Quote:
Originally Posted by earvinarp
Haha. I still think Buentello would be a good addition. Thanks for reminding me of that.
Anyway, going back to BJ finishing the fight early: Yes, I stand by my words. I believe BJ knows he gets in trouble if the fight goes for too long and he, at least in his last fight, tried to to finish early partly for that reason. Sure enough that was not the main reason. Sure enough a quick fight is better and this and that. But the cardio issue has to be in his head IMO.
I don't know if you saw the Baroni-Hose fight the other day. I thought Baroni did a pretty good job in the first round, pushing the pace in order to finish the fight quickly. God knows I dislike Baroni, but he looked good enough in that first round. Now, he fell short of achieving an early win and he had to basically wait out the fight as he was getting pummeled for 4 rounds.
Now, I know that comparing Baroni with BJ is like comparing Monica Bellucci with Margaret Thatcher, but still, I am pretty sure Phil knew an early ko was his only chance. Why would other fighters not think the same way?
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I really think Earvin's post makes a bit of sense. Now I take absolutely nothing away from BJ Penn's talent - He is easily among the most talented fighters. In addition though, he
has been known to gas. Given BJ's two attributes, great skill, and a propensity to gas, I think it makes perfect sense for him to try and use that Skill to Finish Early so he doesn't face the prospect of gassing out later and possibly losing, like he did to Hughes.
For some other fighters with perhaps less overall skill, but much better cardio it makes perfect sense to push the pace in a somewhat cautious manner (to avoid KO, silly sub) and wait for their opponent to wear down and become less dangerous and easier to dispatch, either by stoppage or by decision.