Diego's only two losses were to upper tear welters and he has looked pretty damn dominant in his last few fights at lightweight. People are acting like BJ has reached some type of Spider/Rush dominance :sarcastic12: .
I just dont see it.
Id say Diego probably has the best chance of dethroning penn out of all of the current lightweight crop, and at this point in time has a tremendous amount of momentum.
All im saying is I wont be surprised if the nighmare walks away with the title. :thumb02:
BJ Penn is my favorite fighter of all times. Most people on the forum know my love for Penn. But I have to agree that people aren't giving Diego enough credit. I have been wanting to see this fight for a long time now. Back when Diego and BJ were both at 170 I remember telling people on here that I was nervous about that potential match-up because I think Diego might have won back then. Now it's at 155 and I'm just pumped to see a great fight. I think Diego has a much better chance at beating Penn than some people let on, but I hope it doesn't happen.
Diego has a good chin and is an aggressive fighter, I really think he'll bring it and give Penn a fight. Thing is BJ is so incredibly well rounded that it may not be enough. Still, damn interesting fight though, looking forward to it, hopefully it wont reach a boring stalemate.
How does Diego win? He will get out-boxed by BJ and there is no way BJ gets KO'd. BJ is dangerous off his back if he gets taken down, and will very likely secure a submission if he gets top control. I really don't see Diego winning anyway besides a decision. BJ has a lot of ways he can win the fight.
Now I do see Diego putting up a good fight and laying down some punishment on BJ before he gets submitted in the 3rd round.
After this fight I do hope to see Diego and The Bully square off, that fight will have fireworks.
He doesn't have much of a chance due to BJ being better than him... at everything. BJ is the better striker, has better take down defense, has the superior ground game, has a better chin, and can out shine Diego anywhere this fight goes.
It's MMA so anything is possible (see Serra, Matt), but I just can't see a way for Diego to logically win.
Standing: Diego is a brawler with very little in the way of technical striking. BJ is one of the most technical boxers in the division. If BJ has his jab going like he did in the Sherk fight it's going to be a long night for Diego. Also don't go looking for a lucky shot, BJ's chin is epic.
Wrestling: Diego's GnP is his best weapon unfortunately for him he has poor technique on his takedowns. Even worse news is BJ has arguably the best take down defense in MMA. BJ doesn't have great take downs, but he does a good job of using his striking and timing to setup the double leg.
Grappling: BJ has the best ground game in the division by far. He's never submitted anyone from the bottom, but I don't think that's from lack of ability. He rarely goes for subs from the bottom, he just uses his excellent guard to get back to his feet. Only 2 guys have really been able to keep BJ on the ground and they were arguably the 2 best top fighters in MMA history (Hughes and GSP).
So yes, this is MMA and anything can happen, but that doesn't change the fact that Diego is rightfully a big underdog.
Toxic approves this message :thumb02:
Sums it up nicely BJ is better at every aspect and being the bigger and stronger LW isn't gonna matter when your fighting a former WW champ, BJ handed beatdowns to bigger stronger fighters than Deigeo.
Well I just don't see diego beating penn. I mean where is he better? Penn is the better striker, more powerful striker, better grappler. Sure diego might have better wrestling but I don't see him getting Bj down.
We all know that Penn is better in every aspect compared to Diego, but that can be applied to ANYONE Penn fights at LW in the UFC. The point is Diego is about as close as a LW can get to matching BJ's strengths.
The fact that i haven't heard a peep from pen since the Florian fight tells me hes motivated and training hard . And no lightweight can beat a well trained motivated Penn IMO. Diego is tough hes gonna give BJ a run but i think Penn will take it
It's as simple as BJ is just better in every area (besides wrestling) than Diego. And when Diego tries to take him down...which he eventually will be able to do in the later rounds, BJ has na insane guard (not to mention a ******* beautiful rubber guard...that he rarely uses) and he will neutralize any of Diego's GNP.
Only thing I may give to Diego is conditioning, but BJ clearly doesn't have a problem with that anymore.
I think Diego's got a good chance. I would give him a 40% chance of winning. This isn't a boxing match, Penn as much as I love him has been known to get stuck if he can't bully someone. He's fighting a fearless Diego that's relentless with a strong chin, good striking (he might not be technical as BJ but he mixes it up more than BJ), has good sub defense, and has a longer reach (BJ won't jab away so easy like Sherk and Joe). Since the drop there hasn't been a point that Diego was ever in trouble. I still think BJ is at the moment an all around better fighter but I think Diego is alot more hungry than BJ and IMO is mentally stronger. By will alone, he'll be the hardest match for BJ in LW.
I don't see anyone else taking on BJ at the moment. I think Diego is the best choice and he is such a tough guy. But i also think, that BJ is better in every singel dicipline. It's his devision, nobody will stop him there in the next couple of years.
I think Maynard probably has the best chance of anyone at beating Penn because he has the best takedowns in the division and is big and strong enough to possibly hold him down long enough to win a decision.
Penn's standup is WAY overrated. He hasn't really fought any high caliber strikers so far. He outboxed Sherk and Hughes mainly because both of them got pretty terrible reach and standup overall. Florian was winning the standup against him (not by much, but he was leading on points even though Penn wasn't getting hurt alot), GSP wrecked him standing & on ground, Pulver pretty much tooled him (on first fight, not much standup at all on second one) and many (including myself) thought Serra got screwed over by that decision against Penn too.
Yes his standup is solid, but he doesn't trow kicks and isn't as explosive as Diego is. Diego brings a whole new challenge to Penn as he can really test Penn standing and has good enough ground game and TDD to keep the fight standing unlike many who have become victims of Penn's jitsu.
With that being said though... I don't think Penn's jitsu is much better offensively than Diego's. Both rarely trow subs from bottom and on top position its mainly G&P or a simple RNC if the opponent gives them their back.
Defensively I admit Penn's guard is legendary and Im still mad at Sherk for not putting it at test. Sherk is pretty much known for his insane guard breaking skills (re: Florian fight for example) and the fact that he chose to stand with Penn pisses me off.
I agree we wont see Diego subbing Penn, but I do think Penn will get a run for his money standing, because Diego is more versatile and explosive than Penn. Im pretty sure Penn doesn't have the reach advantage either so we wont see him controlling Diego with his jab like he did against Sherk and Hughes (the above mentioned guys with low reach and bad stand up overall).
Should be good fight though, but no Diego wont be as easy fight as many Penn fans seem to think.
Penn's standup is WAY overrated. He hasn't really fought any high caliber strikers so far. He outboxed Sherk and Hughes mainly because both of them got pretty terrible reach and standup overall. Florian was winning the standup against him (not by much, but he was leading on points even though Penn wasn't getting hurt alot), GSP wrecked him standing & on ground, Pulver pretty much tooled him (on first fight, not much standup at all on second one) and many (including myself) thought Serra got screwed over by that decision against Penn too.
Yes his standup is solid, but he doesn't trow kicks and isn't as explosive as Diego is. Diego brings a whole new challenge to Penn as he can really test Penn standing and has good enough ground game and TDD to keep the fight standing unlike many who have become victims of Penn's jitsu.
Yeah but GSP was really smart about it. He wrestled and clinched BJ for the first round to get blood in his shoulders and that limited his mobility and slowed down his boxing, that's why he recked him so bad. By the way, I didn't spot this myself I'm really not that smart to do that, I watched the fight again recently and he said it post fight.
How the hell can anyone think Kenny was winning the stand up? Everytime KenFlo tried to engage he paid hard and was sent retreating with his tail between rubber leg, BJ was destroying Kenny in the stand up, he also was beating GSP pretty convingly in there first fight.
Diego has a chance unless he tries to box or grapple BJ. As long as he circles and dodges jabs, he'll do okay. But as soon as he stands and bangs with BJ, he will find himself unconcious because he is no match for BJs boxing. And as soon as he shoots in for a takedown, it will either be stuffed and end up with BJ on top or he will succeed and end up in BJs guard. Eitherway, he will find himself finished. I'm a fan of Sanchez's fighting style, don't care for him at all, but I like his aggressive, attacking style. But his style is what will get him rocked with a counter and finished on the ground.
Diego will rush in wildly in the first two minutes, get caught with a big right, and rick flair faceplant in the middle of the octagon. Then we can hear all about it at bjpenn.com. Diego has the best chance to beat BJ since Kenny had the best chance right.
For me the Florian fight was a message that BJ was sending to everyone. He is known as a guy who finishes in the first round or not at all. He let the fight go into the later rounds. Rewatch the fight and look at BJ while they are up against the cage. He isn't fighting, he is just there bored letting time tick by and his corner keeps talking about it going according to plan. Then when he wants to finish the fight within a minute he has Kenny tapping like a fool.
I think BJ wins this because the real BJ is here. The one we have been waiting for and only seen glimpses of in the past. BJ has better stand up, but both have some insane chins so I really don't expect a KO. I think this stays standing until Diego tries to take it to the ground. BJ sweeps during the TD, ends up on top and wins via RNC.
...I'm not counting Diego out but his chances are slim...
...We all know in this sport anything can happen. Diego Sanchez has to bring it like never before. I think the only way Diego can win is to try and knock B.J. out, which is nearly impossible. Penn would have to eat multiple flush shots on the chin to get dropped. It won't happen. Penn is too slick and elusive. B.J.'s takedown defense & dexterity is insane.
...Diego's best chance is to not shoot in & keep it on the feet hoping he can get Penn to gas. If B.J.'s cardio is like it was with Ken-flo, he won't gas. If it somehow goes to the ground, Sanchez is toast. Diego has very good ground skills but B.J.'s is world-class and then some. Sanchez, like Ken-flo pushes a blistering pace but I still see B.J. retaining his belt. Penn is just too damn good...:thumbsup:
How will diego beat bj? Will he be able to take him down and GnP? Will he get the better of the standup?
I think the answer to these questions is definitely NO. Diego has a great pace and phenominal cardio but I wouldnt bet on bj penn gassing anymore, he is a true champion at this point in his career.
The only chance deigo has IMO is to constantly push for TDs like kenflo did and hope to outwork him for a decision, but bj's TDD and boxing are way too good to allow this to happen. Should be a good fight though, sanchez is definitely among the top 3 LWs contenders, and is probably the best of them.
BJ's only loss in the LW division was to Jens Pulver in 2002. He has continuosly challenged himself by fighting the best at the WW level, hell he even fought Machida who outweighed him by 30 pounds. Diego's best chance is to KO him and that is highly unlikely. If Diego takes him down for GnP, BJ has shown repeated time after time that his guard is a force which most fighters cannot overcome. I think this is going to be a great fight, Diego's conditioning and prep for a fight is top level, I just don't think he has enough skills to overcome BJ.
I'm not even a Penn fan, but he's more of a nightmare at 155 than The Nightmare. A focused 155 lb BJ Penn is devastating. I don't think he'll run through Sanchez, but I don't think Sanchez can take this one unless Penn makes a fatal mistake.
I agree that people aren't giving Diego enough credit. Not to compare him to Hughes and GSP, but Sanchez does have one thing going for him -- size. Let's remember that he fought as high as 185 pounds. I think if he's worked on his takedown ability during his training and watched tape of GSP and Hughes taking Penn down, he has a chance to outmuscle Penn and toss him around.
I know Nightmare will take it. I just know he will.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Mixed Martial Arts Forum
1.9M posts
52.9K members
Since 2006
A mixed martial art forum community dedicated to the different arts of MMA. Come talk about UFC results, Bellator matches, The Ultimate Fighter and more!