Cardio Freak MMA News Report 01.25.10: Best In The World

Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 01.25.2010

This week in Cardio Freak: A look at BJ Penn, why he's the best fighter in the world, and how he matches up against top fighters in other weight classes. Plus thoughts on Brock Lesnar's return and a preview of Strikeforce: Miami featuring two title fights, a fan stand up battle, and two Strikeforce debuts that no one cares about. It will last longer than Herschel Walker's MMA career, it's Cardio Freak on 411.



Headline News

Last week I wrote the following, "just based on skills vs. other opponents, (BJ) Penn is the best fighter in the world."

A reader was not happy with this comment. He could not believe that I would proclaim BJ Penn as the best fighter in the world when Anderson Siva, Lyoto Machida, Fedor Presented by M-1 Global, and Georges St. Pierre haven't lost in years while Penn just lost to GSP almost one year ago. "Pound 4 Pound there is no way BJ Penn is the best fighter in the world", the e-mail stated.

I guess I didn't explain myself well enough and for that I apologize. First off, I don't believe in ranking fighters. Months ago Jonathan Solomon, the man who puts together the 411 Fighter Rankings and does an excellent job in doing so, started posting the writers individual rankings along with the final list. You'll notice that I'm always absent from the individual rankings because I know if I participate then I'll get very upset at anyone who disagrees with my list because my opinion is never wrong. The toughest rankings to do are pound for pound because you're ranking fighters based on who they've fought in their division and how their competition ranks against other fighters and who they've fought and how their competition ranks. Pound for pound Fedor was number one for years but is now anywhere between one and four despite never losing fight. That doesn't make much sense to me.



So what exactly did I mean when I said, "based on skills vs. other opponents, Penn is the best fighter in world"?

It's simple really. At least I thought it was. If you take Penn's skills and match him up against any fighter in the world and their skills, I believe BJ Penn is the best in the world. Basically you take away weight classes and put everyone at the same weight. It essentially takes away any physical advantage that plays a big part in MMA. I'm looking at only skills and nothing else.

BJ Penn has the skills to beat any fighter in the world. His chin is granite, his boxing is excellent, he has power in his hands, his takedown defense and balance is legendary, and his ground game is the best in the world.

Let me take this a step further and match up Penn against the best fighters in the respective weight classes:



BJ Penn vs. Fedor Presented by M-1 Global: Fedor's strengths are that he hits really hard, has a strong Sambo background, has excellent submission defense, and is generally well-rounded. His weakness' are that his punches come from loopy angles and his takedown defense. With Penn's incredible takedown defense and balance it would be tough for Fedor to put him on his back (remember, he has no size or strength advantage). That means the fight would likely stay on the feet. Fedor has the power to knock out anyone but I won't believe Penn can be KO'd until it happens. Penn also has the best jab in MMA and every time Fedor winds up to throw one of those loopy punches, he'll likely eat a stinging jab. I don't think Penn can finish Fedor because his survival ability is legendary but I do think he can jab out strike him en route to a decision.

BJ Penn vs. Lyoto Machida: Machida is the more well-rounded striker and has good takedown defense. When they fought in 2005, Machida won the decision but Penn put up a hell of a fight despite fighting three weight classes above his usual division. In that fight he did a good job of getting inside, clinching with Machida, and tried to make it a Randy Couture type fight. I think he would do much of the same the second time around only this time he wouldn't be bloated or be at a 29 pound size disadvantage (Machida fought at 220, Penn fought at 191). If Penn is able to clinch with Machida then it's very possible that Penn takes him down and works his ground game for a submission victory.

BJ Penn vs. Anderson Silva: This would seem like the easiest fight for Penn. On the feet he wouldn't stand a chance. Again, I don't believe Penn can be KO'd until I see it but if anyone can do it, it would be Anderson Silva. As good as Penn's boxing is, Silva's boxing is better and Silva uses a more variety of strikes. Silva has one giant weakness though and that's his takedown defense. Even though Penn isn't a great wrestler, his wrestling is certainly good enough to get Silva to the ground and from there it would be all Penn. Silva is a black belt in BJJ but there's a difference between just being a black belt and being BJ Penn. I don't think Silva would survive very long with Penn on top of him.

BJ Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre: GSP holds two victories over Penn. The first was a close decision victory and the second one was a dominating ass kicking. I believe the size and strength of St. Pierre played a lot into both victories. Just on skills though GSP is the toughest fight for Penn. On top of having the best wrestling in MMA he's extremely well-rounded.

Quick tangent. Last week I wrote that Josh Koscheck has the most explosive wrestling in the Welterweight division and a reader questioned me by thinking I had forgotten about St. Pierre. Obviously I didn't. I believe GSP has the best MMA wrestling because on top of being explosive he's great at using his striking to set up the takedown and using his timing to duck under his opponents strikes in order to get a takedown. That's great MMA wrestling. As far as just explosiveness, meaning just shooting a double or single leg with no striking set up or counter, I'll take Koscheck narrowly over St. Pierre.

With size and strength being equal I don't think either man is able to put the other on their back. That means things would turn into a striking contest and if that were to happen, I like Penn's power and chin over St. Pierre's. Of course GSP could out strike Penn en route to a decision but I tend to favor someone like Penn on the feet (great hands, great power, amazing chin) over someone like GSP (great striking, good power, solid chin).



A combination of all four fighters is what is needed to defeat Penn. Fedor's chin/recovery ability and submission defense, Silva's striking and power, St. Pierre's wrestling, and Machida's luck with the judges. When someone like that comes around at Lightweight, that's when we'll see BJ Penn be defeated in that weight class. Until that time the only fighters who will beat Penn are fighters who are not only really good fighters but also have a distinct physical advantage over him.

Major UFC/WEC News



On January 20, Brock Lesnar announced that he is healthy and ready to return to the Octagon in the summer. His first fight will be against the winner of Shane Carwin vs. Frank Mir.

I'm glad Lesnar is healthy and ready to go. He described his recovery as a "miracle" and he's had to make major changes in his diet in order to avoid this happening again. I guess that means no more Coors Light. Lesnar was reportedly fighting at less than 100% in the past but thanks to this "miracle" and a new diet, he'll be better than ever. That's not scary at all.

The rumor is that he'll be ready to go by UFC 114 in May but I don't think that's when he'll make his return. That date would only give the Mir vs. Carwin winner two months to prepare after they have their fight in March. I just don't see them taking the fight two months after their fight because there's a major risk of over-training, especially for Mir who would be competing in his third fight in seven months. The more likely date is July in Vegas or August in Boston. That timeframe allows him and his opponent enough time to get in a full training camp and be ready to go.

Despite Lesnar announcing that he'll be back, the fight between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin is still for the Interim Heavyweight title. I've never been a fan of the Interim title and it's essentially useless when you know that the Interim champions next fight is against the real champion. The only reason for it is to have the fight as a five round fight, which if that's the case then they should just make every #1 contenders fight five rounds.

Major Strikeforce/Miscellaneous News



Strikeforce: Miami is this Saturday, January 30. The event will air live on Showtime. Here is the card:

*Strikeforce Welterweight Title Fight: Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis
*Strikefore Womens Title Fight: Cris "Cyborg" Santos © vs. Marloes Coenen
*Robbie Lawler vs. Melvin Manhoef
*Bobby Lashley vs. Wes Sims
*Herschel Walker vs. Greg Nagy

If you forgot about this event, I can't say I blame you as Diaz apparently forget about it as well when trying to promote it on a recent conference call.

The main event is intriguing though. Zaromskis comes to America with a lot of hype behind him thanks to an impressive run in DREAM that saw him capture the DREAM Welterweight title. I like Zaromskis and I think he's a good fighter but it's tough for me to pick him against Diaz. Zaromskis is an explosive striker with KO power but Diaz has an excellent chin/recovery ability. We all know about Diaz' striking. He throws 500 strikes per round with little power but by the third round you're so tired of getting hit that the fight goes to the ground and you get finished. Diaz has an excellent ground game and although Zaromskis has never been submitted, he's also never faced a guy with Diaz' level of grappling ability. If the fight stays on the feet, and it likely will because that's Zaromskis' strength and Diaz isn't afraid to strike with anyone even though it's not always the smartest move, then it should be a hell of a scrap. I favor Diaz simply because he's fought and beat good competition while Zaromskis has never fought good competition.

I fear for the life of Marloes Coenen. She looked impressive in Chicago against Roxanne Modafferi but I don't know how anyone can pick against Santos right now unless she's facing Erin Toughill. Santos is a lot like the PRIDE version of Wanderlei Silva. She's bigger than a lot of her opponents and she fights like an insane woman looking to killer whoever stands in her way. Coenen is a submission grappler though and Santos' career loss was via kneebar so there's a chance that Coenen pulls off a huge upset but I don't see it happening.

Manhoef vs. Lawler could be a really fun stand up battle or you typical Manhoef vs. Grappler fight. Lawler seems like an egotistical fighter so I think he'll stand with Manhoef in order to try and prove a point. The point he'll end up proving is that Manhoef is a scary man on his feet because if he tries to trade strikes with the Dutch kickboxer, he'll go to sleep. Lawler isn't a great wrestler but he trains with Matt Hughes at the HIT squad and I don't think Manhoef has ever trained wrestling or submission in his life. I'm picking Manhoef to win though just because I don't think Lawler will try to get things to the ground.



Does anyone really care about Lashley vs. Sims or Walker vs. Nagy? Didn't think so.

I want Bobby Lashley to succeed in MMA but I have no interest in him if he continues to fight guys like Wes Sims. I understand bringing him along slowly but don't make him a large focus of the event and then have him fight someone like Wes Sims. The same goes for Herschel Walker. If you're going to put these guys on the poster and have them do media rounds, make sure they're fighting guys who the people want to see or have a future in the sport. Wes Sims, as much as I love his personality and antics, isn't a good fighter and I'd be shocked if Greg Nagy ever became anything more than a mid-level fighter at best. If Lashley and Walker win. Great. They beat guys no one cares about and guys who most people know aren't very good. If they lose then it just proves that they're farces in MMA and Strikeforce has wasted their time promoting them.

Lashley should roll through Sims. He'll take him down, beat the hell out of him, and the ref will stop it. It will look impressive and essentially mean nothing.

I don't know what to expect for Herschel Walker. Some people think I've been harsh on Walker as of late but I don't agree. I respect that Walker is trying his hand at MMA and that he's training at American Kickboxing Academy, which shows that he's at least trying. He's reportedly in great shape and a physical freak of nature but he's 47 years old and spent his entire physical prime as a NFL running back, a position with the shortest shelf life in all of pro sports because of how much abuse your body takes, and he's trying MMA for the first time. In recent interviews he's failed to plug the show he's fighting on, the company he's fighting for and he can't remember what year he won the Heisman trophy. This is due to suffering from multiple personality disorder, which would have me worried if I were a promoter.

Walker will likely beat Nagy but I really hope he loses or doesn't look impressive. He needs to get out of the sport before he and Strikeforce think he's better than he really is, match him up against someone who actually has talent, and ends up severely injured.

Strikeforce events usually end up being good because a lot of their fights are mismatches so you get a lot impressive performances.

No More News

That does it for me folks. I'll be back next week with a preview of UFC 109 and a review of Strikeforce. Take care everyone.

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