For those who didn't see it, BJ "The Prodigy" Penn defeated Joe "Daddy" Stevenson at the main event of UFC 80 - Rapid Fire on Saturday night. Penn opened up a gusher of a cut on Stevenson's head with an elbow from the mount in the first round, then finished him off with a rear naked choke in the second round.
The fight was pure emotion from start to finish. At Hooter's in York, the amount of blood Stevenson was losing caused some people to cringe. I think people were seriously concerned for his well-being.
For Penn, it was the realization of a dream for a second world title, amidst criticism that he couldn't get in shape or focus for big fights.
After the fight, Penn said, "Sherk, you're dead," referring to Sean Sherk, who was the last man to hold the title before being stripped for testing positive for steroids. Sherk then entered the cage, and BJ then shakes his hand (wtf???) Makes me wonder if Penn was fed that line just to fuel this "feud" the two have going. The other thing is, I'm sure UFC brass made sure Sherk was going to be there so he could hear what Penn was going to say. "You're gonna be there, right Sean, right?"
Finally, Stevenson was obviously overcome with emotion at the end of the fight as he wept. And really, there's nothing wrong with that. He had probably dreamed of becoming a world champion since he got into the sport many years ago. He may have thought of his kids, and how he "failed them" by losing. He didn't by the way - they should be very proud of their dad. With a huge gash on his head, he came out swinging for the start of the second round. The man is a warrior.
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