B.J. Penn submits Matt Hughes at UFC 46. Photo by Jeff Sherwood.
It's been nearly seven years since B.J. Penn and Matt Hughes first stepped into the octagon together at UFC 46. Since then, both men have experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in their careers. This Saturday, they will meet to find out who really is the better fighter, as they complete their trilogy of dramatic and exciting fights.
Their first meeting at UFC 46 in January 2004 was seen as a showcase fight for Hughes. Penn was moving up to the welterweight division for the first time, and was taking on the most dominant champion that division had ever seen. Penn had mixed results at lightweight - he was outhustled by Jens Pulver in his first bid for the title; he then struggled with Matt Serra in a title eliminator, before going to a draw with former foe Caol Uno in a bid for the vacant lightweight title. Hughes on the other hand was on a 13 fight win streak that stretched nearly 3 years, including 5 title defenses. Everyone - including Hughes - thought it was a pretty open and shut case. Hughes would take down Penn, put him into the cage, and then beat on him until the referee had seen enough.
Unfortunately for Hughes, it didn't quite work out that way.
Penn came out throwing crisp, accurate punches that had Hughes befuddled. In the middle of a close range exchange, Hughes took a lazy shot for Penn's legs and ended up having to pull guard. Penn got on top and started working with short punches. Hughes went for a kimura, only to have his back taken. With Penn on his back, Hughes went for a kneebar, which caused a scramble that lead to Penn getting back on top of Hughes in his guard. Penn then stood up inside Hughes' guard and landed a powerful overhand right that rocked Hughes badly. Hughes turned his back and Penn pounced, getting a body triangle on Hughes and then going for the rear naked choke. Hughes foolishly grabbed at Penn's foot while Penn sunk the choke, and by the time Hughes realized the error of his ways, he was forced to tap at four minutes and thirty nine seconds of the first round. So ended the long reign of Matt Hughes, and thus started a new championship era lead by BJ Penn.
Or so everyone thought.
Penn would leave the UFC shortly thereafter, and was stripped of the belt. Penn would go on an international tour of sorts, fighting Duane Ludwig and Lyoto Machida in Japan and Rodrigo and Renzo Gracie in Hawaii. Penn would go 3-1 in this period, only losing to Machida in a close decision and at heavyweight no less. At the same time, Hughes went on a tear through the welterweight division once again. After a nip and tuck battle with Renato Verissimo in his first fight after the loss to Penn, he beat Georges St. Pierre with a first round armbar to regain his welterweight title. He then went on to beat Frank Trigg, Joe Riggs and Royce Gracie all in the first round.
Penn returned to the UFC in late 2005, and it was decided that he would face top contender Georges St. Pierre in a title eliminator in March of 2006. The winner would face Hughes for the title later that year. At UFC 58, Penn and St. Pierre fought a close fight, with Penn clearly winning the first round and St. Pierre winning the third round. The second round was close, and the judges were split. St. Pierre walked away with the decision, and Penn was left out of the welterweight title picture for the moment.
Hughes and St. Pierre were scheduled to fight in late September at UFC 63. Penn at the same time was scheduled to fight Kuniyoshi Hironaka a few weeks later in early October. A month or so out from the Hughes - St. Pierre rematch, St. Pierre pulled his groin in training and was forced to withdraw from the fight. The decision was simple for the UFC brass - Penn was put in as St. Pierre's replacement, and the rematch everyone had waited two years for was finally on.
Public opinion was split on the fight. Many fans (such as myself) thought Penn had Hughes' number, and would find a way to win by submission once again. Others thought that Hughes would look like the dominant champion he had been in his last several fights, and would stop Penn with authority.
The rematch played out much differently than the first fight. Penn came out swinging, landing with a nice right hand to the body. After a brief time on the feet, Hughes went for a single leg takedown. He got Penn's left leg in the air, and then drug him backwards towards the cage as Penn crow hopped on one foot. No matter how hard Hughes tried, he couldn't get Penn to the mat.
Eventually they separated, and Penn started picking Hughes apart on the feet, landing clean counter punches. In the second round, Hughes once again went for the single leg, with Penn now doing the splits with one leg folded inward as he tried to avoid the takedown. This time Hughes powered through and put Penn on his back for the first time. Hughes went for punches and elbows as he attempted to pin Penn against the cage. Hughes loaded up on a huge elbow and missed, giving Penn the opening he needed to escape from the bottom and take Hughes' back. Once again, Hughes reached for Penn's foot and was nearly choked for the mistake. Hughes quickly realized that was a losing battle, and focused on fighting off the choke. As Hughes tried to turn into Penn, Penn readjusted and went for a triangle from back control. It was in deep, and then Penn added an armbar as well. It looked like Penn was going to tap Hughes once again, but Hughes defended well enough to survive until the bell. As Penn got up from the mat, he was visibly exhausted. He would later claim he separated a rib taking Hughes' back - but at the time, everyone thought he had simply burned his legs out going for the triangle, a theory I fully support.
Coming out for the third round, Penn was defenseless - he could hardly hold his hands up, let alone fight. Hughes picked him apart on the feet with punches and hard kicks to the legs and body. Soon, Penn took a half hearted shot on Hughes' legs, but it was for naught. Hughes quickly took top position, passed Penn's guard, went to a top crucifix position and pounded out Penn for the stoppage at three minutes and fifty three seconds of the third round. Hughes had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, and Penn was left wondering where it all went wrong.
Hughes and Penn's career would go in wildly different directions after their rematch. Following the loss to Hughes, Penn dropped back down to lightweight for the first time in four years and went on a path of destruction. He would go 5-0 at lightweight over the next three years, running over former rival Jens Pulver, Joe Stevenson, Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez. In January of 2009, Penn went back up to welterweight to challenge Georges St. Pierre for the welterweight title. It was a one sided ass kicking for the Canadian champion, as he forced Penn's corner to call a stop to the punishment before the start of the fifth round. After dropping back down to lightweight and beating Florian and Sanchez in impressive fashion, Penn ran into a riddle he couldn't solve at lightweight - Frankie Edgar. Their first fight was close - most thought Penn won - but Edgar was awarded the unanimous decision. Their rematch was an entirely different fight altogether. An unmotivated and seemingly vapid Penn stood around as Edgar easily won every single round.
Hughes has had similar ups and downs since his win over Penn. The first two years were tough - just two months after beating Penn, Hughes was stopped in highlight reel fashion by Georges St. Pierre in their rematch. He would win a tame decision over journeyman Chris Lytle before being submitted in the rubber match with St. Pierre. He then took an ill advised fight with Thiago Alves on very short notice, and was battered and finally knocked out with a flying knee. Even worse, Hughes badly injured his knee as he crumpled to the canvas, an injury that took him nearly a year to recover from. When he finally made his return in May of 2009, he went on a roll. In the course of a little over a year he went 3-0, winning a decision over rival Matt Serra, stopping Renzo Gracie with strikes, and put Ricardo Almeida to sleep with a slick front headlock.
Hughes and Penn now meet again while both are at a career crossroads of sorts. Penn is sort of a man without a home at the moment, having lost two fights to each of the current champions at lightweight and welterweight.
Without a serious changing of the guard at the top of either division, it's doubtful he'll be contending for another title any time soon. Hughes is sort of in the same boat - due to being on a wildly successful retirement tour, he's now seen as somewhat of a contender in the eyes of many fans, despite the fact that he too has lost two fights to the current welterweight champion. If Hughes wins, he would most likely have another tough fight with someone in the top ten of the welterweight division. If he loses, he probably fights his old nemesis Dennis Hallman one more time. Win or lose, there's the chance Hughes calls it a career and rides off into the sunset. Penn on the other hand is stuck in a weird limbo. If he wins, he could go on to fight various contenders at lightweight or welterweight and just wait until someone beats either Edgar or St. Pierre. If he loses, who knows what he might do.
One thing is certain though - when Hughes and Penn meet for the final time on Saturday night in Detroit Michigan, the stakes will be wildly different than they were the first two times they met. No title is on the line, nor is the promise of a title shot. All that is on the line is both men's pride and their legacy. And that should be more than enough to produce a fantastic finish to their violent and entertaining trilogy.
May the best man win.
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