411 MMA Fact or Fiction 01.26.08: UFC 80 and UFN 12 in Retrospect
Posted by Michael Huckaby on 12.31.1969
Should BJ Penn be the favorite over Sean Sherk? Will Tito Ortiz's next fight be his final one in the UFC? Does Fabricio Werdum really deserve the next HW title shot? Should Mike Swick and Josh Burkman have been a draw? All of this and more in the latest edition of 411 MMA Fact or Fiction!
And welcome back to a slightly late edition of 411 MMA Fact or Fiction. Tonight I'm going to cover UFC 80 and UFN 12 results with our local UFC event reviewer, History of the UFC's Matt McEwen. And we're off:
1. BJ Penn should be the favorite over Sean Sherk.
McEwen: FACT. After watching BJ essentially toy with a game Joe Stevenson, I think you have to make him a favorite over ANYONE at 155. That being said, Sherk has the (illegitimate?) strength, stamina and wrestling ability to stifle some of BJ's strengths, but now that BJ looks fully committed to being the best in the world, I don't see Sherk posing much of a threat. This may not be the most scientific way to evaluate them, but when you look at their shared opponents, I can't see BJ letting this go past 2 or 3 rounds.
Huckaby: FACT. I'll agree with your points (and your illegitimate joke) outside of BJ stopping him within the first two rounds. I would point out that Sherk has only been taken out with strikes in the GSP fight but that would kind of ignore the fact, like Liddell, he hasn't exactly fought alot of heavy handed guys. That said, BJ also adds better BJJ to the better striking and frankly I think it would be rather wrong to just assume Sherk will be able to get him down. The problem with this is the same with the Stevenson fight, if the fight lasts longer than two rounds how will BJ be able to stand up against Sherk the cardio machine or win a decision if he's on his back? None the less I'll take BJ, especially with a strong reason to fight in his dislike of Sherk.
Score: 1 for 1.
2. If the UFC can't work out a deal with him, Andrei Arlovski's final UFC fight with Jake O'Brien will be an unseen undercard bout.
McEwen: FACT. And to be honest, even if this wasn't most likely Arlovski's swan song, that's where it should be. Arlovski is living off a reputation that he had almost 2 years ago as an exciting, dominant heavyweight, bu
