The Cleveland Fan on Facebook

STO
The Cleveland Fan on Twitter
Misc Boxing/MMA Boxing Archive Penn Dominant In UFC 84 Headliner
Written by Scott Swerbinsky

Scott Swerbinsky
It was a solid night of fights last evening at UFC 84 from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and BJ Penn showed once again why he is widely considered one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world with a dominating win over Sean Sherk to defend his lightweight title.  Tito Ortiz on the other hand, looked very poor in what is expected to be his last fight in the UFC.  My cousin Scott recaps the entire night of fights for us in his latest. Last night in Las Vegas, UFC 84 went down at the MGM Grand, and anyone that was doubting BJ Penn's focus can stop.

When BJ Penn is right mentally he might just be the best pound for pound fighter in the world. Penn defended his lightweight title in dominating fashion over Sean Sherk.  The fight was stopped after the third round because Sherk had no clue where he was.

After fifteen minutes, Penn looked as if he didn't even break a sweat or get hit. Sherk on the other hand was a mess. His face was battered and beaten and so was his pride. BJ showed everyone there is no doubt who the king is at 155 pounds in the UFC.

All three rounds were very similar. The fight was a standup battle and that played right into BJ Penn's hands. Sherk is a dominating wrestler and only tried a few takedowns. He wasn't able to even come close to getting Penn down.  Penn just continued to land hard shots to both the head and body. Sherk had no answer. To his credit he did keep coming forward, but was just hammered and beaten.

With about fifteen seconds left in the third round Penn landed a solid combination that sent Sherk backing into the cage. He followed it up with a perfectly timed flying knee that landed right on the button. Sherk wobbled down and BJ went in for the kill. Hammer fists were raining down when the bell sounded and Sherk was out cold. The fight was stopped and so was the possibility of BJ Penn losing his lightweight title.

Who is next for BJ Penn? If he gets what he wants, it will be a rematch with welterweight title holder Georges St. Pierre. The two fought to a close decision back at UFC 58, where GSP got the win. Penn dominated the first round and then faded. BJ would like nothing better than to avenge that loss against another top fighter. I would love to see it.

Tito Ortiz showed yet again why the UFC  shouldn't resign him. I am a huge Ortiz fan, there is no secret about that.  To me, the game has passed him by. He is clearly a one dimensional fighter. He's a wrestler and used to have the best ground and pound in the sport. Now, he's an average wrestler and if he can't get takedowns he isn't any fun to watch.

Lyoto Machida won an easy decision over Ortiz to keep his undefeated streak alive. He landed good shots and avoided the weak takedown attempts by Ortiz. Machida didn't do all that much to impress me with his akward style but it was enough to win all three rounds.

Tito Ortiz will land in another organization somewhere and be just fine. He is not even close to the fighter he once was. Ortiz was and still is good for the sport but he needs to elevate his game to be considered a threat to anyone.

Wanderlei Silva  showed why Keith Jardine is not a real title contender as many people thought he was. Silva landed a few good hard shots and destroyed Jardine on way to a 36 second victory. That is the second time in his last three fights that Jardine was beaten silly. Look for Silva to possibly drop from 205 to 185 and fight Anderson Silva.

Full results:

B.J. Penn def. Sean Sherk - TKO (Strikes) 5:00 R3

Wanderlei Silva def. Keith Jardine - KO (Punches) 0:36 R1

Goran Reljic def. Wilson Gouveia - TKO (Strikes) 3:15 R2

Lyoto Machida def. Tito Ortiz - Unanimous Decision (30-27 all)

Thiago Silva def. Antonio Mendes - Tapout (Strikes) 2:24 R1

Rousimar Palhares def. Ivan Salaverry - Tapout (Armbar) 2:36 R1

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou def. Kazuhiro Nakamura - TKO (Strikes) 5:00 R1

Rich Clementi def. Terry Etim - Unanimous Decision (29-28 all)

Yoshiyuki Yoshida def. Jon Koppenhaver - Technical Submission (Anaconda Choke) 0:56 R1

Dong Hyun Kim def. Jason Tan - TKO (Strikes) 0:25 R3

Shane Carwin def. Christian Wellisch - TKO (Strikes) 0:44 R1

A solid night of fights yet again from the UFC. BJ Penn is simply amazing and Tito Ortiz wore out his welcome in the UFC. The best organization in mixed martial arts continues to impress its fans and last night was no different. I walked away satisfied and wanting more. UFC 85 is right around the corner on June 7th and I'll be waiting.

The TCF Forums