UFC 137, Penn vs. Diaz was a complicated affair. It was originally set for Oct.15 at the Echo Arena Liverpool in Liverpool, England. Due to scheduling issues it was held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Oct. 29.
The main event was initially set to be a battle between Nick Diaz and Georges “Rush” St-Pierre for the Welterweight title. Diaz was pulled from the title fight due to his failure to show up for pre-fight news conferences. Carlos “Natural Born Killer” Condit, originally paired with BJ “The Prodigy” Penn, was given the opportunity to challenge St-Pierre for the title. Diaz vs. Penn was to be the co-main event.
St-Pierre however, had to drop off the card due to a knee injury, leaving Penn vs. Diaz the main attraction. The fight was highly entertaining. It was three five-minute rounds of none-stop action. Penn looked the better of the two with his counter punching and takedown of Diaz in the first round.
The second and third rounds however were dominated by Diaz. He attacked relentlessly with high level boxing combos, knees and kicks. At the end of the bout Penn’s face was smashed up and he appeared fatigued. Diaz won by unanimous decision putting him on an 11-fight winning streak.
During the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Diaz commended Penn for his toughness and called out St-Pierre.
“I don’t think Georges is hurt. I think he’s scared,” he said.
The fight between Diaz and St-Pierre is back on. Condit will be matched up with another opponent. Condit is on a four-fight winning streak, the last three via TKO. He is not too happy with the way things have unfolded.
Penn announced his retirement during the post-fight interview.
“This is the last time you’ll see me in here. I have a daughter and another on the way. I don’t want to go home looking like this,” he said.
BJ “The Prodigy” Penn is a legend in MMA. He was the first non-Brazilian to win the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship at the black-belt level. With an MMA record of 16 -8-2 he has held both Lightweight and Middleweight championship titles. His fans will miss seeing him in the octagon.
Mirko Filipovic, commonly known as Mirko Cro Cop, another legend in MMA history retired after the events of UFC 137. Roy “Big Country” Nelson beat him by TKO in 1:30 of the third round. Cro Cop is known for his devastating head kicks in former K-1 and Pride Fighting Championship fights.
Immediately preceding the fights on pay-per-view were some on Spike TV. One of which was Tyson Griffin vs. Bart Palaszewski. Griffin showed up three pounds overweight, which he was fined for. He was knocked out by Palaszewski in 2:45 of the first round.
There were four bouts that could be seen on facebook, right before the preliminary card on Spike. Brandon “The Truth” Vera vs. Eliot “The Fire” Marshall was the last of these. It was also shown on Spike immediately before the main card. Vera won by unanimous decision after surviving a nasty armbar he got caught in 30 seconds before the third round ended. His arm appeared to have popped but he didn’t tap. He rode it out, throwing punches to the end. He suffered some damage to the ligaments in his arm.
UFC 137 presented an exciting night of fights. Retirements, arms almost getting ripped off, and a lot of controversy. MMA fans are ready to do it again Nov 5. At UFC 138, Leben vs. Munoz.
