UFC 94 GSP VS. Penn 2 Recap

The show opens "In memory of Helio Gracie 1913-2009."

Mike Goldberg opens the show and says both men are in their prime, world champions, future Hall of Famers and destined to go down in history. Joe Rogan is at his side to talk about Penn v. St. Pierre. Rogan says the energy in the building tonight is crazy, and people were turned away at the weigh-ins (I know that for a fact because Ed from The DRUNKCAST was one of them).

Lyoto Machida says he's proud of being undefeated, but Thiago Silva says he'll be the man to end it. BJ Penn says tonight is the biggest fight of his career. GSP says he'll fight the best BJ he's ever seen but he'll be the best GSP he's ever been and the best GSP is better than the best Penn.

Penn: "They think they're going to walk right through me and it's not going to happen." We see highlights from the first GSP v. Penn fight. Rogan notes GSP's wrestling has improved since then, and his striking was on display for five rounds against Jon Fitch. Text 1 or 2 to 88222 to GSP or Penn respectively. Next they run down Thiago Silva v. Lyoto Machida.

It seems these are the only two fights on the main card UFC wants to promote tonight, even though Diaz and Guida are of big interest to me, although Dong Hyun Kim v. Karo 'The Snore' Parisyan also gets a brief mention before they break down the Rules of the Octagon. Speaking of Diaz and Guida, they're up next!

* Nate Diaz v. Clay Guida

Guida says Diaz will learn he's a different kind of animal, a fighting machine. Diaz says he'll lay down an ass-whupping. Goldberg says Guida has learned that being exciting isn't enough, he has to win too. Guida: "I predict a second round knockout." Diaz is 23 but a veteran fighter and he beat both Kurt Pellegrino and Josh Neer in 2008. Guida is bouncing around, slapping hands with the crowd, pumped up and full of energy on his way to the Octagon. His entrance music is "My Hero" by Foo Fighters. Diaz comes out to "'Til I Collapse" by Eminem.

Goldberg notes he is a disciple of Cesar Gracie and the younger brother of Nick Diaz. Bruce Buffer is here to do the introductions, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. AND NOW, IT'S TIME. Three rounds in UFC's lightweight division. Guida is 24-6, 5'7" tall, weighs in at 156 and fights out of Johnsburg, Illinois. In the red corner Diaz is 10-2, 6'0", also 156, fighting out of Stockton, California. Our referee in charge is Yves Lavigne. Here we go!

Guida and Diaz are banging away for the first 30 seconds, but neither is landing a kill shot. Guida is definitely being the more aggressive of the two. Guida is mixing it up well throwing in occasional leg kicks, and getting his guard up to block most (but not all) of Diaz' big shots. Guida grabs a leg before the two minute mark but can't get Diaz down and lets go of it just after.

Guida fires off another leg kick but then it's Diaz who shoots in. Guida sprawls and actually ends up on top of Diaz in guard. This pops the crowd. Diaz stands up with Guida on his back, Guida takes him back down with a full nelson, transitions to a side control and peppers Diaz with elbows. Diaz gets to his side and gets back up again. Rogan notes that might be the first full nelson in UFC history. Guida slams Diaz back down when he gets up again, Diaz gets to his knees, and Guida takes his back with 20 seconds to go in round one. Diaz looks like he just wants to to survive but fires off a few shots right as time expires. Guida's corner immediately tells him he won the round and we get a replay of Guida's big slam on Diaz.

Round two is underway and Diaz already has some swelling under his eyes. Diaz attempts a hip throw but can't complete it. Diaz bulls him up against the fence 30 seconds into the round and tries to sweep the feet but Guida is defending well. Guida gets a body lock and reverses position, and now Diaz is up against the cage with Guida trying to shoot on him. Guida fires in knees. St. Pierre is winning the text vote on cell 60 to 40%. It's become a chess match on the feet with each man looking for for a takedown or defending.

We hear Clay's corner call for knees to the body and he obeys. Guida goes for a takedown, momentarily loses position, then seconds later takes Diaz' back. We're over halfway through the round. They discuss Guida's last win in Omaha on commentary (and I was lucky enough to be covering it cageside for Wrestling Observer). Diaz goes for a takedown but Guida takes his back in the process. Guida transitions from North-South to Diaz' back and Rogan says he's like a little pitbull that just won't let go. Diaz throws Guida down and ends up with Guida mounting him. Diaz wants a triangle but doesn't have enough time to cinch anything up before the round ends. This round is a lot harder to call than R1. Our friend Krunch says 2-0 for Guida but I can see it being a round apiece.

Guida and Diaz are both firing away shots and leg kicks to start the third round. Diaz finally manages to catch Guida with a good left right combo that he's unable to block, then tries to push Guida up into the fence. Guida escapes and immediately covers to block any shots. Diaz is starting to openly mock Diaz by holding his arms up and begging Guida to come in on him. Guida is having to back away and prevent being tagged with more shots. Guida finally goes for the legs and works away on a takedown, which is certainly better than eating any more blows to the face. Diaz gets a warning for grabbing the cage.

Guida may be opting to take his back instead - it could go either way. Diaz tries to sweep and just puts Clay right on his back in the process. Guida gets the takedown, Diaz gives up his back again. Guida gets Diaz back down to the ground again with 50 seconds left in the fight. Diaz hasn't done anything of note since halfway through R3. Krunch says it may be a split decision with Guida winning but at least 1 judge giving Diaz rounds two and three. It's a strong possibility.

Bruce Buffer: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN AFTER 3 ROUNDS WE GO TO THE JUDGES' SCORECARDS. 29-28, DIAZ. 29-28 GUIDA. NELSON HAMILTON SCORES IT 29-28 FOR THE WINNER BY SPLIT DECISION: CLAY 'THE CARPENTER' GUIDA. Guida thanks the fans, his camp, asks for a couple of seconds to get his breath, notes it wasn't a pretty win but he's going straight to the top of the lightweight division and he's fighting for all the carpenters and all the troops overseas. Guida puts over all the people in the back. Rogan puts over Guida and he gets in one more LOOK OUT I'M COMING to his fellow lightweights.

We see Penn and St. Pierre walking through the halls backstage earlier then go to a promo package for UFC 95: Sanchez v. Stevenson airing from the O2 Arena in London. We also see Machida getting taped up backstage and Silva getting warmed up for their fight.

* Karo 'The Snore' Parisyan v. Dong Hyun Kim

I'm cheering for the Donger in this fight - that's all I have to say. Kim is 11-0-1, 6'1", 171 pounds, fighting out of Busan, South Korea. Parisyan is 26-5, 5'10", 170 pounds and fighting out of North Hollywood. Our referee in charge is Josh Rosenthal. Here we go!

Kim rides Parisyan's back for the first couple of minutes. Parisyan nearly gets caught in an armbar or a leg triangle, briefly ends up on top when Kim can't hold on, Parisyan gives up his back again, and both men are on their feet throwing knees and strikes at each other right as round one comes to a close.

Much like Diaz in the first fight, every time Parisyan goes for a throw Kim takes his back. Parisyan is also having a hard time keeping his mouthpiece in - he lost it during round one and it came out again here in round two. The voting is now 56-44 for GSP. Parisyan did get a really nice throw that popped the crowd but was unable to do anything to Kim afterwards and Kim ends up back to his feet and the two men break clean at 1:20.

Ref calls for time and tells Parisyan to keep his mouthpiece in - if he drops it one more time he'll dock him a point. It's southpaw vs. southpaw for the last minute as both men look for a striking advantage. Rogan and Goldberg discuss the merits of molded mouthpieces as the round draws to a close.

Karo gets another warning in the first minute of round three. Kim is outgrappling him but Parisyan manages to reverse and push him up against the fence, firing in knees. At 90 seconds Kim switches him right back. The fight just stalemates for the rest of the round to the point the live crowd is boring when the horn for round three finally sounds.

Bruce Buffer: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN AFTER 3 ROUNDS WE GO TO THE JUDGES' SCORECARDS FOR A DECISION. WEEKS 29-28, PARISYAN. CROSBY 29-28 KIM. ROSALES SCORES IT 29-28 FOR THE WINNER BY SPLIT DECISION: KARO 'THE SNORE' PARISYAN. More well deserved boos from the crowd. No interview afterwards. THANK YOU UFC. After that fight he doesn't deserve one.

* Stephan Bonnar v. Jon Jones

Sorry for the lack of updates during the first two rounds - the server got hammered and we had to do a reboot. To be perfectly honest you didn't miss much. The story of the fight is Jones with a spinning back elbow that nearly knocked Bonnar out in round one, and some nice Greco-Roman throws by Jones in round two. Rogan is convinced Bonnar needs to do something big in R3 to pull it out on any judge's card. That's not happening.

Even though Bonnar gets in a nice strike here or there Jones seems to take him to the ground whenever he wants. Bonnar tries a triangle from the bottom but Jones pops out of it with 2:20 left to go in the round. We grind it out to the horn, at which point Bonnar looks gassed and Jones looks like he could go two more rounds. Both Krunch and I are predicting a uni decision for Jones, and I'm calling it 30-27 on one card and 29-28 on two.


Here's Bruce Buffer: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN AFTER 3 ROUNDS WE GO TO THE JUDGES' SCORECARDS. BYRD 30-27, SILVER 29-28, PEOPLES 29-28 JON 'BONES JONES. No postfight interview here either although Jones impressed me enough that I would have actually liked to hear what he had to say. Machida v. Silva is next, but first this promo for the brand new UFC trading cards from Topps!

* Lyoto Machida v. Thiago Silva

As this PPV is grinding to a screeching halt I took the time to text our DRUNKCAST host Ed in San Antonio to ask if the undercard was better than the main event. He says the undercard was HORRIBLE and the only highlight was Gono's entrance, "The greatest entrance in the history of fighting." If it's anything like his fight entrance for Japanese bouts I have no doubt about it. Machida gets a footsweep takedown in R1 after a restart for an inadvertant groin shot. Both fighters are quickly back to their feet at 90 seconds. On Facebook, Oliver Copp says out of 8 fights so far, all 8 have gone to decision. YIKES.

Silva purposefully goes to the ground hoping Machida will jump into his guard. After 20-30 seconds of watching he finally does, but they stand up with about 90 to go in R1. You can see Chuck Liddell and Jay Glazer are watching at cageside and they look bored as fuck. Machida hits a hard shot, briefly has full mount, gets to his feet then takes Silva's back. Machida gets a trip with 3 seconds left in the round, hits two hard headshots right before the round expires, and Silva can't respond or get up so the ref waves the fight done. IT IS ALL OVER; MACHIDA WINS BY KO AT THE END OF R1.

Silva has a huge shiner on his face when he finally gets up. We get a replay of the shot that laid him out cold and the second one that followed right at the horn. We also see Machida jumping to the top of the cage. OFFICIAL TIME 4:59 OF R1 VIA KO FOR LYOTO 'THE DRAGON' MACHIDA. Machida is interviewed through a translator but speaks in english in response. "I'm very happy to be here. Thiago is a tough guy but today I was better than him. I love my fans. When I fight here, I feel home." The crowd is thrilled, probably because it's the only knockout they've seen all night. "People, do I deserve the title shot?" BIG POP. "I'm here! Whoever, whatever!" Rogan calls for more applause and we see Frank Mir in the crowd watching the fight.

* Georges St. Pierre v. BJ Penn (GSP's Welterweight Title Is On The Line)

Oddly enough after a night of fights that went long they're now actually having to STALL for time since Machida scored the quick KO and they're not ready to start the five round title fight yet. They can't bonus a fight in even if they wanted to since they're all 15 minutes long. Rogan and Goldberg run down the strengths and weaknesses of both men. BJ Penn comes out to his Hawaiian music and the crowd is ecstatic that it's time for the main event.

I need to get Penn's song on iTunes but I don't even know what it's called (e-mail steviej@angrymarks.com if you can fill me in). They were happy to see The Prodigy, but they're THRILLED to see Rush. GSP breaks into a half sprint coming through the entrance then slows down for his walk to the ring, but still has a big bounce in his step until he stops to peel off the handband and warmup robe. GSP has a 6" reach advantage but otherwise their stats are similar. Buffer says two champions have entered the proving grounds to do battle for the second time. Our referee in charge is Herb Dean and the fight is sponsored by Bud Light. Penn is 13-4-1, 5'9", 168 pounds. He's the UFC Lightweight Champion but he's going up in weight to challenge GSP. The Welterweight Champion is 17-2, 5'10", 170 pounds even.

This crowd is going BANANAS. Even Buffer is having a hard time being heard over the din of the audience, and after the fighters' names are announced it gets even louder. Dean reminds both men to protect themselves and follow his instructions at all times. HERE WE GO!

Round one is underway! GSP tries to bull Penn up against the fence but Penn is defending well, although GSP seems to be outmuscling him. Near the one minute mark he looks for a single leg. Dean warns GSP several times not to grab the shorts. Penn avoids the takedown and looks for a leg trip of his own even as he's back up right in front of the NO EXPLODE. GSP looks for a single leg at the two minute mark. Still nothing. They break apart and exchange strikes.

They clinch up again with 2:15 left, he goes for a single leg a third time, but Penn has tremendous balance and it just doesn't seem like GSP is going to be able to take him down in R1. As far as "Octagon control" goes though he may be outscoring Penn regardless of takedowns. Near the one minute mark GSP tags Penn with a couple of good head shots. 45 seconds left and GSP grinds him up against the fence again, then breaks away with 30. Hard leg kick by GSP. 10 seconds. GSP hits a little dirty boxing in the clinch before they separate and R1 ends. I give it 10-9 to GSP.

Goldberg wonders whether Penn will try to establish the jab in R2, and he does manage to catch GSP with a left. GSP pushes him up against the fence with a clinch and the crowd seems mildly unpleased. Penn tries to grab a muay thai clinch but can't hold on. GSP finally gets the takedown he was looking for and Penn immediately pulls guard. GSP hits a few nice elbows. GSP stands up straight and rains a few strikes down the pipe then moves to side control at the two minute mark. GSP jabs away from side control but Penn stays calm. Big knee to the midsection and more headshots as we come up on 3 minutes gone.

GSP looks much more dominant in R2. The crowd cheers when Penn gets back to guard even though GSP clocked him in the process and throws down a few nice headshots afterwards. Penn is just taking his time looking for an escape, but one wonders how much damange he can take in the process. GSP throws more heavy hands and passes to side control again. BJ uses jailbreak to get back to guard but the crowd is chanting G-S-P. BJ appears to have a small cut under his right eye. Round ends with GSP on top in ground'n'pound. 10-9 bordering on 10-8 for GSP.

Penn looks a little tired and his face looks slightly swollen at the start of R3. GSP looks crisp and starts jabbing and throwing leg kicks right as the round starts. BJ's nose is bleeding. GSP is actually getting the better of the jab in the early going of this round. GSP clinches, pushes Penn to the fence, and after a bit of a scramble he gets another takedown. Penn has one of the best takedown defense skillsets of anybody in MMA but GSP is almost having his way with Penn since the start of R2. Penn needs some help here or GSP needs to make a huge mistake, and coincidentally Goldberg notes you never want to mess around when you're in Penn's guard as we hit the halfway point.

With two minutes to go Penn finally scrambles back to his feet and now he's looking to talk GSP down. GSP reverses him into the fence and fires a knee from the clinch. Herb Dean calls for more work and GSP responds with another takedown with 75 to go in R3. Some nice short jabs and a big elbow. The ground is not BJ Penn's friend so far tonight. Penn is starting to look less "calm" and more "perplexed" at his inability to make anything happen. Once again the round ends with GSP on top looking dominant.

And WE'RE BACK for round four. Even Rogan notes now that Penn is looking discouraged. GSP continues to jab away and gets his easiest takedown of the fight so far at 30 seconds. Goldberg notes he's literally doing whatever he feels like. GSP passes to side and lands some nasty elbows. Rogan: "Penn is getting BATTERED." Dean issues a warning for shots to the back of the head. At 3:15 Dean says no more shots to the back of the head or he'll stand them up. BJ tries to escape but GSP uses his hips to secure side control.

GSP wisely switches to hammerfists to avoid more warnings. Dean warns Penn he needs to do more to fight back. Penn keeps trying to roll but has nowhere to go - St. Pierre is smothering him. Everytime BJ tries to roll or escape GSP gets control back within seconds and goes back to side control. There's no doubt GSP is avoiding being docked a point now and just using his dominant position to land as many shots to the face as he can. Penn gets warned again at 30 seconds and this could be stopped. Penn survives to the horn BUT BARELY.

IT IS ALL OVER. Neither Penn nor his brother is willing for BJ to get battered for a fifth round. It may even be that GSP will record a victory by TKO due to doctor's stoppage at the end of R4. BRUCE BUFFER MAKES IT OFFICIAL - TKO BY VIRTUE OF DOCTOR STOPPING THE FIGHT AT THE END OF R4 FOR THE WINNER AND STILL WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION GEORGES 'RUSH' ST. PIERRE. GSP: "I've been training since September. I had a lot of pressure. Last time I won in a decision, this time I wanted to take him out and I'm glad I did it. He was really tough.

First I want to say BJ Penn is a world champ in BJJ. He's got very quick hand and his shoulder is made for boxing. Therefore I made him wrestle the first two rounds." Rogan wants to know what's next. "I think you're right, Thiago Alves is the #1 contender. I want to fight the best guy in the sport. Thiago is next. I have a lot of respect for him, it's gonna be a good fight."

Alves steps into the Octagon. "Georges congratulations on a tremendous performance. I'm looking forward, I'm the #1 contender, I hope I get it done." Rogan thanks GSP and says one more time give it up for the Welterweight Champion. We get a replay of Machida's KO, which is also the "Turning Point of the Night." Rogan says Machida is a perfect future challenger for 205. We see shots of GSP going through the crowd, hugging fans and signing autographs.

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