UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn looks to be the first fighter in UFC history to hold two UFC championships at the same time when he squares off against UFC welterweight champion George St.Pierre, Saturday Jan 31, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. UFC 94 oddsmakers at BetUS.com have George St.Pierre as -175 moneyline fav to beat out BJ Penn who is listed as a +135 underdog. Get your UFC 94 George St.Pierre vs BJ Penn Prediction in now at BetUS.comThis is the second time these two athletes have faced each other in the octagon, they met at UFC 58: USA vs. Canada back in 2006. Back then St.Pierre and Penn were the top two contenders for the division’s No. 1 contender’s spot. Penn came out firing at St.Pierre throwing punch after punch at St.Pierres’ face. The first round was clearly in favor of BJ Penn. After that it was all St.Pierre. He took down Penn at will to earn the next two rounds. St-Pierre earned a razor-thin split decision and went on to win the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title.
Since then George St.Pierre has gone 5-1 with wins over Matt Hughes (2), Josh Koscheck, Matt Serra and most recently John Fitch. St-Pierre defeated Jon Fitch by unanimous decision at UFC 87, retaining his UFC welterweight title. He exhibited clear dominance over a durable Jon Fitch, scoring multiple devastating strikes and taking the former Purdue wrestling captain down. Pierre has tremendous wrestling skills, as he proved against (a 4-time Division 1 NCAA All-American & 1-time NCAA wrestling champion), Josh Koscheck. He won by scoring takedowns, stopping Koscheck's takedown attempts and by maintaining top position throughout most of the fight. He currently trains in wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), boxing, Muay Thai, Strength & Conditioning/Running, and MMA sparring. He loves taking his opponent down and using his superb ground and pound along with submissions. He’s currently got a MMA record of 17W-2L, seven wins by KO and five wins by submission.
BJ Penn has gone 3-1 since his loss to St.Pierre. He has wins over Jens Pulver, Joe Stevenson and most recently Sean Sherk at UFC 84. In the closing seconds of the third round, Penn threw a punch and a hook that backed Sherk into the cage, after ducking under another punch, he was hit in the head by a left knee from Penn. Sherk went down and Penn continued with strikes, but the round ended before the referee stopped the fight. However, Sherk was unable to continue and Penn was declared the victor by TKO (strikes). Penn is steeped in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) with excellent submission skills and is strong at stand up fighting. He’s currently got a MMA record of 13W-4L-1D, five wins by KO and five wins by submission.
UFC 94 George St.Pierre vs BJ Penn Prediction
When: Sat, Jan 31, 2009 10:00 PM ET
Line: BetUS.com
Pick: St.Pierre -175
Point-Spreads.com UFC 94 George St.Pierre vs BJ Penn Prediction
The Bottom Line: St.Pierre has had more fights against tougher challengers than BJ Penn has fought. St.Pierres’ fitness is way better than Penn. Get your UFC 94 George St.Pierre vs BJ Penn Prediction in now at BetUS.com and receive a 10% sign-up bonus
Dana White has recently said that if GSP is able to defeat B.J , then he will have a mandatory title defense against the new #1 contender, Thiago Alves. If he is again successful at defending the title from the hands of Alves, White said he will set up a big money fight with GSP against Middleweight champion Anderson Silva sometime in 2009; possibly at catchweight.
