More thoughts on UFC 94
Saturday night’s UFC 94 main event title fight between reigning welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and reigning lightweight champion BJ Penn was billed as the biggest fight in Mixed Martial Arts history, and while the battle itself did not live up to the hype, Georges St-Pierre’s retention of the welterweight title in one-sided fashion was the best possible scenario to come out of the hyped and unprecedented contest of UFC rivals in terms of the sport’s future growth.
Had BJ Penn triumphed over GSP, not only would a host of worthy challengers to the lightweight and welterweight crowns be sidelined indefinitely while the notoriously unpredictable Hawaiian planned out his next move, but any future reign by “Rush” would forever be marred by an asterisk in the form of a outsized and overmatched challenger.
The fight itself, although far more one-sided than any could have anticipated, (in fact, many proponents of both champions saw “The Prodigy” as the more likely man to finish the fight early) has given us something BJ Penn could never be, a superstar, or at least the beginnings of one.
Georges St-Pierre represents the absolute pinnacle of Mixed Martial Arts competition, combining a strong and threatening physique, above average reflexes, competent striking, grappling, and submissions with a seriously underrated—albeit not for much longer—mental edge in terms of in-fight tactics. Pound for pound, he is the greatest fighter in Mixed Martial Arts history. Better than Fedor. Better than Anderson Silva, even should he lose their possible future match. And obviously better than Penn.
> Fans can buy UFC apparel & merchandise as well as Hostitlity clothing online through Pro Fighting Fans.
While both Fedor and Silva can claim longer periods of dominance in their respective weight classes than the UFC welterweight champion, neither of them has fought top ten challengers on a more consistent basis, and nobody in the history of the sport has “mixed” his martial arts more seamlessly than the Canadian athlete of the year.
MMA had its Chuck Liddell, the UFC has its Brock Lesnar, but never has a champion emerged with as much charisma, respect, and undeniable talent—not to mention youth—as Georges St-Pierre. He is the current Michael Jordan of MMA, and should he defend his title into 2010, he probably will go down as the best fighter in MMA history, deserving or not.
As far as the fights themselves are concerned, UFC 94 provided a mixed bag. Much has been said of the uncommon occurrence that eight of the ten scheduled bouts lasted from bell to bell, with more than half of those contests being disputed by the judges, but, in agreement with Kenny Florian’s comments made on an MMA Live telecast on ESPN.com following the broadcast, this is a good thing. While I do not expect many more events to have this many decisions, the fact that fighters are taking more cerebral approaches to their fights has certainly made them less susceptible to flash finishes. Not only will this factor—should it steadily continue—contribute to the emergence of MMA into the mainstream as an acceptable and even commonplace sport, but the occurrence of said knockouts or submissions will garner more attention and acclaim for whoever can pull them off, while at the same time easing the fears of hardcore fans that MMA is headed the same direction as boxing, something that will never happen from a physical competition standpoint, nevermind promotional politics that probably will arise.
Disappointed or not, UFC 94 was and is good for the sport of MMA. No freak shows, no controversy—excepting an unfortunate Vaseline-slick complaint filed by Penn’s camp following the bout—and the emergence, or perhaps rediscovery would be a better word, of the UFC’s greatest fighter.
If that doesn’t get you excited for the coming year in MMA, take the words of Octagon commentator Joe Rogan when he assures us, “He’s only getting better.”
By Steven T. Kelliher
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer