Georges4life

Some UFC shows are jam-packed with quality fights from top to bottom. Some UFC shows rely on 58 is a little different. It has the overall USA vs. Canada theme and the long overdue return of the 155 pound division and the now-familiar handful of TUF alumni. But most importantly, it has two of the absolute best fights Zuffa can put together as Rich Franklin defends his middleweight belt for the second time against David Loiseau and BJ Penn returns to face the amazing Georges St. Pierre. Both fights are incredibly competitive, hugely significant and are potential fight of the year material.
Further down the card, TUF1 stars Diego Sanchez and Mike Swick have a chance to shine and Nathan Marquardt gets a chance to redeem himself. Not from the ‘steroid’ fiasco, but his abominable non-fight with Ivan Salaverry. His opponent is one of Canada’s most consistent, talented fighters in Joe Doerksen and the winner could be in line for a middleweight title shot later this year or in 2007. Rounding out the show are another outing for the likeable Kenny Florian, a pair of heavyweight matches and the return of the always exciting Yves Edwards.
a high quality, marketable main event to drive ticket and pay-per-view sales. UFC
Line-up:

UFC Middleweight title:
Rich Franklin vs. David Loiseau
BJ Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre

March 4th
Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas


UFC Middleweight title: Rich Franklin vs. David Loiseau

Despite the initial odds offered by some sportsbooks, this is a close fight. UFC Middleweight Champion Franklin (19-1) is surely not so infallible that the red-hot Loiseau (14-4) should have opened as a 3/1 underdog? The Canadian striker has been in blistering form in his last three fights and richly deserves his title shot. In his last match, a mini-classic with former champion Evan Tanner at Ultimate Fight Night 2 last October Loiseau survived a horrible first round to slice and dice a win out of the veteran by mangling his face with those vicious, vicious elbows for the second round TKO. But Loiseau had a horrible first round. Twice taken down he spent most of the session avoiding Tanner’s continual submission attempts. The Canadian landed some kicks early in the second but once again Tanner took him down and took control. A quick reversal on the ground, a few sudden, violent elbows later and Tanner was bleeding. A little more action and Loiseau opened up another cut with elbows and punches for the stoppage. Before that, Loiseau dished up an eye-popping spinning back kick/flying knee/punches combination to finish off Charles McCarthy in the second round at UFC 53. Fast, elusive, aggressive and exciting, ‘the Crow’ is one of the company’s most dynamic, entertaining fighters. He hasn’t lost since being tapped out by Jeremy Horn at TKO 15 in early 2004. Five months earlier he was in a stand-up war with Jorge Rivera at UFC 44, losing by decision in a close fight. That’s the same Rivera who gave Franklin such a hellish struggle at UFC 50.

Like most of his country’s top fighters, Loiseau has plenty of UCC/TKO appearances under his belt and while he has a strong record up north, there are a few causes for concern. His win over Curtis Stout was, by all accounts, something of a hometown decision and the alarming way he fell apart when Jason St. Louis caught him with a knee to the face and Jeremy Horn trapped him in a guillotine are all worries. Against Horn, Loiseau seemed to just give up as soon as he was in even the slightest danger, offering no defence before tapping out just 54 seconds into the fight. Loiseau has improved greatly since then. More focused than ever on this massive opportunity, his striking seemingly getting better with each fight and his ground game usually good enough to ward off trouble, ‘the Crow’ is a genuine threat to Franklin’s title.



In Franklin’s first defence at UFC 56 he entered a near-flawless performance, stalking Nate Quarry and picking him apart before KO’ing him with a single, stunning shot that put the Team Quest veteran flat on his back, twitching uncontrollably as he slept on the mat. Few gave Quarry a chance of winning but Franklin’s devastating finish was still well beyond expectations. If Loiseau can’t use his speed to get inside and throw his elbows, he could be in real trouble and Franklin clearly has better developed ground skills. The champion is also a little more experienced and has done better with their common opponents, TKO’ing Stout, beating Tanner twice (and not having any serious trouble along the way) and tapping out Rivera with an armbar. Both are truly ruthless finishers (see Franklin’s merciless battering of Ken Shamrock and Loiseau’s of Weir or McCarthy) and the end to this one could come suddenly. This is one of the very toughest fights out there for either man but Franklin just has more weapons available to him. If he tries standing with Loiseau he’ll be in constant danger but if he mixes up his striking with wrestling and groundwork, he should walk away the stoppage winner of an enthralling fight.

PREDICTION: Franklin by TKO early in the third.


BJ Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre

Former Zuffa golden boy and Hawaiian fighting star Penn (10-2-1) returns to the UFC for his mouth-watering clash with Canada’s finest, ‘Rush’ St. Pierre (11-1). Assertive as ever, Penn demanded a fight with St. Pierre as a condition of his return and despite the Canadian surely having earned a rematch with Matt Hughes, Zuffa obliged. That may be one demand the cherubic islander may come to regret. Last seen inside the Octagon shocking a ridiculously overconfident Matt Hughes for the welterweight title at UFC 46 in early 2004, Penn has been fighting in Hawaii and Japan for K-1’s MMA offshoots. Unfortunately, something seems to have been missing. True he routinely took down and choked out Duane Ludwig but his last 3 fights have all gone the distance. And none of them have been particularly good. First he decisioned Rodrigo Gracie. A good fighter yes, but mechanical and predictable and Penn never looked like finishing him, despite completely dominating the last round. Penn followed that by taking his ‘open weight’ philosophy a little too far and fighting 210-pounder Ryoto Machida. A dull, unremarkable fight where neither man ever looked like doing much, Penn clearly had trouble with Machida’s size and strength. Then, most recently, Penn decisioned Renzo Gracie. That would be the almost 40 years old, Renzo Gracie. The Renzo Gracie who hasn’t won a fight against a worthwhile opponent since 1999. Even worse, Renzo won the first round and although Penn clearly won the fight, again he never looked like finishing off his opponent.

Many have put this down to Penn’s inconsistency. After all, look at the way he beat Ludwig and Hughes, or the way he took out Takanori Gomi. But perhaps Penn is simply overrated? He’s a great fighter, with good stand-up skills, excellent BJJ and strong wrestling but he’s looked unimpressive pretty frequently. His recent poor performances may have something to do with the extra weight he was carrying around his belly but that alone can’t explain how one-dimensional he looked. He was a big underdog against Hughes for a very good reason. Few should realistically have expected him to win the fight, even though he put on an amazing display and dominated Hughes from start to rear naked choke finish. The Gomi he battered in late 2003 is very different to the Gomi of today. The Gomi of 2003 was a decision-prone, often dull fighter. Today’s Gomi is a finishing machine, seemingly incapable of being involved in a boring fight and an overall much improved fighter. Penn though, seems to have regressed since that stunning submission win over Hughes. He was ploddingly slow at times in his recent fights and seemed content with holding guard, clinching a lot, throwing a few punches and picking up decisions. He’s capable of much more (though probably not as much as his most fervent believers think) and will need to be on top form against the Canadian. If he fights the way he did against the Gracies, or in his laboured decision win over Matt Serra he’s in real trouble.



St. Pierre has incredible momentum and although Penn is his toughest opponent since the Hughes fight, there’s a very real chance St. Pierre will just run right over him. Physically, Penn may have trouble with St. Pierre’s size, strength, speed and sheer athleticism. St. Pierre is also a more varied, unpredictable striker, throwing high kicks, spinning back kicks as well as the kind of leg kick/punch style of striking preferred by Penn. Both men have fast hands, very good chins and excellent stamina too. BJJ black belt Penn has the definite edge in submission skill but St. Pierre’s wrestling his improved immeasurably over the last year or two. Penn has been around for longer, and also fought in higher profile fights, but St. Pierre has been much more active. Penn also has a tendency to slack off a little in fights (the first round against Renzo, several times in his draw with Caol Uno and in the close win over Serra) while St. Pierre just goes non-stop from bell to bell. St. Pierre will need to be at his absoluter best but look for him to use his physical advantages and high-energy style to just overwhelm Penn and put him on the defensive from the outset. Penn has an excellent defence (particularly his guard) and I doubt St. Pierre can beat him inside the distance, but over the course of three rounds, he should be able to pile up enough points for the biggest win of his career.

PREDICTION: St. Pierre by decision after three rounds.





St. Pierre 3rd Round KO
Loiseau 4th round spinning back fist