UFC 107 preview
UFC 107 will take place on December 12 in Memphis, Tennessee. The main event will feature UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn (14-5) versus the challenger Diego Sanchez (21-2).
Penn beat Kenny Florian in his last match and is back where he belongs - the top spot and king of the UFC lightweight division. It looks like no one can beat Penn. He has the best stand-up and ground game in the 155-lb division.Diego Sanchez earned this title shot against Penn after reeling off four straight wins. Sanchez beat Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson to claim number one contender status.
BJ “The Prodigy” Penn
BJ Penn was coming off a loss to welterweight champ George St. Pierre and was desperate to show that he is still one of the best fighters in the UFC. Penn completely controlled and dominated his next fight against Kenny Florian. When motivated, BJ Penn is a top three MMA fighter but when he takes training lightly he is just robbing the fans of a display of how great BJ Penn really is.
Coming into this fight, does BJ Penn still have the fire to stay the king of the lightweight division? We don’t need to point out that Penn has every advantage imaginable over Sanchez - better striking, proven ground game, dangerous knees and experience. But is he motivated?
Penn will keep the fight standing up where he has the distinct advantage in striking. Sanchez is a warrior and will stupidly trade with Penn. Sanchez doesn’t have the power to bother Penn.
It’s worth repeating that GSP has laid the blueprint for beating BJ Penn. It is up to Sanchez to execute it. He can start by pretending to strike then shooting for the takedown.
Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez
Sanchez must catch Penn off guard and try to inflict as much damage as possible with ground-and-pound. This is the only strategy we see Sanchez can be effective in. He would get destroyed trying to box Penn.Sanchez is smart by not riling Penn up by saying anything disrespectful. Florian did this before his fight with Penn and look what happened to him - Penn was arguably in the best shape of his life in that fight and proceeded to dominate Florian. Sanchez is hoping that Penn might show-up out of shape because of lack of motivation. He is playing it pretty quiet by not trash talking the trash talker.Penn and Sanchez both fought Florian and Stevenson. Sanchez TKO’ed Florian and scored a unanimous decision against Stevenson. Penn dominated Florian and Stevenson. Sanchez needs to execute his gameplan perfectly in order to beat the king of the lightweight division or else he’s going to have a long night eating fists and knees. Sanchez must survive Penn’s strong start and wear him down in the subsequent rounds by mixing up his stand-up and ground games.
Frank Mir (12-4) vs Cheick Kongo (19-5)
This is a must-win fight for Mir if he wants to stay in the thick of the UFC heavyweight division. Congo will also be fighting to make-up for his recent loss to Cain Velasquez.The winner of this bout will be next in line for a title shot after Shane Carwin.
Kongo has a great standing game and possesses the power to knock out Mir. Mir should fight smart and take him to the ground because Kongo has one of the worst ground games in the UFC. Kongo should start strong and finish the fight fast before Mir even takes him to the mat.
Mir will win this fight because of his experience but don’t be surprised to see Kongo score a quick knockout.
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