In the UFC 101 main event, UFC Lightweight champion "The Prodigy" B.J. Penn (13-5-1) will take on #2 USAT/SBN ranked contender Kenny Florian (11-3) in what many consider to be one of the best lightweight match-ups of the year.

B.J. Penn is coming off one of the most crushing losses in his career as he took on UFC Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre in a welterweight title bout at UFC 94. Penn was overwhelmed by the power and wrestling ability of St. Pierre, and he was soundly finished at the fourth round mark due to a doctor stoppage.

Florian is coming into the bout on a six-fight win streak with his most recent wins against Joe Lauzon, Roger Huerta, and Joe Stevenson. His quick win over Stevenson at UFC 91 earned him the #1 contender spot.

Florian has become one of the more impressive fighters in the UFC. He went from a stint on Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter to a title shot one year later against Sean Sherk. After that loss he put on an impressive streak of six wins and earned another title shot against B.J. Penn. His quick-learning mind coupled with his great work ethic have paid huge dividends as he's substantially improved from fight to fight. That's one of the main reasons why Florian is always a question mark coming into bouts. Has his skill improved so much that he can compete with a talented champion like B.J. Penn?

Kenny's past fights have been a brilliant display of his improving skills. Following his loss to Sean Sherk at UFC 64 in which Florian had trouble getting away from the top control dominance of Sherk's power, Florian knew exactly what he needed to do to overcome his deficiencies in his skill set in order to become a champion. The most notable improvements have been his guard passing and ground abilities shown against Alvin Robinson, Joe Lauzon, and Joe Stevenson along with a solid striking game he implemented against Roger Huerta that had Huerta scratching his head as to how to damage Florian. All of those performances were absolutely dominating, and it surely made the case for Florian's current status as challenger to the crown.

Florian currently trains out of Team Sityodtong in Boston, Mass. with Mark Dellagrotte. His primary focuses are on Muay Thai and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but he's definitely able to work in all areas of the sport. He holds a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Roberto Maia, and his Muay Thai is likely near black belt level as well. He also works out at his own facility, Florian Mixed Martial Arts, in Brookline, Mass. with his brother Keith.

B.J. Penn is one of the most dominating lightweight fighters of this era. He's defeated nearly everyone within the 155 pound division worldwide with the exception of some of the higher-ranked Japanese fighters. He did manage to defeat Takanori Gomi in a Rumble at the Rock battle back in 2003 when Gomi was the Shooto Welterweight champion, but he had yet to become the lightweight champion of PRIDE. Nonetheless, fans consider B.J. Penn to be the greatest lightweight fighter of all time.

B.J. Penn is known for very quick, accurate, powerful hands, unbelievable flexibility on the floor, and the ability to be dominating in the ground game. He's one of the most well-rounded fighters in the sport, and that's why Penn has been a monster in the lightweight division. Because of his dominance, Penn has tested himself throughout his career at many different weight classes. He's fought Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes multiple times, winning the UFC Welterweight crown from Hughes back in '04 at UFC 46. He fought Lyoto Machida in Japan at a K-1 HERO's event in the Light Heavyweight division, and he's even considered the prospect of battling fighters within the UFC's Middleweight division.

Unfortunately for Penn, his moves up in weight haven't brought him success. It's evident that his true weight class is the 155 lb. division. One of the biggest questions that pops up in nearly every single fight Penn is involved in is his conditioning. Penn has been accused of taking fights less seriously than most fighters, and a lot of fans believe that he purely relies on talent to defeat his opponents. While it's an impressive feat for Penn to simply crush challengers by just talent alone, it can't continually work against opponents forever. It was brought up following Penn's destruction at the hands of St. Pierre following their bout back at UFC 94, and it's once again being discussed regarding his preparation for Kenny Florian. Some fans have pointed out the recent interviews with Penn in which he seems to still be focused on the St. Pierre loss rather than the fight at hand. Penn will need that focus back to be successful on Saturday.

This bout comes down to whether or not Kenny Florian can match the skill of B.J. Penn. We know Penn is at the top of the food chain in terms of stance in the division, but he's also one of the top mixed martial artists to ever fight in the lightweight division. Florian has solid kicks, striking, and jiu-jitsu, and his training regiment along with all of the partners he works with are instrumental in his improvements over the years. If you've followed his Twitter account, he's constantly training to improve, and it's a testament to his work ethic.

The interesting part about B.J.'s training for this fight is that he's brought in much better talent to help him train for this fight. Many fans have pointed out that Penn's overall demeanor in some of the interviews around the Internet suggest that he's way more focused on this fight that what you would believe. I'm still hesitant to believe we won't see a conditioning breakdown, but he's just so much better at 155 that it's definitely a possibility of seeing a blowout.

Stylistically, Penn has advantages in most areas of this fight. At 155, he has blazing fast speed with his hands. His jab can reduce an opponent to rubble (Sean Sherk), and his timing is uncanny. On the floor, Penn has the advantage via flexibility and skill, but Kenny can probably counter the abilities of Penn. Kenny will have a wrestling advantage, but Penn's jiu-jitsu can probably counter Florian in a battle at 155, unlike St. Pierre at 170. Most fans would point out Penn's flexibility and transition ability on the ground as a major advantage over Florian's black belt status, and I couldn't argue with that. Ultimately, we don't know how much Kenny has improved, so he's once again a real question mark coming into this fight. The possibility of an absolute war is high, but Penn has the skills to silence his doubters in this one.