UFC 107 Main Events Announced

B.J. Penn will defend his UFC lightweight title against Diego Sanchez on Dec. 12 in Memphis, Tenn., the promotion officially announced Tuesday.

The UFC also confirmed previously reported matchups pitting Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo and Thiago Alves vs. Paulo Thiago.

“I can’t wait to defend the title,” Penn said in a news release. “I know what kind of competitor Diego Sanchez is and I am training very hard. This will be a good test.”

Penn submitted Kenny Florian in his most recent defense at UFC 101 in August. Sanchez, 2-0 at 155 pounds and 21-2 overall, is coming off a split decision over Clay Guida in June.

“I’ve always wanted to face the best,” Sanchez said. “I’ve worked so hard for this and now I finally have a shot at the title. I’m training like I’ve never trained before and I expect an all-out war.”

Mir and Kongo will be the co-headliners for the event, which takes place at the FedEx Forum.

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UFC 101 Full Results

B.J. Penn vs. Kenny Florian for the UFC lightweight title

The crowd seems more for Penn than Florian, but the atmosphere for this can’t match the prior match.  Fans booed Miragliotta as referee.

Florian was booed, Penn got a much bigger reaction, crowd sorta split.  They see Penn as a superstar though.  Florian with a high kick.  Penn dropped him momentarily with a punch but Florian right back up.  In a clinch.  Penn rocked himwith a hard right.  Loud chant for BJ.  Penn in with a punch and now they’re in a clinch by the cage.  Florian tried for a takedown and couldn’t get it.  Low kick by Florian.  Florian went for another takedown.  Trading and Penn rocked him and hurt him at the end of the round.  Florian looked dejected going to his corner because nothing was working.  10-9 Penn

Low kick by Florian.  Tried another but Penn moved out of the way and threw a punch.  Florian bulled him into the cage.  Florian with some punches off the clinch.  Penn broke free.   Penn with a good punch off the clinch.  Florian again went for a takedown and wasn’t successful.  But he is neutralizing Penn right now.   Florian bulled him into the cage and trying for a takedown.  Now Florian is throwing some body shots.  Penn back with an uppercut and a few punches.  High kick by Florian and a low kick.  Close round, Florian was more aggressive and busier but Penn’s blows were crisper, maybe close for Florian. 19-19

High kick by Florian blocked.  High kick missed by Florian.  Florian bulling him into the cage again.  Penn throwing knees to the thigh.  Fans are starting to boo.  Florian keeps thrwoing a takedown.  He’s also thrwoing a lot of body shots.    Florian threw an elbow off the break.  Florian going for another takedown.  Now Penn moving forward and throwing anjd Florian avoiding everything.  Florian bulled him into the fence again.  He’s not even coming close on the takedwons.  Penn finally connected with a flurry.  they traded but Penn scored with a good shot.  Very close round.  Penn is the better fighter but the last two rounds could go either way.  Penn did get the most effective blows in and Florian was the aggressor again.  You could easily go 10-10 with that round.

Florian has him against the cage again.  Penn threw a few punches and took Florian down with ease.  He really should have done this earlier.  Penn throwing short elbows.  Pennn with punches and elbows.  Penn got a full mount and Florianj gave up his back.  Penn has 1:45 left in the round.  Florian escaped the choke but gave up his back again.  He threw heel kicks to the body and now has the choke in and it’s over.  Florian raised his hand and Penn kissed Florian.  Good finish to the match.

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Kenny Florian Bitter for Missed Opportunity

Kenny Florian had dedicated the last three years of his life to becoming the UFC lightweight champion.

The Dover native got his shot at UFC 101 Saturday night at Wachovia Center against B.J. Penn, but fell short. Penn ended the fight with a rear-naked choke submission with 1:06 remaining in the fourth round.

Florian performed admirably, but the sting of coming up short of his dream was still fresh yesterday.

“My goal wasn’t to go out there and say, ‘Hey, look Kenny Florian went longer than anybody else did with B.J. Penn at 155 (pounds) and he was in the best shape of his life,’ ” Florian said. “It’s a disappointment and it’s a failure because I didn’t win the fight. The way I’m feeling right now, it’s a tough pill to swallow.”

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UFC 101 This Weekend- Predictions

UFC 101 has two interesting main events

Kenny Florian vs BJ Penn- Penn retains lightweight title via fourth round TKO

To me, Kenny Florian is one of the fighters who was chosen by Dana White to be “the one” long before he earned anything in the ring. The facts are, he has consistently been matched lightly, and his previous step-up bout against Sean Sherk was a loss. He has improved a great deal since then, as his performances over Joe Stevenson and Roger Huerta have showed and he deserves credit for that. However, there isn’t much that I would say he does better than BJ Penn.

Penn isn’t going to let himself be elbowed while pinned down on the mat against a fellow lightweight fighter. He isn’t going to be submitted by Florian and Penn’s stand up game is smooth, accurate and ferocious. The only question in this fight for me is if Penn has been made hungry by the loss against St. Pierre, or if he is distracted by the perceived injustices he suffered from in that fight.

Forest Griffen vs. Anderson Silva- Silva wins via third round TKO

Anderson Silva is climbing once again to the 205 pound light heavyweight division. This time, he will be facing much tougher competition when he squares off against former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin. As opposed to what some other people think, I think Griffin is a very live underdog in this match. He has pulled off the huge upset before, most notably against Mauricio Rua but also in his title winning effort against Quinton Rampage Jackson.

The complaints leveled upon Anderson Silva though have been ridiculous. His wins have become so routine and he ran through the top competition at middleweight so quickly, that people have become bothered when they don’t see the spectacular from him. Unfortunately for Forrest, I think Silva is sufficiently bothered by the criticism to really want to go after Griffin and put on a show. Griffin’s leg kicks are no match for Silva’s overall offensive attack, and eventually he’ll have had too much.

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