Quote of the Day: How Far Can Georges St. Pierre or BJ Penn Go?
by Luke Thomas on Nov 25, 2008 10:48 AM EST
in MMA News
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Print"I think that would cement him as one of the best of all-time...Right now I think Anderson Silva is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world...The winner of BJ Penn and Georges St-Pierre moves right up there. And if Georges wins, he could get a shot at Anderson.
I'm just coming off a promotion where I got done saying it's the biggest fight in UFC history in terms of most pay-per-view buys...I truly believe this fight has the potential to break that. BJ and Georges are heavyweights when it comes to star power."
-- Dana White, UFC President, discussing how enormous the rematch between two of the greatest fighters ever could potentially be.
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Very true,
I just cannot wait for this fight to happen. It seems like it is so far out that it does not even seem real yet.
I am such a big fan of
each of these guys that I think I am rooting for BJ just so we can see them get it on a third time.
You've got to have the best fight the best while they're in their prime
If all UFC champions end up with records like Randy Couture then they did their jobs right.
by cyph on Nov 25, 2008 11:13 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Well put.
I really like the fact that ridiculously shiny records are abnormal in our sport, even for the top-notch dominators.
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
He's such an
In the moment Promoter! Can’t blame him! I do believe Penn VS Pierre 2 has all the potential to be a bigger PPV pull than lesnar vs couture was!
I’ll be rooting for GSP, but I think it will be a real competitive fight, much more than Fitch was able to compete with GSP!
all you gotta do is...
I wish Dana was right as the best fighters in the world should theoretically be the biggest stars. From what I gather, the only earth-shattering numbers seen with either fighter have been with their matches against Hughes, as well as the gate for St. Pierre-Serra II up in Canada. While the pay-per-view buys will be ginormous, I don’t see them cracking cards like Ortiz-Liddell II, Ortiz-Shamrock II, or what will likely be the number for Couture-Lesnar (roughly 750k-800k). If they push this thing the right way and start pimping it early and sustain that push, I think this fight should pull in 700k but for Dana to say it’s going to be the biggest ever – that’s all part of him promoting the fight.
It’s the biggest fight ever with regard to talent and timing for absolute sure. Lesnar and Couture was big for more artificial reasons. Couture has talent and his reputation is well earned but much of his hype and coverage was his contract dispute with UFC and trying to get the fight with Fedor. Lesnar’s hype of course was his previous fame in WWE.
GSP vs Penn II is completely based on a talent that seems to far exceed all of their peers. And it’s not just talent either. Both are everyday dudes that most people can relate to. They’re classy (most of the time) and have oodles of charisma.
I personally think that this will be a landmark fight in that it will bring real MMA to the fans, and not trumped up stuff like brawlers or Kimbo, or even Lesnar (whose popularity has nothing to do with his talent).
landmark fight for hardcores
True. But based on history, it will not come close to generating most ppv buys. I remember seeing a post regarding most ppv buys in Japan and by far the most are always for the oddities. In north american, the most are not necessisarily for the oddities but more for the showman (Tito, Shamrock, Lesnar, etc.).
I really don’t see the casual fan being blown away by the awesomeness of the fighters becuase most don’t really care about that stuff. They watch becuase of the hype and the sensational aspect of the fight.
They’re only that way because that is what they’ve been fed. I believe that sports fans, when they learn and see top-notch fighters like BJ and GSP, will start to learn and understand the finer points of MMA. Hey, I was once a guy that only wanted to watch Tank Abbott. Since I’ve learned about the BJJ, the wrestling, the Muy Thai etc.
Think about how complicated Football is, but most sports fans get that now. I think the same will be with MMA, and I think that it’s fights like this that will be landmarks to that effect. I’m not talking about ppv numbers. I don’t give a rats tush about that. I’m talking about the understanding and accepting of the sport beyond the Kimbos etc.
so what are we really saying here? That this fight will be another step in increasing the popularity of MMA? No doubt about that. Will this 1 fight transform the sport into main stream covereage of every event? Highly doubtful.
I’m still unsure as to what the ultimate goal for “acceptance” is. Are we talking about as popular as boxing in the 80’s when the most popular boxers were amoung the most popular athletes in the USA? If so, I don’t think that can ever happen until MMA is on free tv. Doesn’t matter how great the fighters and fight is, it will not get enough mass exposure on ppv.
Please someone tell me what the ultimate goal is.
Only quibble
is regarding Lesnar’s popularity having nothing to do with his ‘talent.’ Personally, I think it’s his ‘talent’ that makes him so popular – it’s just not his skill that makes him popular. His extreme athleticism is the biggest reason tune in to watch Lesnar, whether it’s WWF/E or MMA.
For both of these fighters, it’s their skills that make them so intriguing, coupled with the fact that they’re facing off at their respective primes, with each holding a division title. GSP vs. Penn II will be one of the greatest clashes of skill, experience and talent that we’ve seen in MMA in a long time. If sold correctly, this could open a lot of eyes.
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
There are fighters that have similar abilities to Lesnar that don’t have a fraction of his popularity. It’s pretty safe to say that Lesnar wouldn’t have his current popularity if he wasn’t already hyped by the WWE. I’m taking nothing against him. He’s freaky and good and scary as all get out and that definitely helped him get to where he is right now, but the popularity didn’t come as a result of that except it got him on the front of WWE.
I can see this fight breaking a million buys with a)a new president to influence new consumer confidence and b)heavy ESPN media saturation.
These two deserve to set the record for biggest MMA fight ever.
by Derek Suboticki on Nov 25, 2008 1:33 PM EST reply actions
GSP/PENN
dont forget the ufc is planning a 24/7 type show for this event. i know they were going to do it for lesnar/couture and didnt , but it sounds for real for gsp/penn 2. the 24/7 hbo series is what sent fights like oscar/floyd and floyd/hatton throught the stratosphere. it didnt works so well for jones/calzahge, but nobody was interested in that fight in the 1rst place. plus it will air on spike and reach more households.(it would be nice if espn picked this up, but thats just wishful thinking). i agree with luke that this will be the biggest mma fight of our era, kinda like leonard/duran/hagler /hearns/ were when they took turns fighting each other in the 80s. gsp/penn/silva could fit that bill.
This is what I’ve been saying for a while now. Dana agrees that the winner of the fight has a claim at PFP fighter, and he says GSP should have a shot at Silva if he wins. He also has said that BJ doesn’t get the same consideration.
When BJ wins he should be allowed to fight Silva. Period.
BJ is a natural lightweight. GSP couldn’t make LW after two days in a sauna. Anderson can (and has) fight at light heavy very easily and cuts a shocking amount to get to MW. BJ versus Anderson strays dangerously close to the realm of a freakshow fight.
"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."
I agree with you there AJB. Anderson vs. BJ is not ridiculous, but is the type of fight I’d like to avoid – there’s not much gained for anyone in sending one of your stars into a fight outgunned so badly.
That being said, I hope that GSP wins so that we can see Anderson in a huge fight for once. Though I think he’d lose, GSP is one of those elite athletes with the abilities to adapt quickly in a fight as long as his mental game is there.
BJ held his own and lost a very, very close decision at LHW to Lyota Machida. He beat Rodrigo and Renzo Gracie both at 185.
He walks around bigger than GSP, he wins, he deserves a shot.
by dualdiagnosis on Nov 25, 2008 9:47 PM EST up reply actions
That is wishful thinking and will not happen. It is debatable whether BJ would beat any or all of: GSP, Florian, Alves.
This is exactly why I have a general dislike for fighters changing weight classes and superfights except in rare cases. It brings about more fantasy matchmaking (why not Anderson vs. Brock?) and we don’t get to see a champion dominate his own weightclass.
BJ could fight every 2 months if he puts people away as quickly as he did Stevenson. Instead, he defends his title ONCE in the next 11 months and then decides to fight the WW champion. Similarly, GSP only has one title defense to his credit despite winning the WW championship belt twice, but at least he’s beaten the majority of challengers on his way to the top.
I am with you 100%.
How would BJ fighting Anderson be a freakshow?
No one said Randy fighting Brock was a freakshow.
"My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions." --George W. Bush, The Decider, Lancaster, Pa., Oct. 3, 2007
by lovingmma25 on Nov 26, 2008 10:53 AM EST up reply actions
BTW....
I am agreeing with dualdiagnosis – didn’t realize my comment would be placed so far down.
"My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions." --George W. Bush, The Decider, Lancaster, Pa., Oct. 3, 2007
by lovingmma25 on Nov 26, 2008 10:54 AM EST up reply actions
I highly doubt BJ walks around bigger than GSP..
dude cuts from like 200 to 170..
I really have no way of knowing, GSP claims that BJ walks around bigger than himself.
by dualdiagnosis on Nov 26, 2008 7:39 PM EST up reply actions
BJ fought Machida so, why not?
BJ can put on some fat and get to the 185lb level. He def would love speed and I think that’s a dangerous thing to lose when fighting a guy like Silva., I think Silva would knock BJ out if BJ added that much weight.
Here’s the thing on this show’s buys. My numbers right now look like 840k for Couture-Lesnar. I always believed the floor on this thing was 650, so I think the media push and UFC hype added around 200k buys. I also think they dropped the ball on self promotion, and if they had really pushed it they could have done a million.
It looks like where they thought Lesnar-Couture would sell itself, and were right to an extent, they know they are going to have to push the importance of this one. The 24/7 series, the press tour…and I believe MMA Live will return to Vegas for ESPN coverage for this one. I do believe it can do similar numbers to Randy-Brock if promoted the right way.
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