Python
10-05-2006, 04:31 PM
A Championship Validated: Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
By Sean McClure
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
With one raise of the hand, Matt Hughes put an exclamation point on his term as welterweight champion. For two years he has had to deal with the haunting memory of UFC 46 and his loss to BJ Penn, but he has erased that with his performance on Saturday night. There will be excuses made for the very talented Penn by his fans for sure. He was injured, sick, or didn’t have enough time to adequately prepare. BJ Penn doesn’t make excuses and I think there is really only one factual explanation for his loss. Matt Hughes beat him fair and square and that is not going to sit well with some. Matt wasn’t supposed to win. BJ was “more talented” than the Hillsboro, Illinois country boy, right? Not on Saturday.
Remember the kiss that BJ planted on Matt after his victory? There was a little payback on Saturday as Matt took a shot at Penn’s conditioning in the post fight interview. “His cardio wasn’t as good as mine”, he announced sardonically to the fans in attendance and to the the world. Well, we kind of figured that, Matt. It wasn’t, not even close. Matt works very hard on his cardio and it paid off in spades. Much like the St. Pierre fight, Penn became fatigued or “gassed” in the third round. As the round started, it looked like some fan had put on a BJ Penn costume and came out to fight the champion. Probably a result of trying to finish Hughes in the triangle arm bar he had so tightly secured in the second round. BJ’s hands were down, he couldn’t connect with any of his strikes and Matt was having his way with Penn on his feet. It was almost sweet justice that BJ would now suffer through a little humiliation of his own. It was like Matt’s last two years were erased as he landed right hand after right hand. Matt decided it was time for a little more payback and took the fight to the ground to finish it. What made it even sweeter, was that he would finish it there against a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt that ended his first reign in the very same spot.
Elbows dropped from inside the Hawaiian’s guard and BJ twisted and maneuvered to dodge them at all costs. Matt worked for position while Penn tried to just survive. You could see it in BJ’s eyes that he was already defeated, but Matt just needed to decide how it would end. With one pass of Penn’s guard, Matt positioned himself in side control, trapped BJ’s arms, and proceeded to pound the Hawaiian’s face with hammer fists and punches. Carlos Newton met the same fate that Penn did back in 2002. Hughes locked BJ’s arm tightly between his legs and held the other down with his left arm. From there he just punished his opponent and I will admit that I watched BJ cringe in pain, hide his head, and vainly fight get out of his predicament with sense of joy and sadness. I love BJ Penn don’t get me wrong, but I wanted Matt to get his revenge very badly. Three cheers for sweet revenge.
Big John McCarthy stepped in and stopped the Hawaiian from taking any more damage and with that it was over. Matt’s hellish two years of being reminded about 2004’s loss ended just like that. He now had his revenge and his passport to the highest tier of the 170 pound division. It will be years before anyone else achieves the type of success that Matt has had there. Even if Georges St. Pierre beats Matt Hughes, and I said if, he will have a hard time eclipsing the monumental success that Hughes has. Right now, at this moment no one is better in the welterweight division than Matt Hughes, no one.
One of the most telling signs of the fight was not during a round, but what happened after. For quite a while after the fight, you could still see BJ seated on a stool in the middle of the ring being attended to by doctor’s and his corner. A wet towel draped over his head and his body hunched over in exhaustion and disappointment. It was then that I felt sorry for Penn, who had almost finished the champion…almost.
It was announced that on November 15th that Matt Hughes will step up and fight St. Pierre less than two months after this win over Penn. If Hughes beats Georges St. Pierre again many people feel that there is nothing left for him to do at 170. I disagree, wholeheartedly. Can you say Diego Sanchez anyone? But, that’s another article in itself.
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By Sean McClure
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
With one raise of the hand, Matt Hughes put an exclamation point on his term as welterweight champion. For two years he has had to deal with the haunting memory of UFC 46 and his loss to BJ Penn, but he has erased that with his performance on Saturday night. There will be excuses made for the very talented Penn by his fans for sure. He was injured, sick, or didn’t have enough time to adequately prepare. BJ Penn doesn’t make excuses and I think there is really only one factual explanation for his loss. Matt Hughes beat him fair and square and that is not going to sit well with some. Matt wasn’t supposed to win. BJ was “more talented” than the Hillsboro, Illinois country boy, right? Not on Saturday.
Remember the kiss that BJ planted on Matt after his victory? There was a little payback on Saturday as Matt took a shot at Penn’s conditioning in the post fight interview. “His cardio wasn’t as good as mine”, he announced sardonically to the fans in attendance and to the the world. Well, we kind of figured that, Matt. It wasn’t, not even close. Matt works very hard on his cardio and it paid off in spades. Much like the St. Pierre fight, Penn became fatigued or “gassed” in the third round. As the round started, it looked like some fan had put on a BJ Penn costume and came out to fight the champion. Probably a result of trying to finish Hughes in the triangle arm bar he had so tightly secured in the second round. BJ’s hands were down, he couldn’t connect with any of his strikes and Matt was having his way with Penn on his feet. It was almost sweet justice that BJ would now suffer through a little humiliation of his own. It was like Matt’s last two years were erased as he landed right hand after right hand. Matt decided it was time for a little more payback and took the fight to the ground to finish it. What made it even sweeter, was that he would finish it there against a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt that ended his first reign in the very same spot.
Elbows dropped from inside the Hawaiian’s guard and BJ twisted and maneuvered to dodge them at all costs. Matt worked for position while Penn tried to just survive. You could see it in BJ’s eyes that he was already defeated, but Matt just needed to decide how it would end. With one pass of Penn’s guard, Matt positioned himself in side control, trapped BJ’s arms, and proceeded to pound the Hawaiian’s face with hammer fists and punches. Carlos Newton met the same fate that Penn did back in 2002. Hughes locked BJ’s arm tightly between his legs and held the other down with his left arm. From there he just punished his opponent and I will admit that I watched BJ cringe in pain, hide his head, and vainly fight get out of his predicament with sense of joy and sadness. I love BJ Penn don’t get me wrong, but I wanted Matt to get his revenge very badly. Three cheers for sweet revenge.
Big John McCarthy stepped in and stopped the Hawaiian from taking any more damage and with that it was over. Matt’s hellish two years of being reminded about 2004’s loss ended just like that. He now had his revenge and his passport to the highest tier of the 170 pound division. It will be years before anyone else achieves the type of success that Matt has had there. Even if Georges St. Pierre beats Matt Hughes, and I said if, he will have a hard time eclipsing the monumental success that Hughes has. Right now, at this moment no one is better in the welterweight division than Matt Hughes, no one.
One of the most telling signs of the fight was not during a round, but what happened after. For quite a while after the fight, you could still see BJ seated on a stool in the middle of the ring being attended to by doctor’s and his corner. A wet towel draped over his head and his body hunched over in exhaustion and disappointment. It was then that I felt sorry for Penn, who had almost finished the champion…almost.
It was announced that on November 15th that Matt Hughes will step up and fight St. Pierre less than two months after this win over Penn. If Hughes beats Georges St. Pierre again many people feel that there is nothing left for him to do at 170. I disagree, wholeheartedly. Can you say Diego Sanchez anyone? But, that’s another article in itself.
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