“It’ll be a tough fight and I’ll be there watching in the first chairs. Taking into account the fact that the fight will be disputed in 25 minutes, I believe that St. Pierre has more chances, because he’s a better athlete, but, technically, I believe that BJ Penn is more complete because he’s best on striking, better on the ground, only in wrestling I believe that the GSP is better, but if BJ comes in great shape I think he has more chances…I’m big fan of both and, truly, I believe I can make a big fight against both. Maybe against GSP could be a more exciting fight, but I think BJ also would accept striking with me… I want my title shot, no matter against whom. I respect both, but anyone who comes will go down”.
– Thiago Alves shares his prediction with Tatame.com for the upcoming welterweight superfight between BJ Penn and Georges St. Pierre at UFC 94 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 31. “The Pitbull” might be in over his head when it comes to challenging the winner but he also has every reason to be confident — he has three straight dominating wins over top contenders Josh Koscheck, Matt Hughes and Karo Parisyan.
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I cant wait for this fight and the fight against Alves.
alves is a good fighter and i think dana and joe silva is gonna put him up against someone else before gsp is ready again.
fitch vs alves!!
come-on!
I think Alves kills fitch this time. Fitch doesn’t have explosive takedowns like Kos so the wrestling is very much negated there.
thats a bad dude right there…
yep, gotta give it to the guy… as long as he makes weight he deserves to be fighting at the top and you really couldnt rule him out of any fight with his power
AS most of you already know, I adore this kid! Instantly after I saw his fight against Chris Lytle 2 novembers ago…I proclaimed that this kid was the next big thing. After Lytle he was matched up against Karo, and most of you didnt even give alves a chance in that fight. I told you he was going to be the 1st to Ko Karo, and then BOOM he blasted him with a knee. Next came Hughes and his infamous takedowns…..Eat a flying knee for your troubles Matt! Finally came a very game Koschek, who got picked a part. these 3 wins earned Alves fighter of the year HOnors in 2008 and it was DESERVED!!!
I am a big fan of both Penn and GSP, but I think Alves can hang with both of them, and I root heavily for Alves, since he is kind of my baby! I watched him grow from his UFC debut when he got submitted by Spencer into the Muy Tai Wre4cking Machine that he is today!
War Alves!
i still think gegard mousasi got robbed with the 2008 fighter of the year… the guy went 6-0 in MMA and won a K1 fight as well
I agree with ya Brendan. Gegard had a crazy year, and more this one.
I don’t have a problem with Alves getting it though. Beating up Karo, Hughes, and Kos is a big feather in anyones cap. Especially 3 in a row.
I am a big mousasi fan, but some of his wins werent that impressive. For example, the way he beat Jacre…took NO SKILL whatsoever! Kang basically gave him the triangle choke.
Alves was straight knocking dudes out! Fighter of the Year…Hands down IMO!!!
I wouldn’t say it took no skill. He timed the upkick just as Jacare was jumping in. How many upkick KO’s have there been recently? I haven’t heard of a lot, and this is first I’ve heard, aside from A.Silva’s DQ on Okami.
And yeah, Kang did get lazy with the triangle, but props to Gegard for capitalizing on it!
But again, no qualms with Thiago Alves as Fighter of the Year. Too bad his first fight of 09 will be a loss.
synyster: I am a huge Gegard fan, but Alves’s flying knee over Hughes and his KO of the never been ko’ed before Karo, were very impressive…more so then the up kick (who any of us can pull off) After all its pretty much instinct. If u r on your back and someone is standing on top of you, up kicks are instinctive. Big wins for MOusasi but I cant say it was more impressive then what alves did.
Still, I wouldnt have complained if it were awarded to mousasi either!
If Alvarez would have beaten Aoki he would have been a lock for fighter of the year!
maybe so on the Alvarez lock. If Aoki would have beaten Hansen, and proceeded to defeat Alvarez, he could have been a lock as well.
cant argue with you there!
Fighter of the Year?? I believe that award went to Rashad Evans dude.
Sorry john, Rashad is fighter of the year.
It was already awarded to Alves. tHis isnt debatable Mex!
lol no. rashad = fighter of the year.
Maybve UFC fighter of the year. But I am positive that someone awarded Alves…Fighter of the year HOnors.
Nope. And if they did, they are wrong.
Alves is a beast.. and I remember that fight against Fisher.. the wierd thing in that fight was Spencer was winning the stand up battle and Alves was wining the ground war.. till Fisher baitted him into a sweet triangle.. but since his move to 170… Alves has been a wrecking ball.. and surely believe with his skills on the feet and on the mat.. who ever he fights next between GSp or BJ. .can without a doubt be the best fight in 2009.
I think Alves poses more of a threat to GSP than BJ.
Alves is a little hypocrytical in his assessment of the GSP/PENN fight. he pretty much says that both have more chances. But, whatever…he isnt paid for his predictions. He is one tough dude and has the power to knowckout anyone in the division. But, he is not a better fighter then GSP or Penn. Time will tell.
Alves lost his fist fight in the UFC against spencer, he got triangled. He also lost to fitch.
thanks for the update big ben
Alves didn’t lose to spencer he lost to John Fitch. He deserves a shot at the belt but I fear if GSP wins they will wanna have a GSP vs Anderson fight. Perhaps the winner of GSP Penn will fight Alves and the winner of that Silva. What would be great is Cung Le vs Anderson. Cung Le has the best kicks in MMA and was also a state champian wrestler not to mention he is undefeated in mma and K-1.
hatteras: Alves did indeed lose to Spencer Fisher on October 3rd 2005. I saw the fight with my two eyes.. and Spencer tapped him with a Triangle choke. THis fight was at 155. Since lsong to Spencer his only other loss was to Jon Fitch.
PhilQNY your right Alves did lose to spencer fisher but the fight was not at 155 it was at 170 before spencer droped to lightweight.
nevernotnever : Yep ur right.. I got it confused between who drop or who went up. the fight was at welterweight.
IMO.. GSP needs to win and dominate as a UFC Champ.. his entire division. GSP will need to win not only against BJ and Alves.. but he should have a few more fights under his belt before a talk of a super fight between the Legendary Anderson Silva.. Cung Lee? very entertaining fighter.. awsome kicks.. would for sure be a an interesting match up for Silva.. but Cung Lee is still a newbee as a Pro MMA fighter.. he still does not have 10 pro fights under his belt ..and his only worth to mention win is over a Frank Shamrock whom outside of fighter Phil Baroni and Renzo was out of site for like 7 years from the MMA scene.. so let’s see what happens.. I personnaly feel Silva should only be fighting super fights and only at 205…let him defend his 185 belt a few more times.. then step down as being the most legaendary figher at 185 ever.
GSP only has two losses and he has avengened them both. Anderson Silva has twice as many losses. His loss to Ryo Chonnan was not a fluke watch the entire fight. Before the heel hook Chonnan was winning the fight anyway. Silva is the king of UFC’s weakest division. GSP has earned a shot at Silva.
After BJ and Alves GSP will have more than cleaned his entire division. He will have beaten all the top WW and the top LW. I can’t think of anyone else where GSP wouldn’t be taking a big step backwards and apparently you can’t either, because you didn’t mention anyone. If GSP can get by BJ and Alves, he more than deserves a chance to challenge himself against Silva.
If George wins this fight he would have to take on Alves because. Alves is the last guy in his weight class that a large percentage(20 to30%ish) I would say of fan’s and fighters believe can take GSP. If he put that to sleep he then should think of a couple fights vs other 185 fighters to get use to the weight before he faces the best as Silva is doing in LH. Penn has experience at moving up weight classes so it won’t affect him as much. the only problem is Silva might be doing well in LH and have other plans?
Whoever thinks BJ Penn’s striking is better than St. Pierre’s is absolutely nuts.
You just opened a can of worms – when all the boys wake up from their naps they are going to be all over this. BJ definitely has better dexterity with his hands, GSP strikes better with his feet. I think you need to consider both facets when making this comment…
Taped up pair….I’m up, you’re right! BJs striking is better. GSPs athletisism makes his striking “appear” better but bj is the more technically sound striker. Alves vs either of the two is an exciting fight IMO!!!
bJ! BJ! BJ! Bj will outstrike anyone fighting at 170 lbs or less with the exception of maybe alves!
BJ has quicker, better hands and almost nonexistent kicks. Kicks are a BIG part of striking. I think GSP has better over all striking because he uses a lot of effective kicks. I guess the truth will be told in a couple of weeks.
One word – CHIN
I still am suspect of GSPs chin. I think BJ has the talent to get passed GSPs striking.
Alves is a wrecking ball with a lot of strength but I think (for now) he could not overcome the experience and talent of either GSP or Penn.
BJ’s chin is alot better than GSP’s! I think their striking is on an even keel! I can’t wait to see Alves fight either one of them! I don’t think Alves is on their level yet, but, he could possibly beat either of them right now! Either way, we have a hell of a fight in store for us down the road!
Kicks are brutal, I almost felt them when he fought kos
As long as he has good takedown defense he can be champ
I dunno how many leg kicks bj would take from alves
Even if BJ beats GSP (even though he won’t,) Alves will not get a shot at fighting BJ. The only reason BJ is coming back up in weight is for the “superfight” matchup. He’ll go back down to 155 where he’ll have a much better chance of keeping his title. This is purely conjecture on my part, but I can’t imagine BJ loitering in the 170’s anymore, even if he holds the belt. That would suck becuase he can only defend one title at a time. GSP will beat Penn, and then we’ll get to see GSP fight Alves, which will be an incredible fight. The main question is who will be Alves next victim, as i’m sure he’ll need to fight at least once before GSP is ready to go again.
I doubt BJ would vacate the title in fact I think he has said in the past that he wold defend both.
Alves is a bad dude. I hope GSP wins because Alves vs. GSP is my dream fight in the UFC.
I disagree with alves out look on this fight, he seems to contradict himself, fighters have no better clue who will win than a casual fan. Just because penn out boxed gsp for a round 2 and a half years ago, doesn’t make him a better striker now. Hello, muay thia? Is this guy a moron gsp’s muay thia skills are way better than penns. I can’t wait for ufc 94, all of the gsp doubters in his striking are going to be surprised, he’s better than most give him credit. I personally think technically gsp has the best muay thia skills at 170 alves only advantage over gsp is his leg kick are harder. This isn’t a boxing match, its an MMA fight, I predict gsp beats penn then goes on to beat alves, we’ll see.
I think Penn does better in the pocket with straight shots and upper cuts that come from his core and GSP does better from the outside with jabs and kicks that emanate from the shoulders and hips. It will be interesting to see what each prepare to do. Is BJ preparing to be taken down and work from the ground and is GSP preparing to stay out on the periphery until mid 3rd when Penns arms and legs are tired?
as far as alves, he seems to contradict himself, but unlike some other fighters you can understand what he is trying to say.
-Peace Bro
If you read the whole quote he doesnt really contradict himself. He says he thinks GSP is a bigger fighter & better athlete and should win. He then says BJ is a better technical fighter. He says BJ has better standup and Jiu Jitsu and GSP has better wrestling. He then says if BJ is in shape then he should win. It’s more like he qualified his statement– Gsp should win but if in Bj is in shape, he’ll win.
BJ’s striking is going to make the difference in this fight. He is going to hurt GSP on his feet. Then he either finishes him with a sub or TKO’s him on the ground.
GSP has much flashier striking then Penn because he mixes up a wide array of kicks, but Penn has superior boxing (the best in mma according to Freddy Roach– not that he’s the final say on anything, but he is a notable boxing authority) and, much more importantly, Penn has a WAY BETTER CHIN.
GSP will not want to exchange heavy strikes standing with Penn, I guarantee you that. He will try to keep his distance, circling away and not overcommitting to his strikes until he decides to go for the takedown. I think he’s hoping his wrestling and ground control will ultimately prevail, particularly in the later rounds when he expects Penn will tire a little.
This fight isn’t going past the first couple rounds though (maybe the third at the latest) in my opinion. I think Penn is going to hurt GSP relatively early. He’s going to be coming forward and GSP is going to be backing away and circling, looking for that takedown.
I am absolutely 100% certain that BJ Penn is going to win this fight, after which there will be a lot of excuses for GSP (people claiming he his a head case or whatever, like they did when he lost to Serra). The fact is, BJ is just an exceptional fighter who is going to have more of a killer instinct on the day. A lot of people who are now claiming he has no chance against GSP are going to jump on his bandwagon I’m sure.
On the subject of Alves, I actually think BJ is going to have more trouble with him than GSP, since he is so hugely focused on GSP as a career legacy fight. I think Alves is going to be the first guy to batter and bruise Penn (Hughes 2 doesn’t count), but Penn will make it through in a close fight that goes the distance.
i couldnt agree more! I will co-sign this entire post!
GOod stuff!
That really is talking out of your ass Rev. If GSP wants to take him down, he WILL take him down. Penn couldn’t stop it the first fight, so what makes you think he will stop him now? GSP’s transition from striking to takedowns is the best in the game and his top control is second to none. Oh ya remember in his last fight against fitch how Rogan kept on raving that nobody had every passed John Fitch’s guard, well we all know who passed that and acutally had full mount several times. IMO Penn will not be able to keep up with the pace that GSP is going to push for the full 5 rounds and will either lose by decision or a late TKO.
I am a fan of both these guys and am not really that fussed who wins, but Joe Rogan did say that GSP could take all the guys down at will in his training camp at will, and this included the light heavyweights but they could not do the same to him. That is damn impressive, so you really do have to think that BJ will be ging down at some point if he doesn’t knock GSP out first. The damage that he does to BJ while he is down is what I think will determine this fight. These guys are as good as each other in different ways. Should be an awesome fight, and as I said when Rashad was goinhg to fight Chuck predicting that Rashad would possibly win by descision, because Chuck is supposed to have the better stand up against Rashad, it doesn’t mean that he will not be caught by Rashad who we know has pretty descent hands. We all saw what happned didn’t we.
Your dreaming, BJ couldn’t take Sherk out in 2 rounds and you think he will stop GSP,LMFAO. As soon as you realize how much better GSP is than Sherk, then you will know BJ is in big trouble. GSP will finish Penn, plain and simple. Where’s the proof that BJ has a better chin? Is it because BJ has ate lots of bombs and never went out. Serra is the only guy that rocked GSP and that was to the back of his head. Then while GSP was on queer street Serra hit him with at least 15 bombs on the chin and GSP was still not out. If I was a BJ fan, I’d be more worried about why GSP’s chin hasn’t been tested. Half the skill of striking is not getting hit. To many BJ fans are banking on a repeat of the first round of the first fight, but BJ was only able to hit GSP for a couple of minutes when he couldn’t see them coming. Why didn’t BJ hurt him before or after he got his vision back? In 19 fights GSP has been in trouble from punches ONCE and that was Serra not BJ and that was the one and only time GSP didn’t even show up. BJ couldn’t finish him when he was fresh and GSP was hurt and vision impaired so I don’t see BJ getting the better of GSP in the stand-up. It will be more like rounds 2 and 3 with BJ eating lots of kicks and getting taken down a lot and gassing and LOSING. I know BJ won’t gas as fast and will look better,but GSP was fairly gassed too last time because his nose was full of blood and he couldn’t breath properly.We are going to see 2 improved fighters, but GSP was better then and he has improved more than Penn, so the outcome will be the same only a much more dominant victory.
Weak chin? The guy gets caught with a solid shot and he is automaticly dubed as having a weak chin! I would like more examples of his “weak chin” before i start beliving that.
Seriously, GSP gets TKO’d once and now his chin is bad? His chin wasn’t bad when Penn kicked his ass for a round in their first fight. When your the best like GSP his haters love to remember the ONE time he has ever been hurt or seriously wobbled in a fight. Go watch the Serra vs. GSP fight again, he gets clipped and is wobbled and Serra does exactly what he should have done and that is hit him with at least another 5 homeruns. Any human would have been out eventually. Can someone give another example of his “weak chin”? Penn might very well have a better chin, but a “way better chin” NO WAY.
Yeah I remember watching the fight and right away i said it looked like he cliped the back of his head. He did a good job hanging in there as long as he did while taking all the follow up shots.
Wow revjames13 a lot of guarantee’s and talking out of you ass there. Nobody knows who’s going to win this fight or how it will go I GUARANTEE THIS. Personally I think gsp could kick both penn’s and alves ass’s but this is just my opinion no one knows fore sure unless they fight. I’d laugh my ass off if gsp KO’s penns WAY BETTER CHIN in this fight, it would be the icing on the cake, but I predict most likely a decision win for gsp, or a late round tko.
Well I couldn’t disagree more.
Good one Firecrap, Penn would have had his equalibrium messed up too if he got hit were serra hit gsp behind the ear. I’ve NEVER seen gsp rocked initially from a punch to the jaw. As far as I’m concerned if they both got hit on the sweet spot they would both get dropped, this whole great chin thing is a myth. ANYONE has the ability to get KO’ed what’s so special about penn? You get punched hard enough right on the chin and you’ll get ko’d just like rashad ko’d liddel, there are no exceptions if your human. You guys simple have NO evidence to back up anything you say, I hope to hell gsp KO’s penn in this fight just to prove a point, and I GUARANTEE you this is possible, but just not probable IMO.
100% correct. Strong chin my @ss. I bet any money in the world that if BJ stood infront of me and didnt move and i threw my cross str8 at his chin he would go down. 100%. Anyone would go down. Same wieght that is..
I think Alves can upset GSP. But i dont think he can beat Penn.
I never said GSP wouldn’t take Penn down, but it will be much harder this fight than their last. He didn’t get Penn down until the second round when he started to tire. I think it’s evident to all that Penn will be in much better shape this time around, thus his takedown defense will be far better.
However, I’m not one of those guys that thinks Penn is amazing and GSP isn’t all that. GSP is one of the greatest fighters of all time and his wrestling is the best in mma. There’s a good chance that he finds a way to take Penn down. Not at will, but perhaps multiple times. I just don’t think he’s going to do much to him on the ground. Even when Penn was gassed GSP didn’t do anything when he had him on the ground except press him up against the cage.
I have a ton of respect for GSP’s game. He is a complete fighter that does everything not just well but great. But BJ is at his level talent-wise (better jits and boxing, lesser wrestling and kicks, but better knees) and the key thing is that going into this fight Penn is going to have the killer instinct on his side and GSP is going to be more wary, IMO. I am certain (to the point of guarantees) that Penn will put him away. Never been more sure of any mma result in my life.
The results will show whether I am talking out of my ass or not. If I was a GSP fan I guess I would think I was. GSP, I believe, will be much harder to deal with in their third fight, as he is at his best when he is coming back with a vengeance. But he loses this one, no doubt about it. I smell a TKO coming. I see GSP sitting down in the octagon shaking his head wondering what happened. But he’s a live to fight another day guy and will be all about the comeback. Penn on the other hand is staking everything on this and he will come out on top in DECISIVE fashion. This is not one for the scorecards.
BJ is staking everything on this fight, really? I could have sworn that GSP was puting his title on the line! My misstake i guess it is BJ putting his on the line. LOL
I know what you mean firecrap–I really wish gsp would fight penn at 155 so they could fight for that title. But I dont think gsp would be able to fight at 155- or even make that weight.
You must think ALL the hard work and dedication GSP has put in to get to where he is, isn’t really that important to him. I’m sure GSP is hell bent on winning this fight more than ever. Why is GSP going to be wary? WHEN has he been wary? How could he be wary? He already beat him and he thinks he has improved way more. GSP WILL take BJ down whenever he wants, just like he does to everyone else, including his HW Olympic training partners. Take-down defence is a moot point when refering to GSP’s take-downs. BJ’s going down in more ways than one.
Alves vs. Anderson. Make it happen, and even if/when Alves loses, still give em’ a title shot for having to wait so long. Same with Florian. That dude has had to wait forever for his title shot. I say rematch him with Sherk real quick to make his highlight reel even nicer!
GSP didn’t take BJ down until the second round when Penn began to tire. Everyone knows BJ is going to be in great shape for this fight, thus he will be far more difficult to take down. But I never said that GSP wouldn’t be able to do that. GSP has the best functional wrestling in mma and I wouldn’t be surprised if he manages a number of takedowns. I just don’t think he’s going to do much of anything to him on the ground.
In their first fight all GSP did to him on the ground was push him up against the cage. Don’t get me wrong, I think GSP is one of the best fighters in the world, with an airtight overall game. But coming into this one Penn has the killer instinct and I think GSP is going to be a little tentative. My 100% prediction is over the top, I know, but I have never been more certain of an mma outcome in my life. GSP will be tougher to deal with the third time around (he’s at his best when coming back with a vengeance) but his is going down in this one. It is written.
It’s only talking out of my ass if I’m wrong and we’ll know that Jan. 31. I will be there and it’s gonna be amazing. FYI, I don’t think GSP has a weak chin I just think BJ has a cinder block for a head. It’s going to hard for a lot of GSP fans to accept that their superstar athlete just got demolished by that scrappy kid from Hawaii. I see GSP sitting on the mat in the center of the octagon shaking his head wondering what the hell just happened (a la Matt Hughes 1). But it’s okay, he’s a live to fight another day guy. Penn, though, is staking his life on this fight and he will not be denied. And that’s another guarantee, from my ass to you ears.
I pick BJ over GSP.
HOWEVER: I think Alves would beat BJ. But I also think GSP would beat Alves.
Brutalknockout silva would kick the shit out of alves, his muay is much better than alves, far more accurate, reach etc etc. Chris lytle was out boxing alves, his last three fights were against guys who aren’t known for there great stand up. Anderson silva is the best striker in all of MMA IMO his record speaks for it’s self. I still think gsp will out strike both penn and alves, I know this isn’t the popular opinion but I’m going to stick with this. I see gsp having a really good strategy for this fight and penn will come out like a wild man, recklessly like he did last time, and if anyone’s going to get caught it will be him.
This fight really isn’t about the title at all. It’s about who is the better fighter. I give it to GSP that he is the better “athlete,” but this is still a fight and he is going to lose to a guy who is willing to die in there, ie: a guy who is fighting as if it is his last fight on earth. It’s a certain mentality that not all fighters can or ever will achieve, but it is real, and believe me BJ has it.
GSP is the kind of fighter who will tap from strikes if he feels the fight is out of his reach. Live to fight another day he has said. BJ Penn is not that fighter. Admittedly BJ has gone into fights in the past without the proper preparation and that has cost him, but he’s always had guts galore during the fight (never tapped). Now that he is in top shape and totally prepared, GSP is in trouble. The titles don’t mean much, this is a career legacy fight to determine perhaps who is the best fighter in the world.
Even Anderson Silva (current consensus #1 P4P) said that the only guy that might be better than him at the moment is BJ Penn. Wonder if he knows something. When BJ wins he will join AA and Fedor at the top of the hill and only time will tell who is the best of those three.
Dude, I think BJ is one hell of a fighter, thats why i don’t make claims that he is the kind of guy that would give up because he had a rib injury. So please tell me what makes you think that GSP would tap due to strikes? Never has before! The only time he has tapped was from an arm bar that hughes put on him. He was seconds away from the bell and didn’t realize it. Afterwards he said that if he would have realized how close he was to the bell he would have never tapped.
And when GSP wins he will be at the top of the hill with AS and Fedor….
GSP tapped from strikes in the first Serra fight. It happened at the same time the ref stepped in and pulled Serra off him.
Yes, indeed, if GSP wins he will be right up there with AS and Fedor. If he proves me wrong and beats BJ, he might be #1 in my book.
Well Rev at least we agree on that. We are both passionate about the fighters we support!