GSP happy with Penn fight : On to new chapter

[MattHughesRocks]

When Georges St. Pierre entered the Octagon at UFC 94 a great many people picked him to beat B.J. Penn, but very few thought it would be as one-sided as the fight ended up being. The Canadian champion dominated his way to a TKO stoppage.

After the fourth round ended, St. Pierre went back to his corner one more time to get the gameplan that he hoped would put Penn away once and for all, but Penn's corner signaled the finish and the referee stopped the fight.

"I knew I was in total control of the fight, and when I came back in the corner for the fifth (round) my trainer told me that for the fifth round stay standing up and pick him apart because he had a hard time even standing on his feet. If the fifth would have started, I was going to open up right away standing up and try to finish him in the early fifth round," St. Pierre told MMAWeekly Radio recently.

"He gave up before the fifth round came."

There was much pre-fight hype around this bout and attention paid to Penn's comments towards St. Pierre on the Spike TV series "UFC Primetime" in regards to the welterweight champion's loss to Matt Serra in 2007 in which he tapped out from strikes. Penn repeatedly called his opponent a quitter, and after the fight was over, it was St. Pierre who was standing tall when the Hawaiian could take no more.

"To tell you the truth, because he has said a lot of bad things about me, and he keeps saying a lot of bad things, I'm going to tell you the truth, I felt great about it," St. Pierre commented about the way the fight ended. "For me it's a big satisfaction, because he said I'm a quitter, and I'm not the one who didn't come back for the last round.

"I thought in the beginning it would have been better if I win by a submission or a knockout, but the more I think about it, the more I'm happy about the ending. Because it proved a point for me."

St. Pierre went onto say he actually commended Penn for his decision to stop the fight if he was unable to intelligently continue, and says that no fighter should feel shame if they are forced to tap out.

"If I get caught in an armbar, I prefer to tap and come back stronger the next time than not tapping and even losing the fight and my arm being dislocated, and not having my arm come back at 100 percent," St. Pierre stated.

Before the fight, Penn seemingly went for the throat when commenting about St. Pierre, his camp, and his trainers. Since the fight, the focus has now turned to a dispute about St. Pierre's cornermen and the way they applied Vaseline between rounds. The Canadian champion says he's lost some respect for Penn, but he's moving on to bigger and better things.

"With all the things that have happened, the excuses, all these things, I'm not very happy about it to tell you the truth. I'm mad a little bit," St. Pierre said about Penn. "The thing is, the more I talk about it, the more people will talk about it, the more people will think I'm trying to make an excuse. I'm not the one who tried to say things. I have nothing to hide. I've always been honest. For me, they can say whatever they want. For me, the fight is over now. I look to the future; B.J. is the past.

"I enter a new chapter in my career. I want to go forward, not to go back."

St. Pierre is already back in light workouts and will travel to Colorado soon to help teammate Nate Marquardt prepare for his Feb. 21 fight at UFC 95 against Wilson Gouveia in London, England.


http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...=8132&zoneid=2

[NateR]

Originally Posted by MattHughesRocks

"I enter a new chapter in my career. I want to go forward, not to go back."

I actually agree, we don't want this to turn into another Ken/Tito trilogy. If BJ wants a rematch, he should be forced to give up the LW title and then win one non-title WW match before getting another chance at GSP.

Originally Posted by MattHughesRocks

"With all the things that have happened, the excuses, all these things, I'm not very happy about it to tell you the truth. I'm mad a little bit," St. Pierre said about Penn. "The thing is, the more I talk about it, the more people will talk about it, the more people will think I'm trying to make an excuse. I'm not the one who tried to say things. I have nothing to hide. I've always been honest. For me, they can say whatever they want. For me, the fight is over now. I look to the future; B.J. is the past.

"I enter a new chapter in my career. I want to go forward, not to go back."




http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...=8132&zoneid=2

Good statement from GSP! He should just move on. I'm sure the next time he fights, he will be watched very closely. AND if he makes quick work of Alves, which, I think he will, there should be no more doubts.....at least on the greasy issue!

[rockdawg21]

I agree, BJ just needs to accept the fact that he's not a true WW. He's got enormous talent, but he's going about it the wrong way - gaining fat in order to fight @ WW. Like I said in another post, if he's serious about fighting at WW, he needs to take a year and do a real muscle bulk, fight maybe 2 fights at WW to prove himself, then get a shot at GSP. I'd say if he can get by Fitch and Alves, then he should get a shot at GSP.

GSP is right, time to move on. Alves deserves the shot and it would also be cool to see GSP move up to face Silva.

Originally Posted by NateR

I actually agree, we don't want this to turn into another Ken/Tito trilogy. If BJ wants a rematch, he should be forced to give up the LW title and then win one non-title WW match before getting another chance at GSP.

Exactly .... the funny thing is, is that everyone knows that BJ makes excuses, my ribs hurt, i gassed, the stars weren't aligned, so imo, he really looks like the sore loser in all this ... but gsp is right, look toward alves now and don't even bother with BJ anymore

Originally Posted by NateR

I actually agree, we don't want this to turn into another Ken/Tito trilogy. If BJ wants a rematch, he should be forced to give up the LW title and then win one non-title WW match before getting another chance at GSP.

Bingo.....Winner winner, chicken dinner...LOL

[Spiritwalker]

Originally Posted by NateR

I actually agree, we don't want this to turn into another Ken/Tito trilogy. If BJ wants a rematch, he should be forced to give up the LW title and then win one non-title WW match before getting another chance at GSP.

EXCELLENT idea!!! I could get behind that 100%

[Spiritwalker]

Originally Posted by rockdawg21

GSP is right, time to move on. Alves deserves the shot and it would also be cool to see GSP move up to face Silva.

After he can prove he can make weight for a few fights.. sure

[NateR]

Originally Posted by Spiritwalker

After he can prove he can make weight for a few fights.. sure

If Alves fails to make weight when fighting GSP, then I think he can forget about ever getting a WW title shot again.

[Spiritwalker]

Originally Posted by NateR

If Alves fails to make weight when fighting GSP, then I think he can forget about ever getting a WW title shot again.

Nothing pisses me off more in MMA than not making weight.. it's worse than forgetting your homework in school...

Though for some reason I still like Gina... maybe it's just the bumps and curves.