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Mik

UFC 94 - Georges St. Pierre vs. BJ Penn II

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Not that this carries any kind of weight but the Sherdog Pro's Picks was the closest I've ever seen, 15-14 in favor of GSP. Of course Matt Lindland's vote shouldn't count because he freely admits it's a pro-American bias.

 

Pardon me for a moment, I'm just going to replay Vitor housing him in my mind

 

*Replay*

 

Mmmmm....yeah. That's good stuff.

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Well this is certainly not good news if true.....

 

Las Vegas — UFC welterweight Karo Parisyan has not competed inside the Octagon since a second round TKO loss to Thiago Alves at UFC Fight Night 13 last April. The native Armenian had been scheduled to return this past October at UFC 91 against Yoshiyuki Yoshida but the bout word spread just prior to weigh-ins that the bout had been scrapped after it was determined that Parisyan “was in no condition to fight.”

 

Scheduled once again to return this Saturday at UFC 94 in a televised bout against South Korean fighter Dong Hyun Kim, there are now questions yet again as to whether Parisyan might be scratched. FiveOuncesOfPain.com learned earlier this week that multiple agents had been approached by the UFC in an attempt to secure a standby replacement in the event Parisyan arrived to Las Vegas in no condition to compete.

 

On the heels of that revelation comes a report by MMAMania.com that welterweight competitor Rick Story has been enlisted to stand by for a possible fight vs. Kim in the event that Parisyan is either forced to withdraw from UFC 94 or decides to pull out.

 

As of Thursday afternoon, FiveOuncesOfPain.com had communicated with a source close to the fight that had indicated current expectations were that Parisyan would be able to compete but that the UFC was simply looking to have some insurance in order to prepare for any last minute issues.

 

Parisyan, 18-5, has stated on the record in past interviews that he suffers from panic attacks and that the condition has impacted his ability to prepare properly for fights. At the time of the revelation, the 26-year old had indicated that he was treating the condition with medication.

 

If Story’s services are not utilized on Saturday, there is a good chance he could compete for the promotion during a future event. With a record of 7-2 and notable wins over Brandon Melendez, Jake Ellenberger, and Ryan Healy, Story is considered to be one of the top welterweight prospects currently not fighting in the UFC.

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Tong has made his GSP dislike known. No way that's a balanced assessment.

 

The breakdown I posted? It's actually pretty well put-together, and though I don't agree with all of it, it's easily one of the best breakdowns I've read on any fight. It's also especially good in the way it breaks down the odds for the fight. The irony is that I actually disagree with the guy's pick for the fight: I'm leaning towards GSP via Unanimous JD. Of course, I'm rooting heavily for BJ and will gloat endlessly should he win.

 

 

I tend to agree with the thinking of the reviewer that you C&Ped. I like GSP, but I do not think he can KO Penn, I do think Penn could get a TKO on GSP. I think GSP would be more favored if it went to the judges, but Penn could take a decision too. Was a good review of the fight.

 

That would suck for Kim, not that a victory over Parisyan means what it used too, but it would still be better than one over a stand-in.

 

 

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I think Penn can TKO GSP but I'm not 100% sold on it. He took hard shots from Penn in the first and wasn't even wobbled and while Penn's boxing has improved since their fight it's not like he's all of a sudden shown one-punch KO powers in the Pulver/Joe/Sherk fights.

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Well you just shit-talked your way out of a rundown. TFB.

 

You going to be an emotional little baby??? C'mon Lei Tong, you know it's all love. I just have a different way of showing it!

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Not that this carries any kind of weight but the Sherdog Pro's Picks was the closest I've ever seen, 15-14 in favor of GSP. Of course Matt Lindland's vote shouldn't count because he freely admits it's a pro-American bias.

 

Nate Marquardt's opinion doesn't count either then.

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Then I guess none of the Hawaiian's do either.

 

My point is that Lindland is a fucking tool because he always sides with the American fighter. He'd pick Justin McCully over Fedor due to Yankee bias.

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I don't really see GSP knocking out or submitting Penn, but I can see Penn doing both to GSP. If GSP wins, it's in a Hughes-esque beatdown situation for the TKO. Though, to be completely honest, I have no idea where I get notion that Penn can KO Rush. Penn has only knocked out guys who are much smaller than GSP (Din, Sherk, Uno) and even then he hasn't KO'd a ton of people. Not to mention Penn had GSP blind in one eye and though he did a lot of facial damage, he didn't have Georges rocked or anything.

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Well, ANYONE could do it. But look at the percentages. How many fights has GSP been in where he has been rocked? Where and how did he get hit? Has he done anything to correct his error? Then look at BJ and see how many times he has failed to KO opponents who are much worse than Georges. And, of course, look to their own fight where Penn failed to KO Georges despite GSP being unable to see very well for the entire round. Very low percentage chance of a KO happening. Odds are way closer to this going to a decision. It seems like GSP's chin* is going to dog him like BJ's cardio.

 

(*Loose meaning of the term)

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After watching all three of the primetime specials, I have to say that having commercial breaks really kill the flow of the show. For those that watched the De La Hoya/Mayweather 24/7 it was nice to have the full 30 minutes for each episode.

 

 

As for my pick in the main event:

 

BJ Penn by submission after getting taken down by GSP, Rnd 3.

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Yeah, especially by round 3 when both guys are sweaty and BJ's tireder. It's rare to see anyone get a Rd3 submission, let alone anyone getting one on a top fighter like Georges. Penns bread and butter is his RNC. He'd have a better chance doing what he did to Matt Hughes and tapping St. Pierre that way.

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Also, this card is pretty swank. The main event has taken the spotlight away from Bonnar/Jones (which I am looking forward to), Guida vs. Diaz (which is awesome!), and Lyoto vs. Thiago (I like watching Lyoto fight, and it's always interesting to see how guys approach him.) Then there is Karo/Stun Gun, Tavares/Manny, and Gono/Fitch. Hopefully this won't make like other good-on-paper UFC cards and disappoint.

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Are you saying John Hackelman is wrong?!

 

I'll give Mike the benefit the of the doubt and assume he meant from a reversal or sweep on a scramble resulting from the takedown.

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St. Pierre def. Penn via Unanimous JD

- I think that despite the talk of GSP's improved striking and reach advantage, he'll largely avoid striking with BJ as much as he can. He showed in the Serra rematch that he knows when to play it safe, and while BJ is a great jitz-player, St. Pierre probably realizes that he can control BJ on the mat as long as he sticks to tight, Nova Uniao-style top control whilst avoiding dangerous scrambles. He'll use his striking mainly to keep BJ off-balance on the feet with jabs and low kicks to set up his takedowns. I think BJ can take a round here or there based on his takedown defense, combined with more aggressive stand-up and good-enough takedown defense (as in, being able to fight off a couple of shots, here and there). However, despite St. Pierre not striking well off the back foot, I think BJ attempting to take advantage via dirty boxing exchanges will simply feed into GSP's desire for a takedown. In the end, I see GSP chipping away at BJ for the most of the fight, racking up points in between spurts of offense from BJ.

 

Machida def. Silva via TKO, Rd.2

- I simply don't see Silva bringing anything to this fight that Ryoto won't be able to handle. The promise he held coming into the UFC has yet to be realized, with both his ledger and his performances being pretty underwhelming. None of his UFC opposition has shown much skill on the ground, while his stand-up has mostly seen him look vulnerable as he looks to brawl with varying degrees of success. Both Bonnar & Franklin suffered heavily for taking aggressive approaches to fighting Machida, and that's why I see Thiago failing to see the final bell on this one: he'll simply get countered too often, and will eventually get got with a shot that'll give Machida pretty much no choice but to pounce and finish him midway through the second. BTW- when did LYOTO change from a nickname to his given name?

 

Kim def. Parisyan via TKO, Rd. 2

-My biggest upset pick on the night. Despite a rather grating personality, I love Karo, but I think he may be a bit past it already. He hasn't look especially motivated in years, and the long layoff and panic attack revelation can't help matters, either. Over the past couple of years, Karo has mostly seemed unwilling or unable to get fights to the mat, and given that Kim is a good judoka himself, I think Karo will once against be content to stand and trade. Whilst Kim didn't look great against Brown, I think it was based largely on fighting in an unfamilar style at a torid pace, which he'll avoid this time around. Kim can actually punch pretty well down the middle, which he'll find a way to utilize as Karo telegraphs his right hands.

 

 

Diaz def. Guida via submission, Rd.1

- Guida is a guy I've really had a change of heart on over the past couple of years, as he actually took the time to make improvements to his game, and added a few wrinkles to his already formidable combination of strong wrestling and bottomless cardio. However, all of that being said, this is still a very bad tyle match-up for him. On the feet, I think Guida holds the advantage in both the boxing and power departments, but Diaz' superior height, reach, kicks and comparable chin will make it hard to take full advantage of those strengths. Eventually, takedowns will simply look too irresistible. Now, Guida has indeed improved since Endo threw the jitz gauntlet down on him, but Diaz is head and shoulders above Endo in the submission department. Guida may actually get a few good punches in on the mat, but that type of aggression without the proper submission savvy behind hit will simply play right into Diaz' main strength.

 

Bonnar def. Jones via submission, Rd.1

- I'm admittedly not completely informed on Jones' MMA career, having only seen a couple of his fights, and damned if I can recall the Gusmao bout well. What I can recall, outside of good wrestling and explosiveness, is just how raw he looks. Bonnar is no world beater, but he's durable and follows the old MFS motto of "JUST WIN, BABY!" Whilst I don't think he has the wrestling to score an early takedown, I see Jones' overactive style eventually shooting himself into Bonnar, so-to-speak. Once on top, I think Bonnar will use his improved top game to quickly take advantage of Jones' inexperience off his back.

 

Fitch def. Gono via unanimous JD

- Fitch/Hironaka redux. Gono will probably make Fitch look BAD standing, countering him often. However, he's not the hardest puncher around anyway, but after the slapping debacle that may have cost him the Hardy fight, I doubt he'll be putting much behind his punches anytime soon. So, he'll essentially be point-tagging Fitch before getting taken down and pounded repeatedly. Gono's ground game is actually a bit underrated, and with Kikuta's focus on uupping his boys' BJJ over the past couple of years, I think he may be able to give Fitch a couple of Matt Hughes-esque scares. However, Fitch will simply be too big and too active to submit, as he grinds out another decision win, natch.

-O'Brien def. Wellisch via TKO, Rd.1

- Yeah, yeah, yeah... everyone knows I'm a big O'Brien fan, and despite a number of setbacks going back a good while, I still think he has a big upside. While JOB is probably never going to wow anyone with his stand-up, he still has the quick level changes to catch most HW's off guard and render that point mute. Wellisch will be no exception, and given that Christian has never been the type of guy to handle adversity well, I actually see O'Brien using his underrated positioning skills to obtain a good vantage point to drop blows for a stoppage.

 

Wilson def. Howard via Unanimous JD

- Howard's another guy I haven't been exposed to much, but from what I have seen, I don't think he has the takedowns or the refined striking he'll need to counter Wilson's game. Of course, Wilson has been blasted out before, but the odds say that he outstrikes Howard throughout.

 

Gamburyan def. Tavares via Unanimous JD

- Tavares is exactly the type of guy who doesn't seem especially likely to give Manny many problems, short of Manny running into another punching exchange with his chin out. However, Tavares isn't a striker the caliber of Emerson, and doesn't have the power to keep Manny from swarming him standing. I also think Gamburyan holds the advantage in takedowns, though Tavares has a good shot that could catch Manny if he gets too reckless, and the top game to take advantage of it. However, I see Manny controlling the bout, using his wild, swinging punches to keep Tavares discouraged wherever the fight takes place.

 

Arroyo def. Cramer via submission, Rd.2

- The only reason Im giving Cramer until the second is that you have to assume that training at ATT will give him SOME jitz. Regardless, Arroyo does what he does well enough to exploit his submission advantage before he gasses and/or Cramer has a chance to land a big shot.

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BTW, best analysis I've seen on this fight is from... Erin Toughill?

 

Erin Toughill: Yeah, this is a tough one, but I am gonna go with GSP. BJ Penn is a phenom, but I think that GSP is just going to be too big, strong and athletic for him. We know that the fighter who "looks" stronger is not the one who is better. But when you have two athletes that are very well rounded across the board, I think the bigger, naturally stronger, aggressive man will have the edge. BJ Penn's boxing is so dangerous, and GSP has his kicks. BJ has the BJJ and GSP has the wrestling. They are both great from the clinch and hard to control. I think GSP will pick his spots with his unorthodox kicking and will go for the takedowns and ground-and-pound. I think that is where GSP will impose his will on BJ. He’ll look to avoid subs from BJ and capitalize on the openings BJ gives him after trying to submit Georges. GSP will ground-and-pound the s--- out of him. This fight will go into the later rounds where BJ is known to gas. I pick GSP via TKO by ground-and-pound, round four.

 

Her's or Chris Lytles..

 

You also gotta love that this fight has gotten a lot more in-depth responses than most (or all) fights in the previous pros picks. This is definitely a fight fighters want to see as much as fans.

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Best amongst the fighters, but that's not saying much. "All things being equal, the bigger guy takes it" is a pretty widely subscribed to train of thought. I actually didn't even bother going into it the other night because I figured it was such an expected thing to bring up.

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20jr21c.gif

 

That's fucking awesome.

 

And no "fuck Karo's" either. The guy has a pretty serious condition, and I know this is fighting and everything, but we shouldn't be ignorant of how serious and chemical some of this shit can be. I hope he gets proper treatment, and that would explain a lot of the bullying attitude he has displayed in the past. I remember reading about how he broke up with a girl before a fight and spent so much time smoking cigarettes and drinking that it affected him quite a bit. He just needs to learn how to control his emotions better, as fighting involves a lot of mental toughness obviously. I wonder what he was like when he showed up, out of shape or just bat shit weird?

 

He's only 26, he's got a lot of career ahead of him. Tong what makes you think he hasn't been as dedicated to training?

 

 

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He just needs to learn how to control his emotions better...

 

Dude... he's fucking Armenian.

 

He's only 26, he's got a lot of career ahead of him. Tong what makes you think he hasn't been as dedicated to training?

 

I'm not necessarily saying that he hasn't been dedicated to his training. I'm simply saying that his performances have been relatively lackluster since the Sanchez bout. It's also easy to forget that the guy has already been fighting for ten years, so there's the possibility that a decade of fighting and/or training have taken their toll on him, despite his age.

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