammate of St. Pierre's, Jardine's thoughts on the matter came as little surprise.
"I think it's pretty silly, actually," he said. "Not too many fights are dominated like that. You never see a high level fight where one guy just completely reaches in and takes the other guy. That's what happened with Georges and BJ. I think they've still got to fight because of the headlines...they've got to save some face with that. So they're trying to make a controversy with the Vaseline which is just silly. Everyone who knows Georges, knows that he would never want to win that way. He's a true competitor and a true athlete."
After initially shying away from the topic, Jackson gave his two cents.
"I've heard of fighters using Vaseline and stuff like that. I never used it. So I don't know. Most my opponents haven't used it. I never witnessed any of my opponents using it.
"Me, I'm the type of fighter, I don't deal with other types. I want to be able to whoop somebody's ass knowing that I whooped their ass because I whooped their ass, not because I needed help whooping their ass. That's the type of ass-whooper I am, you feeling me?"
This is a video that B.J. Penn's camp posted on BJPenn.com in regards to alleged misuse of Vaseline by Georges St. Pierre's camp at UFC 94. Judge for yourself.
During a media teleconference for Diego Sanchez's lightweight debut against Joe Stevenson at UFC 95 in London, a reporter asked Stevenson who he thought would win in an expected bout between Kenny Florian and BJ Penn.
Stevenson chose Penn--not too surprising given his admiration for "The Prodigy." But he incorrectly assumed Sanchez would mirror his pick.
Sanchez had something else in mind.
"After seeing BJ's performance against St. Pierre, man, I'd say it's a bad time for him to fight anybody right now," Sanchez said. "Man, that guy has zero cardio—and he goes into the biggest fight of his life with that type of cardio and endurance? I've never gotten tired in a UFC fight. I've never gotten caught tired in a fight. And to see this guy be that exhausted after one round? I know GSP is tough, but c’mon. He burned himself out in the first round just defending those takedowns."
But that wasn't all. He gave Florian more than a fighting chance.
"I think its a bad time for him to fight Kenny Florian," he continued. "As long as Kenny Florian lasts past the first, second round, I think he's going to take over with conditioning. I don't care how talented you are. If you don't have gas in the tank—if the Ferrari doesn’t have the gas in the tank, it ain't going to finish the quarter mile, and that's the bottom line."
Stevenson chimed in quickly.
"You make a good point, dude," he said. "I didn't even think about that."
UFC president Dana White presents the latest edition of his video blog. In this episode, Dana takes you to the UFC 94 press conference, and then heads back to the office to do a little personal "remodeling" of his very own.
In anticipation of one of the most prominent mixed martial events of all-time, "UFC 94" featuring welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and lightweight champion BJ Penn, Spike TV presents "UFC Primetime," premiering Wednesday, January 14 10:30 - 11:00pm, ET/PT.
"UFC Primetime," produced by the UFC, delivers an unprecedented portrait of the lives of two of mixed martial arts' biggest stars, Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn, as they prepare for their epic clash of titans in late January. Spike TV will present three special weekly installments that will take viewers from the cliffs of Kailua to the streets of Montreal in an unfiltered look at two great warriors heading into battle for what promises to be one of the greatest match ups of skill in UFC history.
Christopher Martello of Spike TV serves as executive in charge of production of "UFC Primetime."
"UFC 94" will air live on Pay-Per-View Saturday, January 31 from MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas at 10pm ET/7pm PT.
Before UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and lightweight titleholder B.J. Penn step into the Octagon for their much anticipated superfight, they'll do battle in front of the camera. Not with each other, sadly, but in a movie coming soon to a theater near you.
Tentatively titled, "Sex, Blood, and Fight" - a family film, no doubt - St. Pierre will appear in three scenes alongside other UFC veterans.
"It was very fun," St. Pierre said of his first film experience. "The producer of the movie really helped me a lot. In the movie, when you punch somebody, it isn't by the book when you learn how to punch. You don't keep your elbow close and you don't rotate with your core. You have to really show the move, totally the opposite of what you learn in the academy."
Penn's manager and brother, J.D. Penn, confirmed B.J.'s participation in the movie, but said he was not shooting any scenes with Georges. "I wish," he said.
Georges hopes his new relationship with CAA sports will open new opportunities for him in the entertainment realm. The talent agency is among the vaunted "big three" in talent agencies, and St. Pierre is the first MMA fighter they've signed.
It's unknown whether the movie is MMA-themed or not - heaven help us if it's a sequel to "Never Back Down" - but St. Pierre's participation certainly adds to MMA's visibility, and a shade of class to the project.
Unless, of course, he plays a psychopathic killer.
Fighting each other, though, you'd think B.J. and Georges would have a little less trouble getting into character.
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