Former WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber's picks for the UFC 100 title fights.
Georges St. Pierre vs. Thiago Alves (Welterweight): GSP in my opinion is the much more complete fighter and is the more disciplined fighter. As far as just being a fighter and, in general, the type of guy that loves to get down and probably would be fighting once a week on the street anyways if he wasn't fighting, you gotta go with Thiago on that one. You've got a killer instinct on that guy that is really dangerous, but unless he can knock out St. Pierre, I think St. Pierre is gonna take it.
Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir (Heavyweight): Lesnar has been improving quite a bit. With the right training partners, he's gonna be very, vary hard to stop. But Frank Mir is crafty and this is the most dedicated he's been in the sport and working the hardest, more than he ever has in this sport. He looked the biggest, the strongest that I've seen him as well. I'm expecting a great fight. It's either gonna be Lesnar by TKO or Mir by tricky submission.
To help promote GSP's upcoming title fight, Gatorade has officially released the first full Georges St. Pierre commercial for their "G" campaign. The commercials are airing in Canada as of July 9.
The road to being a well trained and successful mixed martial artist can be very long and arduous, but thanks to two WEC superstars, the path just got a little shorter, and probably a lot less expensive as well. Top WEC lightweight contender, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, and featherweight, Leonard "Bad Boy" Garcia, have opened up their home in New Mexico to young, up and coming fighters to stay with them and train with the legendary Jackson's team in Albuquerque.
The offer was extended by both Cerrone and Garcia, who just recently invested in a new house in New Mexico, to help young fighters work and train with a top team, for a minimal cost considering the world-class team they'll be working with.
"We did this to be able to offer our house as a fighters house to pros and amateurs looking to take their fight games to the next level," Cerrone said via his Facebook page on Monday. "We already worked out a deal with Greg to have you live with us at our house, and also train at Jackson's. We will only be offering this to a few people each month. The total cost for the month, which includes a month of training at Jacksons, and a month of living at our house is $ 500.00."
Many top fighters have already flocked to Jackson's school to work under his expert tutelage, and now many young pros and amateurs will have the same system to excel under as champions such as Georges St. Pierre and Rashad Evans have been doing over the last few years.
"We designed this with the idea of having up and coming fighters live and train with us to get a feel for what it takes to train and compete at one of the top camps in the world," Cerrone commented.
This unprecedented offer comes on the heels of the news that Cerrone will be training for a WEC title fight on Sept 2 against Ben Henderson, while Leonard Garcia prepares for an August match-up against Jameel Massouh.
For more information on taking part in this new opportunity please contact Donald Cerrone's manager, Bryan Hamper, at: bryanhamper@gmail.com
The ever expanding world of advertising surrounding MMA superstar and UFC welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre, hit a new market this week as the Canadian was featured on the latest ads for Gatorade's "G" campaign in Rolling Stone magazine.
St. Pierre was previously featured in a Gatorade commercial that aired all over Canada and featured other sports stars such as Miami Heat guard, Dwayne Wade, and hockey legend, Gordie Howe.
Now, Gatorade has taken the next step to push GSP out to the American fans with a two page spread in Rolling Stone that features the athlete alongside the words, "No Excuses, No Truces."
St. Pierre's manager, Shari Spencer, commented about her client's deal with Gatorade, and how the two brands will continue to grow together in the future.
"Georges' relationship with Gatorade has recently expanded into the US, where he will be featured in a national print campaign launching July 1st that includes Rolling Stone magazine and outdoor advertising in the New York City & Los Angeles markets," Spencer said.
As St. Pierre readies for his July 11 showdown against #1 contender, Thiago Alves, the Gatorade ads will continue to grow and help the sport of MMA gain even more mainstream exposure.
The only question left is when will Gatorade start a campaign centered around St. Pierre much like their 90's ads featuring basketball mega star, Michael Jordan?
The breathing techniques employed by GSP cornerman Phil Nurse--and taught by holistic healer Steven Friend--set off a three-month controversy beat to death by conspiracy theorists who believed the welterweight champion was cheating.
In May, the Nevada State Athletic Commission essentially put an end to the saga, taking no formal action against GSP or his cornermen for the incident at UFC 94 known as "Greasegate."
Shortly after the controversy, the UFC amended its rules for cornerman to prohibit the application of Vaseline by anyone other than a UFC-approved cutman.
You'd think GSP might avoid the technique--a rubbing of hands over the chest and back--in future competitions, but the champ didn't rule it out for his fight with Thiago Alves at UFC 100.
"I don't know about this, but maybe," he said. "We'll see. I know in this fight, they're going to check us a lot, and I'm all for this. I never cheat in my life. I'm a proud champion and I want to win fair and square.
"I'm not the only one who has done the breathing technique before. But it's not going to change the result of the fight, with or without it."
Like many others before him, Georges St. Pierre recently revealed that his impetus for making a career out of mixed martial arts can be traced back to one man... Royce Gracie.
"I remember first time I saw UFC, I saw Royce Gracie winning the first tournament. That's the precise moment that I became inspired to do what I do right now for a living," he said during a Thursday media teleconference.
Just what left such a lasting impression on the younger version of the current UFC welterweight champion?
"The fact that he was using a martial art weapon that nobody knew at the time, which is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He was smaller than all of the guys and he was able to win... That's what really inspired me.
"I am a big fan of him because he dominated the sport at his time like nobody has done before. That's why, no matter what happens to him, even though he lost to (Matt) Hughes, I'm always gonna be a big fan of him and he's always gonna be my idol, no matter what."
Georges St-Pierre (GSP) and nationally-renowned artist Brian Fox have teamed up to offer fans the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Champion's first-ever, individually autographed limited edition prints.
The 100-piece deluxe signed and embellished canvas prints, measuring 30 x 40 and priced at $599.00, are now available for purchase online at www.brianfoxstudios.com or the newly-redesigned www.gspfightclub.com. In addition, fans may purchase the artwork at GSP's booth, # 731, at UFC 100's Fan Expo.
UFC Fan Expo will be held Friday and Saturday, July 10-11, 2009, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, coinciding with UFC 100, the biggest event in mixed martial arts history.
"I love this painting," said Georges St-Pierre. "I'm a good guy, and when I fight, I am another guy. Brian's work shows that to me. He is a master on his canvas, and I am a master on mine. I hope my fans love it as much as I do."
With the May 19 release of the totally revamped UFC video game, UFC 2009 Undisputed, right around the corner, G4's X-Play spoke with UFC president Dana White and welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre about the game.
"X-Play" and G4TV.com talks with UFC president Dana White and UFC Welterweight Champion George St. Pierre about the new MMA video game, UFC 2009 UNDISPUTED. "X-Play" will also have new game footage from the title.
Plus tune in to find out what it takes to get a job creating games, as "X-Play" profiles the audio designer behind UFC 2009 UNDISPUTED’s awesome sound. Catch all this and much more on "X-PLAY," Thursday, April 23 at 6:30PM ET/PT with a repeat at 8:00PM ET/PT.
Georges St. Pierre is rapidly becoming an international icon - not only is he one of the strongest, toughest, and most energizing athletes to grace the MMA Octagon, he is also a class act outside of it. Now, Georges wants to take his brand to the next level that his athletic performance has taken him.
To accomplish this task, he's engaging those that who will help him achieve that goal - his fans.
"Georges has some of the greatest fans in the sport," said Shari Spencer, manager for GSP. "This contest represents his desire to give something back to his fans - to allow them to participate in his efforts to represent this sport on a whole new level."
The winning logo design will be incorporated into Georges' new website, be displayed on his shorts and banner within the Octagon during his fights, and be incorporated into a new line of merchandise to be debuted in conjunction with UFC 100 on July 11th.
Here is your chance to show GSP your skills and help him develop a logo that represents GSP in your eyes. Take some time to draw, paint, or even sketch your ideas - then go to GSPFightClub.com and send him your ideas. GSP will narrow the choices down to ten finalists.
Then, just as GSP draws upon his fans' support to win his fights, he'll turn to his fans to help him pick the winning logo design. Your design might just be chosen as the lucky winner that he'll wear during his upcoming fight at UFC 100. But you better hurry - this contest is only open for a short time.
Though middleweight champion Anderson Silva's stock has taken a big hit, it's hard to argue that a superfight with Georges St. Pierre wouldn't be big business.
UFC president Dana White thought December might be a good time to do it, in Toronto no less, if the welterweight champ got past Thiago Alves in July.
In a recent appearance for UFC Fight Club fans prior to UFC 97, St. Pierre weighed the idea of a fight with "The Spider."
"It would be interesting, but it depends on the outcome of my fight and his fight," he said. "We'll see."
One fan broached the idea of making the two coaches of opposing teams on "The Ultimate Fighter," leading to the super fight.
"I would have to sit down and see what the opportunity is," he continued. "How long I have for the fight. Because if I fight at 185, if I do it, I want to do it well. I want to put some extra muscle on me, some extra weight. I would have to go on a I would have to go on a diet for a couple extra weeks, and it would take me some extra time, but I'm always excited for a new challenge."
Georges St. Pierre filmed his first commercial for Gatorade's new "G" campaign a few weeks ago, and now the commercial has hit the airwaves in Canada playing during the NHL playoffs. GSP is keeping elite company in the commercial alongside athletes like Dwayne Wade, Mia Hamm, and Olympian Usian Bolt.
Matt Serra of East Meadow is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champion.
March 20, 2009
As leaders in Albany struggle to deal with the state's fiscal problems, they should think outside the box and inside the Octagon.
Last April, I fought Georges St. Pierre in a rematch of the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title match. Our sport is banned in New York, and this fight was held in Montreal, St. Pierre's hometown. The sold-out crowd of 21,000 was less than welcoming - everywhere I went that weekend, I heard jeers and boos. When I eventually lost the match, the cheers for my opponent were deafening.
In my eight-year career with the UFC, the world's largest mixed martial arts league, I've fought in New Jersey, Connecticut, Las Vegas, Texas and Montreal. But because of New York's ban, I've never competed in my home state. I've never had the excitement of hearing a sold-out crowd at Nassau Coliseum chant my name as I entered the Octagon - our sport's answer to the boxing ring. I've never been able to compete in front of all my friends and family.
And New York has never captured any of the revenue these hugely popular events bring. My fight in Montreal generated more than $5 million in ticket sales. UFC events contribute millions of dollars in tourism and tax revenue to host cities. A UFC event held last year in Columbus, Ohio, is estimated to have produced $11 million in external economic activity for the city. Wherever we go, there are sold-out arenas, fans buying concessions and merchandise, and thousands of people staying in hotels and eating at restaurants.
Assemb. Steven Englebright (D-Setauket), chairman of the Committee on Tourism, Arts and Sports Development, has introduced legislation that would authorize mixed martial arts events in this state. It's not the first time the issue has come up for debate in Albany. Last year, the bill died because some Assembly members were concerned about what they call the "violent nature" of the sport. What they forget is that mixed martial arts is a combination of several Olympic sports: martial arts disciplines like jiu-jitsu, karate, Greco-Roman wrestling and judo - sports that prize discipline and strategy.
From the moment I saw my first Bruce Lee movie as a kid, I knew I wanted to practice martial arts. My dad encouraged me to learn kung fu when I was growing up. After high school, I was lucky enough to train with Renzo Gracie, a renowned master of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I won first place at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Pan American Games in 1999, and shortly after that, I competed in my first Ultimate Fighting Championship match.
I also opened two jiu-jitsu academies and train people from all walks of life - everyone from couch potatoes looking to get fit, to local police officers, to aspiring Ultimate Fighters. Everyone is taught the skills they need to build strength and discipline.The students at my schools understand that mixed martial arts is a sport based on respect, strategy and skill.
That's also the view held by the leadership of the UFC. Zuffa, the company that bought UFC in 2001, has reinvented the league by instituting strict safety standards to protect its athletes. Contrary to popular belief, mixed martial arts competitions are anything but "no-holds-barred." There are weight classes, judges, time limits and more than 30 moves that are against the rules. The athletic commissions in the 37 states where the sport is regulated set additional rules that govern each fight. They oversee and enforce things like medical testing, ringside doctors, post-fight MRIs - even what type of gloves we wear.
A 2006 Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine study reported, "The overall injury rate in MMA competitions is now similar to other combat sports, including boxing," and "knockout rates are lower in MMA competitions than in boxing." That conclusion, combined with the fact that the most serious injuries in all the UFC fights have been broken arms and legs, should put safety concerns to rest.
Our elected officials in Albany have a lot on their plates right now, but they should consider regulating mixed martial arts in New York. As a professional athlete, I can't imagine anything more exciting than competing in front of a hometown crowd. And as a New York taxpayer, I would hope that our legislators are open to new ideas to bring more entertainment dollars into our state.
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?"
Neil Davidson of the Canadian Press recently spoke with Dana White, who pulled no punches about how he feels about Georges St. Pierre's cornerman, Phil Nurse, and his alleged illegal application of Vaseline in St. Pierre's fight against B.J. Penn at UFC 94.
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.
The fight between Georges St. Pierre and B.J. Penn only made it to 4 rounds, but the story after the fight keeps on going. After allegations surfaced from the fight and the application of Vaseline to St. Pierre by one of his cornermen, just about everyone has chimed in with their thoughts on "Grease-gate."
One of St. Pierre's main training partners, Nate Marquardt, spoke up recently at the thought that somebody in his camp cheated by purposely putting the Vaseline on the Canadian to give him an advantage in the fight.
"It's so ridiculous (that) it doesn't really make me mad," Marquardt told MMAWeekly Radio recently. "It's so over the top ridiculous that it's almost laughable. That fight was so one-sided and for B.J. to sit down and look at something silly like a grease thing, and the commission caught it anyway so it's like they wiped his back off and it was their decision to say okay he's fine to fight. Obviously it didn't play anything into the fight. It really shows a weakness on B.J.'s part."
Marquardt saw the fight that night and says there is no question that St. Pierre executed the perfect gameplan en route to a 4th round TKO win.
"He demolished him. It made B.J. look like he was on a lower level, like an amateur or something," Marquardt commented. "It was just a one sided fight."
Regardless of the talk surrounding the controversy, it appears that all sides involved are starting to move on as St. Pierre will likely face top contender Thiago Alves this summer, while Penn gets ready to fight Kenny Florian for the lightweight title presumably at some point in 2009.
Thiago Alves sits down with Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten on Inside MMA to talk about the winning streak that has put him into a title fight with UFC welterweigth champion Georges St. Pierre, likely to take place at UFC 100 in July.
B.J. Penn spoke recently with Fox News Fight Game's Mike Straka both about Georges St. Pierre and the controversy around their fight. He also confirmed that he is in negotiations to fight Kenny Florian in defense of his UFC lightweight title in his next bout.
Although there has been a lot of speculation that B.J. Penn was considering retirement following his UFC 94 bout with Georges St. Pierre, fueled mostly by the fighter himself, it sounds more and more like he's planning to return.
His trainer, Rudy Valentino, told Sports Illustrated's Josh Gross that on their way to Vegas, Penn had indicated to him that a win probably would have meant his retirement.
In an interview with KHON-2 News in Honolulu, Penn himself sounded unclear on his future, saying, "I was going to make this my last fight and finish up fighting GSP. In my head, I was with (the UFC) for nine or ten years and I kind of just wanted to be finished with this whole thing after this. So I don’t know where my head is right now. I just want to thank all the fans that supported me all this time, over this last nine, ten years fighting."
But over the past few days, Penn has made statements to the contrary, initially posting on his Facebook page that he was now looking to a UFC lightweight title defense against Kenny Florian sometime between May and July.
With the whole uproar about inappropriate Vaseline usage by St. Pierre's cornermen during their fight, St. Pierre made a public statement saying that he welcomed a second rematch with Penn to prove that the controversy had nothing to do with his dominating performance in sending Penn packing after the fourth round.
Penn responded in kind on his website, BJPenn.com, accepting a third bout between the two iconic figures. "To the untrained eye the grease might not look like much, but every grappler knows the effect that it has. Being able to apply your submissions and sweeps or just being able to hold on to your opponent to defend yourself from being hit is absolutely critical! ... I hereby accept George St. Pierre and Greg Jackson’s challenge for a fight in the summer 2009. Lets call Dana now and set it up."
So, it doesn't look like Penn is planning on going away anytime soon. It is now more of a question of what is next for the UFC lightweight champion. St. Pierre is expected to defend the welterweight title against Thiago Alves in his next bout. Although a third bout between GSP and Penn could come to fruition, it is more likely that Penn will be required by the UFC to defend his belt against Kenny Florian before anymore rematches.
For better or worse, the hot topic of conversation following what was billed as the biggest fight in Ultimate Fighting Championship history -- the mega-fight between welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and lightweight champion B.J. Penn -- has been the use of Vaseline by St. Pierre's cornermen.
Most of the parties involved have commented in one form or another, and the Penn camp is now determining their pursuit of the allegations against St. Pierre. On Tuesday, in his official blog, former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes, who has fought St. Pierre three times, weighed in on some of the UFC 94 bouts, but was most poignant in his comments about St. Pierre feeling greasy when they fought:
"I was also surprised by the final match, I thought B.J. would have put on a better performance. B.J. Penn is coming from a lighter weight class, but he took the fight at 170. That's the bottom line. I knew it was going to come down to who had the better cardio and even at the end of the first round B.J. looked tired.
Now, on to what everybody is talking about, the greasing. I'm not the only one who has said that GSP felt greasy during a fight. I know Matt Serra has mentioned it and, even in their first fight, I think B.J. said something. I'm not saying GSP did something wrong and I'm not saying that it would have changed any outcomes of any fights; but what I am saying is, for my last two fights against Georges, he felt greasy."
The numbers aren't official yet, but UFC president Dana White on Saturday night indicated that everything about Georges St. Pierre vs. B.J. Penn 2 affirms its mega-fight status.
"We did a gate of $4.3 million, 14,885 people," he said at the post-fight press conference. "This thing was more than a sellout. The casino was scrambling today to add more seats. Other casinos were looking for tickets. This was the craziest event we've ever done, by far."
If those numbers prove to accurate, it easily puts UFC 94 as one of the top grossing UFC gates of all time.
Fight night numbers were the latest in a tremendous week for the promotion. On Friday at the UFC 94 weigh-ins – an event in and of itself – security had to turn people away at the door. UFC officials said that the set-up for the weigh-ins accommodated somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000 fans, yet they were still turning them away in droves... for the weigh-ins!
At least as a live draw, UFC 94 could only be regarded as the resounding success that the promotion had expected.
The MMA Insider spoke to several top MMA fighters and managers to get their picks on the upcoming UFC welterweight title fight pitting Georges St. Pierre against B.J. Penn.
Here are the picks:
Josh Thomson: "Penn, Penn, Penn, Penn, Penn, Penn, oh did I mention B.J. Penn to win?
Eliot Marshall: "GSP"
Dustin Hazelett: "I'm actually undecided. I believe the early rounds favor Penn, but the later rounds will favor GSP."
Marcus Davis: "B.J. Penn by the 3rd round. Not sure what, but some kind of stoppage"
Heath Herring: "Not gonna touch that one!"
Jason Genet (Magnetic Marketing Associates): "I think that GSP will be too big for Penn, who is easily one of the greatest MMA fighters of our time."
Jeff Curran: "I really don't know. Personally, I think you are better off rolling the dice!"
Ken Pavia (MMA Agents): "GSP late by conditioning."
Brian Stann: "GSP. My teammate, you don't need to ask!"
Back in 2005, Georges St. Pierre was only 4 fights into his legendary UFC career. Little did the Abu Dhabi Combat Club know what kind of future star they would feature when GSP entered the 2005 competition in the 66 to 76kg weight class on short notice when invited to the tournament.
In his first round match-up, St. Pierre out wrestled and used superior technique to defeat Otto Olson on points. His next bout against Leo Santos didn't go as well as the Canadian was forced to tap out after getting caught in an armbar.
Since that time, St. Pierre has gone on to become a 2x UFC welterweight champion while also gaining fame as possibly the top pound for pound fighter in the sport of mixed martial arts.
Regardless of titles or accomplishments, St. Pierre is a competitor and he said during a recent interview with MMAWeekly Radio that if the timing worked out, he'd love the chance to compete in the Abu Dhabi tournament again in the future.
"If I have time and the timing is good, I will do it, of course I will," St. Pierre said. "I love competition, I'm a true mixed martial arts man, and I don't only like MMA. I like grappling, I like wrestling, I like jiu-jitsu, I like Muay Thai, I like everything. But of course my main job is MMA."
Many other top MMA stars still compete regularly in grappling tournaments and a great many of them are expected at this year's Abu Dhabi championships. If timing worked out, St. Pierre would be a huge addition to the show.
And just like everything else GSP puts his mind to, he'd probably be a force in the tournament as well.
Always considered one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world, B.J. Penn will once again venture back up the welterweight division for his upcoming showdown against Georges St. Pierre at UFC 94.
The last time Penn fought at 170lbs was in September 2006 in a loss to former UFC welterweight champion, Matt Hughes.
Since then Penn rededicated himself to a rigorous training plan, while making the move back down to 155lbs where he's won 3 straight fights including a title win and title defense.
So now going back to 170lbs, what is Penn doing to ensure that he will be in the same physical condition that got him to the pinnacle of the lightweight division?
"I'm lifting weights, but nothing extraordinary. I'm training hard, a lot of real work in the ring or in the cage, a lot of real practical work and training hard, and just eating a lot of rice and a lot of fish and a lot of oatmeal," Penn told MMAWeekly Radio recently. "That's pretty much what I'm doing preparing, I'm not doing anything drastic. I'm just getting ready and whatever my weight falls on, that's where I'll be for the fight."
It looks like Penn is ready to back up his move to 170lbs with a tremendous amount of skill and no worries about moving up in weight to accommodate the division.
Mixed martial arts will always be the first love of UFC welterweight champion, Georges "Rush" St. Pierre, but when the Canadian champion isn't dominating in the Octagon, he's picking up a few new skills in front of the camera as an actor.
St. Pierre recently filmed scenes alongside other fighters such as Anderson Silva, Heath Herring and ironically enough, B.J. Penn, in a movie set for release in 2009 called "Never Surrender."
"It was great," St. Pierre told MMAWeekly Radio recently about the movie experience. "I liked it and I actually have another filming planned for February after my fight. I'm very excited about it."
According to online movie resource, IMDB.com, St. Pierre is set to star in two new movies, one called "Hell's Chain" and another titled, "Death Warrior."
The 2008 Canadian Athlete of the Year admits that acting can be fun, and it takes him back to his childhood, and he hopes one day he can be as iconic as the "Muscles from Brussels."
"It's pretty fun, I like it. It's like make me remember when I was a kid, playing games, it makes me remember those days," St. Pierre commented. "It's a little bit like come back as a kid and play games, and I when I do it sometimes I feel like the Canadian version of Jean-Claude Van Damme. It's pretty funny."
Unless Van Damme pulls out the Dim Mak from his movie "Bloodsport" he probably wouldn't stand much of a chance against St. Pierre in a real fight, but the 170lb king says he still has a lot to learn in the Belgian's medium as well.
"Maybe I'm better in the Octagon, but I still have a lot to learn on the camera."
Throughout his career, B.J. Penn has always been thought of as one of the most dangerous fighters to deal with in any facet of the game. With a phenomenal jiu-jitsu game at his disposal, Penn has perfected a deadly striking arsenal to use against his opponents as well.
Just recently, famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach had stated that he believed Penn had the best stand-up of any fighter in MMA and Penn takes that as a huge compliment.
"Knowing all of Freddie's accomplishments and the people he's been around. Freddie's held the mitts for me a few times, and worked a few things with me and wow that's an awesome thing that Freddie said that," Penn said recently.
In his fight with former UFC lightweight champion, Sean Sherk, it was the Hawaiian who controlled the biggest part of the bout with a devastating jab that pummeled his opponent all the way to the finish.
"I do work the jab a lot, but it's not like I work it more than any other punch. It's like when I get in a fight I end up jabbing more than anything," Penn said. "I don't know why, I don't know how it happens. Even with (Takanori) Gomi, I remember it was a battle of jabs. I always remember I had a pretty stiff left jab when I was a kid growing up."
The current UFC lightweight champion admits that his love of boxing goes back to his youth, even before he discovered Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
"I try to work on my striking, actually boxing was my first love before I even found jiu-jitsu," Penn stated. "I was always about the kind of guy you can hit me, I can take your best punches, hit you back and eventually you'll give up. I was one of those guys."
"Boxing has always had a special place in my heart."
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.
UFC President Dana White presents the third episode of his UFC 94 blog. In this edition, Dana heads to CNBC to talk about the new UFC branded gyms and much, much more.
Always willing to go the extra mile to learn new techniques, UFC welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre, is once again about to step up his training as the fighter is planning for a trip to Thailand after his title fight on Jan 31 to work with top Muay Thai fighters from the area.
St. Pierre has famously worked alongside many top trainers and training partners, and has previously traveled to Brazil to train with top jiu-jitsu coaches and athletes. The Canadian star will add to his resume and passport when he makes a trip to Thailand after his fight against B.J. Penn.
"I plan to go after my fight actually," St. Pierre said about a trip to Thailand. "That's another thing that I want to do is go to Thailand. After my fight I might also go to France, I have a lot of friends in France and a very good Muay Thai fighter who comes from France."
"Some of them have come to help me train for this camp, so I'm going to go see them after my fight. They have a lot of good fighters out there."
St. Pierre recieved his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu a few months back and the top welterweight stand-out also holds black belts in several other martial arts disciplines as well.
Still willing to be the student, St. Pierre may just add another weapon to his arsenal when he travels to Thailand to work with some of the top strikers in the world.
The third and final installment of the new UFC Primetime -- Georges St. Pierre vs. B.J. Penn 2 -- episode airs tonight on Spike TV at 10 p.m. ET/PT. If you missed it so far, the series gives fans an inside look at the lives and training of St. Pierre and Penn as they ready themselves for their UFC 94 mega-fight Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The series launched two weeks ago to what Spike officials felt were very good ratings. Each episode airs twice on Spike back-to-back. The first episode debuted to an average of 880,000 viewers during its first airing, followed by a repeat performance that averaged 614,000 viewers, according to Spike TV.
Last weeks episode -- the second installment in the series -- stayed steady on its initial airing with an average viewership of 825,000, while the repeat immediately afterwards drew 435,000.
It will be interesting to see how many fans tune in tonight as excitement for the fight has started to build across the board.
With the UFC's key business and home base being in Las Vegas, it's a no brainer that fight fans love to bet on their faves. With all the talk back and forth about who will win at UFC 94, at this point, Georges St. Pierre is clearly the odds on favorite heading into his mega-fight with B.J. Penn.
A pivotal light heavyweight bout between Top 10 fighters Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva is also featured at UFC 94. Thus far, Machida is running away with this one as far as betters are concerned.
We've obviously seen in the past that who is being bet on doesn't necessarily equate into a win, so it will be interesting to see if the betters are right come Saturday night.
UFC President Dana White presents the 2nd episode of his UFC 94 video blog. In this episode, Dana takes you behind the scenes for some early footage from the 9th season of the "Ultimate Fighter" and then takes you to New York, where another epic race breaks out.
Dana White kicks off his UFC 94 video blog on Monday with a special guest appearance by pro skateboarder Mike V. and then takes off to the WEC event in San Diego to get GSP vs. B.J. Penn picks from the likes of Duane "Bang" Ludwig, Jens Pulver, Matt Hume, WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner, Urijah Faber, Robbie Lawler, Caol Uno, Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, and WEC featherweight champ Mike Brown.
Of particular interest was the presence of Kid Yamamoto at the WEC. During his blog, White asked Yamamoto if he was ready to come fight (in the WEC) and Yamamoto replied, "Yeah." White immediately replied, "We want you here."
Of course, that is far and away from being a done deal by any means, but it's sure to stoke the rumors of Kid Yamamoto coming to the WEC, especially with the on and off reports of him fighting soon in Japan.
In anticipation of the mega-fight on Saturday night in Las Vegas at UFC 94, THQ -- the developer of the new UFC video game UFC 2009 Undisputed -- has released the above renderings of Georges St. Pierre and B.J. Penn. They're actually amazing, looking almost like photographs instead of renderings from a video game.
THQ has also released a couple of new game trailers, which you can watch below. One features Rich Franklin, the other Dan Henderson.
If you haven't noticed, MMAWeekly.com now has an online store with all of the latest and greatest products for MMA fans. There are new items being added constantly.
The second installment of UFC Primetime -- featuring a behind the scenes look at Georges St. Pierre and B.J. Penn leading up to their mega-fight next week at UFC 94 -- airs tonight on Spike TV, although not without a little more controversy than might have been planned.
During recent taping for the "up to the minute" series, Penn apparently became disenchanted with the way he was being portrayed on the show, according to a report on MMAJunkie.com, and cut off filming in the middle of an interview segment, denying further access to his gym.
(UPDATE) MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday spoke with Penn's press representatives who did confirm the report with J.D. Penn, the fighter's brother/manager. J.D. verified that it is true that B.J. was unhappy with his portrayal on Primetime and cut off access to himself and his gym. Neither J.D. nor B.J. would comment any further, other than verifying the fallout.
The ratings for the first episode -- which is scheduled to air on three consecutive Wednesdays on Spike TV -- drew an average of 880,000 viewers for the initial airing and followed with 690,000 viewers in its repeat performance.
The rift with Penn may be another headache for UFC President Dana White to deal with, but Spike TV officials have to be salivating with the added drama to the fiery relationship between White and Penn, which is likely to drive further interest in the new series.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced Wednesday that UFC 94: ST-PIERRE vs. PENN 2 is officially sold out. The mega-fight pitting Champion against Champion that will take place Saturday, January 31, is one of the most anticipated UFC bouts in history and now can be seen only on pay-per-view. More than 14,000 fans are expected to attend the event live inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
In advance of this epic rematch, Spike TV will present UFC Primetime, a new, three-part series that delivers an unfiltered look at both champions as they prepare for the biggest fight of their careers. The first installment UFC Primetime, which tracks St-Pierre and Penn through their training camps in Montreal and Hawaii, premieres this Wednesday, January 14 at 10:00 p.m. ET.
The following week, part two of UFC Primetime airs Wednesday, January 21 at 10 p.m. ET, with part three airing at 10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 28, four days before St-Pierre and Penn enter the Octagon at UFC 94.
UFC 94: ST-PIERRE VS. PENN 2 will be available live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer's Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95 for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).
St-Pierre and Penn last met in March 2006 at UFC 58, when St-Pierre defeated BJ Penn via a narrow split decision. Ever since then, Penn has been on the comeback trail, cleaning out the lightweight division while St-Pierre was climbing his way to the top of the welterweight division. At UFC 94 Penn makes his move to recapture the welterweight title, which he last held in January 2004, while also becoming the first man in UFC history to hold two division titles simultaneously.
UFC Primetime premieres on Spike TV on Wednesday, January 14th at 10pm. More than just a countdown show, the series will air in three parts on the three Wednesdays leading up to the fight and take fight fans behind the scenes and into the lives of Georges St-Pierre and B.J. Penn like never before. For the UFC, there was no better time than now and no better fight than GSP-Penn to kick off the series. GSP vs. Penn takes place on Jan. 31 at UFC 94 in Las Vegas.
Greg Jackson's camp, Jackson's MMA, is riding high after a stellar showing in 2008. Two champions now reside there, welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and new light heavyweight champion Keith Jardine, and standouts Keith Jardine, Nate Marquardt, Leonard Garcia, and Donald Cerrone are all coming off victories.
In mid-2007, things looked bleak. Jardine was knocked out by Houston Alexander. Evans drew with Tito Ortiz, and Nate Marquardt was stopped by Anderson Silva at UFC 73. For a stretch, it looked like Jackson had lost his touch.
"We were just making mistakes," Jackson told MMAInsider. "We were winning, winning, winning--I think we still have one of the best records, I forget exactly--and I was overtraining people. I'm pushing a little too hard. So we had a summer where everybody just lost. We didn't lose like 100 fights. I know our younger guys were winning, but stuff was going wrong there."
Jackson says the turnaround came after a session of good old fashioned brainstorming.
"I had to be a little introspective, and try to figure out with the help of my other coaches what we were doing, and I think we just solved the problem," he continued.
Now that the team is successful again, Jackson says there's no guarantee the team will continue to win. Since enduring the first slump, he's taking a Zen attitude about the future.
"It's just been our night a couple times," he said. "That might reverse again. But if it does, I know that I can look inside and say, 'what do we need to do to get better?' And just constantly try to grow and be reflective. As long as I can do that, I think we'll be ok."
After a very impressive performance dispatching of Jonathan Goulet at the UFC "Fight for the Troops" show on Wednesday night, Mike Swick vaulted one step closer towards a top contender's spot in the welterweight division, but could his next fight involve a shot at Thiago Alves?
The speculation begins with Alves, who defeated Josh Koscheck in October, but as the #1 conteder for the welterweight title he would likely sit out for the better part of 8 or 9 months waiting for the winner of GSP and B.J. Penn to be ready to fight again after their Jan 31 showdown.
UFC president Dana White said during a "Q&A" session on Tuesday that Alves would be facing the winner of GSP/Penn, but a fight between Swick and Alves could be a big fight for early 09'.
Rumors of the fight began to circle almost immediately after Swick finished off Jonathan Goulet, and a fight against Alves was the talk in Fayetteville following the event.
Alves spoke to MMAWeekly Radio after his win over Koscheck, admitting that it's very tough for him to stay out of fights for very long.
"I don't really know because that's something inside of me that I can't stay still for too long," Alves said. "I have to punch somebody, I have to get in a fight."
"I don't mind waiting, I don't mind doing another fight, but my manager and my camp don't want me to fight. They want me to fight for the title, so whatever they want me to do."
Stay tuned to the MMAInsider as more information becomes available on this potential fight.
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.
For those that want to get a closer look at the enigma that is B.J. Penn, the Hawaiian fighter has launched a new video show on his website -- BJPenn.com -- that delves into the life of the UFC lightweight champion as he prepares for his UFC 94 mega-fight with Georges St. Pierre...
Before Georges St. Pierre stepped into UFC 87 to defend his welterweight title against Jon Fitch, rumors began to circle about his current contract expiring after only 1 more fight following the August match-up.
Even back then GSP assured fans that he would make the UFC his home for a long time to come, and he didn't plan on fighting anywhere else.
"We'll end up to an agreement, I'm sure," St. Pierre told MMAWeekly Radio in August.. "I like the UFC, I'm glad I'm champion, I want to represent the sport and also the UFC well."
"The UFC, that's what made me known, and if possible I want to retire there."
While the UFC never really talks much about fighters' contracts, it would have to appear that St. Pierre has been locked into a new deal going into his title fight with Penn.
Also, recent comments from UFC president Dana White saying that if the Canadian was successful in his next bout, he could see a fight with pound for pound king Anderson Silva in his future, would almost solidify St. Pierre's long term plans with the company.
"If GSP beats BJ then you'll see Silva v GSP, possibly at a catch weight," White told The Sun, a British newspaper in October.
St. Pierre's manager, Shari Spencer, had no comment when reached by MMAWeekly.com, but with the Canadian's prospects for big fights in 2009 it looks like "Rush" will be in the Octagon for the foreseeable future and beyond.
Due to the threat of inclement weather, the venue has been changed indoors to the Blaisdell Concert Hall
On Friday, November 21, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn, and UFC President Dana White will hit Honolulu for a public press conference and free viewing party at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. Doors will open at 4pm HT, with a live musical performance by J-Boog and Fiji talking place from 5 to 6pm HT. The press conference will begin at 6:15pm, followed by a free large-screen viewing from the Shell of classic St-Pierre and Penn fights. UFC T-shirts will be given free to the first 2,000 fans in attendance. There are no charges to attend this event.
UFC President Dana White presents the 7th edition of his video blog for UFC 91.
In this episode, B.J. Penn and Georges St. Pierre join Dana just moments before they officially announce their UFC 94 bout, we get a behind the scenes visit to the locker rooms of UFC 91, live at the event, and behind the scenes after the event including Dana's impromptu interview of Junie Browning... and the ESPN sports desk at UFC 91.
Tickets for the mega-fight rematch between UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn go on sale to the general public beginning Sunday, Nov. 16 at 10 a.m. PT. There are presale options to purchase tickets to UFC 94 before they go on sale to the general public.
Starting Thursday, Nov. 13 at 10 a.m. PT, tickets for UFC 94 go on sale to UFC Fight Club members. And on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 10 a.m. PT, tickets go on sale to newsletter subscribers.
UFC 94 is scheduled to take place on Saturday, Jan. 31 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It features the previously mentioned mega-fight between GSP and Penn, a rematch that has been two-and-a-half years in the making. The bout will take place in the 170-pound division for GSP's welterweight title.
If he were to win the belt, B.J. Penn would become the first UFC fighter to hold two UFC championship belts in two weight categories simultaneously.
Heading into an important fight at UFC 91 - a fight that should boost the winner into title contention - Joe "Daddy" Stevenson got a big boost from his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor over the weekend. Robert Drysdale awarded Stevenson his black belt on Saturday.
Both Stevenson and Florian have only one loss since their respective moves into the UFC's lightweight division. Stevenson's only loss was at the hands of current lightweight champion B.J. Penn, while Florian's was to former champ Sean Sherk.
The winner is likely to get a shot at the title once B.J. Penn is done with his mega-fight against Georges St. Pierre on Super Bowl weekend.
Initially hoping to have a fight against Clay Guida in December, Gracie Fighter Nate Diaz looks to be sitting out the rest of this year.
According to GracieFighter.com, his manager's website, the planned showdown with Guida was never completed due to a foot injury that Guida sustained in his fight with Mac Danzing at UFC Fight Night 15 in Omaha, Neb.
With most of the other contending lightweights in the UFC already scheduled out for the remainder of the year, it's likely that Diaz won't have his next bout until Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas, where Georges St. Pierre and B.J. Penn headline UFC 94.
Diaz most recently competed on the same card as Guida. He defeated Midwest fighter Josh Neer in the main event, scoring a tough split decision victory.
Georges St. Pierre was a guest recently Fox News Fight Game. The UFC welterweight champion discussed his thoughts on rematching B.J. Penn on Super Bowl weekend, the upcoming bout between UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar at UFC 91, Matt Hughes, gorwing up and his beginnings in mixed martial arts, and much, much more.
This is a really good interview with St. Pierre that especially goes in depth about his training and various aspects of martial arts and how things apply to MMA.
UFC President Dana White presents his sixth blog for the UFC 90 weekend. In this edition, Dana takes us behind the scenes at the Allstate Arena for UFC 90. Some of Dana's special guests in this blog entry include UFC Hall of Famer Dan Severn, former UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra, interim heavyweight champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, welterweight beltholder Georges St. Pierre, middleweight champ Anderson Silva, and many of the other fighters from UFC 90.
UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre seems to find success wherever he goes, even when he isn't in the Octagon. He's been filming a new movie, signed with the highly touted CAA Sports alongside David Beckham and Derek Jeter, and is preparing for a likely mega fight against lightweight champion B.J. Penn.
On Saturday, however, he achieved another milestone in his martial arts development. St. Pierre was awarded his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, according to Gracie Magazine.
St. Pierre evidently went to train jiu-jitsu at the Tristar Martial Arts Academy in Montreal and, unbeknownst to him, his instructor, Bruno Fernandes, had determined it was to be the day that St. Pierre received his black belt in BJJ.
Laying out three of the high points of his career, according to Gracie Magazine, St. Pierre said, " When I received my black belt in karate, when I conquered the UFC belt, and today."
Fernandes is a Gracie Barra black belt and holder of several jiu-jitsu titles. He has been one of St. Pierre's instructors for several years.
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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