We’ve had two weekends in a row now with no UFC event on, and it seems like a such a long time since that’s been the case. I guess it was leading up to the big card in Las Vegas with Georges St-Pierre. Unfortunately, now there’s no Georges.
It doesn’t sound like his injury was that serious, but it was enough for him not to be 100 per cent and keep him off the card.
I know every fighter deals with injuries in training camp and aren’t always 100 per cent. Many guys go into fights less than 100 per cent for sure.
I think fighters at lower levels than GSP — for example, guys fighting to stay in contention or get in contention, or someone who is fighting for his job — may feel they should fight through minor injuries.
But a superstars like Georges don’t really have to fight — and nor should they. They don’t need the money and have a lot more to lose (like a belt). So for GSP, I think it was a smart decision to take some time off. But it is a big loss to the card.
There’s always exceptions, like Anderson Silva, who fought Chael Sonnen even though he had a broken rib, which was not a smart decision on his behalf in my opinion. He managed to survive and pull out a win, but I think it’s smart that GSP pulled out and will let his injury heal.
So now B.J. Penn vs. Nick Diaz is bumped to the main event. At first I was really interested in that fight. I’ve since watched the countdown show and they can make fighters look any way they want on there.
I think the show made Nick Diaz look better than he did when there was that black cloud over not showing up at the press conferences. Instead of playing up the bad guy role, the show diminished that, making it look like he was actually concerned for his career and not just skipping responsibilities. I think it’s good for Nick and good for the sport. I makes him look like he’s a normal dude.
I think it also made it look like B.J. was training really hard and in the best shape of his life. The question with him has always been does he want to fight and is he in shape to fight? One of his coaches said if B.J. wants to kick your ass and is motivated he will do it, but if he’s not 100 per cent into it you never know.
A fully committed B.J. Penn is exciting to watch. Are we going to see the same B.J. Penn who fought Sean Sherk, or Kenny Florian or Joe Stevenson or Matt Hughes? Will that one show up?
Here are my early UFC 137 picks.
Main event: B.J. Penn vs. Nick Diaz
I never bet against B.J. Penn. So hopefully the bad-ass Penn shows up. It’s hard to beat Diaz by knockout or submission, so I’ll go with a decision. Likewise, B.J.’s got a good chin so I don’t see either getting knocked out.
Cheick Kongo vs. Matt Mitrione
I’m crossed up on this one, I keep going back and forth. As much as I think Mitirione is a good up-and-comer, with tons of talent, and he’s getting better every time, and even though Kongo isn’t a top heavyweight right now, Mitrione hasn’t fought anyone at his level. We also know that Kongo keeps fighting and fighting, as evidenced by the Pat Barry fight. I’m picking Kongo by TKO.
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson
I don’t see Cro Cop having a way to win this fight. We’ve seen Nelson take unbelievably hard shots and just walk through them. We also know his ground game is good. I see Nelson taking it to the ground and submitting Cro Cop.
Scott Jorgensen vs. Jeff Curran
I’ve always been a big fan of Curran, he’s been around forever. I believe he said this is his last kick at the can in the UFC. Jorgensen is coming off a win and a loss in a title fight. I’m going with Curran. I just think he’ll find a way to win. Jorgensen is a good wrestler with good hands, so it should be a good fight, possibly fight of the night. I don’t see a knockout here but it could be by decision or submission. But it is MMA, anything can happen.
Hatsu Hioki vs. George Roop
If this were a year ago, I’d be quick to say Hioki should win, but Roop has been super impressive in his past couple fights. I’m going with Roop by KO.
Dennis Siver vs. Donald Cerrone
Same as with Roop, if we were back a year ago, I might say Siver would win here. But Cerrone has been on a tear and looking better every fight. I’m taking Cerrone by TKO.
Tyson Griffin vs. Bart Palaszewski
This is a good fight between two guys who are just going to bring it. Bart has been around and has fought everybody. I’m going to go with Tyson. He’s always tough, and always gives a great fight. I say he outwrestles Bart, puts him on his back and gets the win.
Brandon Vera vs. Eliot Marshall
This one is interesting for me, because at the fighter summit, Eliot was telling me it will be his last run in the UFC. If he were to get cut again, he’ll be done fighting. And then of course, Vera is coming back from getting cut because the losing decision in his last was overturned with Thiago Silva’s positive drug test. A storyline like that makes it super interesting. We always hear about Vera’s Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu, but we didn’t see that in his last fights. Meanwhile, Marshall is a ground guy. Will Vera try to keep it standing and back out a victory or will both try to make it a jiu-jitsu battle. I’ll go with Eliot. He’s fighting for his job and the past couple fights I’ve wondered if Vera is really interested in fighting anymore. Maybe he’ll prove me wrong in this fight.
Bonus pick: Chris Camozzi vs. Francis Carmont
Francis, a teammate of GSP, is another Canadian who comes from a great camp and he’s just coming off a KO of Jason Day in Hamilton. He’s at Tristar, which is known mostly for Georges, but is now working with a ton of great fighters and producing great fighters. Camozzi is always tough and obviously very talented, but I’ll use my wildcard and go with the Canadian, the newcomer.