St-Pierre vs. Penn **UPDATE**

For those who don’t know, I’m a huge UFC fan.

Big shock, right?

Tonight is the night.
The biggest rematch in UFC history.
Three years ago, Georges St-Pierre defeated BJ Penn in a controversial split decision. It was that win that made St-Pierre the number one contender for the UFC Welterweight Championship, which he has since won twice.

But there are those who thought Penn won that fight. Of course, to quote what UFC President Dana White says in nearly episode of The Ultimate Fighter, “Never let the fight go to the judges”.

So, who am I pulling for?

I love both fighters. I wish both could win, but that won’t happen.

St-Pierre has shown that as long as his head is where it needs to be, he is unstoppable. His only two losses in the UFC have come when he was admittedly unprepared. In his first loss, his only to Matt Hughes, St-Pierre was thrown into a main event position after only two UFC fights. I can’t imagine the emotions he was feeling: it’s only you’re third UFC fight, you’re in the main event (and fighting for a title) and you are fighting someone you’ve respected and admired for years. His second loss was to underdog Matt Serra, who had won the title shot by being the winner of The Ultimate Fighter. Supposedly, St-Pierre was having family/relationship problems at that time; others think he underestimated Serra. Either way, their rematch a year later was proof that when he is focused on his job, St-Pierre is unstoppable.

Whereas St-Pierre’s achilles heel is psychological, BJ Penn’s downfall has been his conditioning. In his losses to Jens Pulver (UFC 35) and Matt Hughes (UFC 63), Penn was sucking wind by the end of the second round. Will this be a factor in tonight’s fight? For the last two years Penn has been fighting as a lightweight; putting on an extra fifteen pounds could be Penn’s downfall. St-Pierre is accustomed to fighting at 170 lbs.; Penn may have grown comfortable at 155.

Who will win?

I think St-Pierre has the edge, but I’ll be happy either way.

**UPDATE**
GSP won by TKO at the end of the fourth round. BJ Penn fought great in the first round; it was practically dead even. But beginning in the second round GSP dominated the fight. Great fight though.