Joe Ferraro

B.J. Penn proved why he is on a completely different level than any fighter at 155 pounds.

B.J. Penn's dominant performance vs. Diego Sanchez at UFC 107 has me thinking it's time to grant The Prodigy a rubber match. I can't say the same (yet) for Frank Mir.

Penn's performance on Saturday night was simply incredible; he took on a monster in Sanchez and immediately proved why he is on a completely different level than any fighter that dares to stand opposite him at 155 pounds.

There's a comical stat that came out from Fightmetric.com that showed Penn hit himself in the face more times (eleven) than Sanchez did (seven), for the entire 22:37 seconds that they fought.

It's an astounding number and just shows you how skillful Penn is with his boxing, bobbing and weaving, while slipping any strikes that come his way.

Another strange stat that struck me as bizarre was when I was watching the fight on Saturday night. Going into the fifth round, I told my pal Rodney Keefe (who you've heard numerous times on my Fan 590 radio show) that while Penn has dominated the first four rounds, at least Sanchez can say he is the only person to have gone five rounds with Penn. Keefe responded by stating "you mean Sanchez can say he is the only person to have taken a five-round beating from Penn."

While I was amazed by Sanchez's heart and courage going into Round 5, I couldn't help but compare Penn to the dominance shown by two other UFC champions in their respected divisions: Georges St. Pierre at welterweight and Anderson Silva at middleweight.

As we began comparing each fighter's style, I harkened back to a passage I read in B.J.'s book "Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge," where he stipulates that he is not a fan of kicking in MMA; that it's something he doesn't like to do because it makes him susceptible to being taken down to the ground. I told Keefe that while B.J.'s boxing, takedowns, takedown defence and ground game are second to none, can you just imagine if he started incorporating kicking into his arsenal?

No more than five seconds later, Penn nailed Sanchez with the right high kick, to which Keefe responded "there you go." Moments later, the fight was stopped -- and I was shaking my head in awe that Penn was able to successfully pull off something he was so steadfastly against.

So the question now remains: who's next in line for a crack at Penn's title?

Many of my sources have all told me that if Gray Maynard can defeat Nate Diaz at UFN 20 on Jan. 11, he's next for B.J.; but if Diaz wins, the title shot may fall on the lap of The Answer, Frankie Edgar.

But if it were up to me, I would go with who my "MMA Connected" associate producer Jim Cotton recommends: a rubber match with Matt Hughes. Each guy has a victory, so let's settle the score, once and for all.

Mir Makes His Case For a Rubber Match With Lesnar

While I wasn't surprised that Frank Mir was able to easily submit Cheick Kongo on Saturday night, I was amazed at how he did it.

Mir's striking improvement was on display during last year's bout vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92, but this time he was able to land a thunderous left overhook on a quality standup fighter. After he dropped Kongo, he did follow up with some ground and pound attempts, but Kongo's mistake was to counter back with a takedown (as opposed to getting out of dodge). Mir took the silver platter offering and sunk in the choke -- doing what he does best and showing once again why he is one of the best finishers in the heavyweight division.

While I firmly believe Kongo will recover from this devastating loss and return stronger than ever, it's Mir who may have actually lost something he was searching for in this fight.

Weighing in at 264.5 pounds for the bout, there is no doubt that Mir was looking to see how his body would truly react with all of the extra muscle he packed on. To do so, he needed the fight to go much longer, perhaps even going as far as Round 3 to see where his stamina and conditioning would fare. All of the excess weight he has amassed onto his frame is for a hopeful rubber match with Brock Lesnar.

We all know Lesnar still has health issues to deal with, but if the champ can overcome this adversity, he still has Shane Carwin to deal with. Either way, win or lose, I will not be surprised if Lesnar and Mir meet at the end of 2010, in a super-fight with or without the title on the line.

On a side note, my pals over at MMA Weekly posted a story last week that Lesnar is recovering well from surgery, stemming from a severe case of Diverticulitis. In August of 2005, I had the same type of surgery as Lesnar, one which had me hospitalized for about a week.

Based on my experience in trying to recover, it took me over two weeks to be able to walk again, as the surgery left an open wound (about an inch in length) on the right side of my abdomen from the incision, one which still shows scarring today. I'm nowhere near an elite athlete, so while it took me months to recover and get back to having fun while working out, I would think if this is the only thing Brock is going through right now, the champ will heal much faster than I did, and will back to 100 per cent shortly.

Other UFC 107 musings

Jon Fitch just keeps on winning, and while he was hanging on for dear life at the end of his bout with Mike Pierce, the veteran still proved why is the best welterweight in the world (this side of GSP). I think the only thing stopping Fitch from getting another title shot is the fact his fights keep going the distance. Jon told me at UFC 106 last month that guys keep avoiding him so it's hard to finish them off, but did state at UFC 107, enough is enough -- it's time to finish guys off.

Kenny Florian, after two cracks at the UFC lightweight title, found himself in the same position as Fitch, with guys bypassing his No. 1 contendership in favour of giving new blood a shot at glory. One thing is for certain: KenFlo has returned back to his roots, prioritizing to finish off his opponents and not try and play it safe, waiting too long to explode as the seconds tick by on the clock.

As for Clay Guida, although it was his fifth loss in the Octagon, evening out his record at 5-5 with the UFC, I highly doubt he will be cut. The fans love The Carpenter and win or lose, he always puts on exciting fights; and that's exactly the type of in-cage entertainment the UFC is looking for.

Alan Belcher's performance was great, but now he's calling out Anderson Silva. I believe I'm in the majority that believe The Talent still needs to work his way to a title shot. When he starts taking out the likes of Vitor Belfort, Demian Maia and Nate Marquardt, then I'll be more than happy to jump on his bandwagon.

Congrats to Cole Harbour, N.S., native, T.J. Grant, who pocketed an extra $65K at UFC 107, after knocking out fellow welterweight, Kevin (The Fire) Burns. Look for Grant to make 2010 his year, as he's looking to prove his worth in the stacked 170-pound weight class.

Misc MMA news and notes

My condolences go out to the family of Canadian MMA pioneer Phil Hughes, who lost his battle with cancer last week. Hughes was one the originals from back in my UCC and TKO days, and was a former welterweight champion.

And some more sad news in Canadian MMA, as Timothy John Kelley, a veteran of seven MMA fights and training partner of Roger Hollett, was apparently murdered in front of his home on Saturday night. Tragic news to say the least.