Edgar-Penn III Set for July 6th

A few months ago, we announced that former UFC Lightweight Champions, Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn would be cast as the coaches of the nineteenth season of the hit reality show the Ultimate Fighter.  Now we have received word that a date has been set for the two men to meet for the third match of their trilogy.  Edgar and Penn will be going to war at the TUF 19 Finale at the end of the season on July 6th.  The two men first faced each other in the Lightweight Division in which Edgar defeated Penn for the UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 112.  He later defended the title against Penn in an instant rematch at UFC 118.  The two will now face each other in the UFC's Featherweight Division where Frankie Edgar has found a new home in the UFC.  BJ Penn has never fought at Featherweight in his career, but wanted the fight with Edgar so bad that he was willing to make the weight cut.

This certainly could be a barn burner between the two fighters.  In the first two fights, we saw Edgar outclass Penn.  Though Penn has never fought at Featherweight I predict that Penn will take this fight due to the fact that he has flew down to Brazil to train with Nova Uniao and Anthony Pedernieras whom he trained with early in his career.  With guys like Jose Aldo, Diego Nunes and Renan Barao to train with, I think it gives him just enough to defeat Edgar in their third fight.

The Future of GSP to Be Announced this Friday

Georges "Rush" St-Pierre also known as GSP has announced that he will be holding a press conference in Montreal this Friday to fill in everyone on his plans in the UFC.

GSP has been a force to be reckoned since he began his MMA career.  His very first pro fight was against tough MMA veteran Ivan Menjivar back in 2002.  Two years later he made his UFC debut against Judo expert Karo Parysian at UFC 46 in 2004.  He won that fight and then followed up with a TKO victory over Jay Hieron at UFC 48.

After successfully rolling past his first two opponents in the UFC, GSP was granted a title fight at UFC 50 with the reigning bad man at 170 lbs at the time, Matt Hughes.  When we watched that fight we learned that the young man that was challenging for the title was going to be the future of the UFC's welterweight division, but it was not to happen on that night.  St-Pierre was submitted at the 4:59 mark of the first round with an armbar that he tapped to immediately.

After losing to Hughes at UFC 50 he made his return at UFC 52 against Jason "Mayhem" Miller and won a pretty clear cut decision over Miller.  That fight was followed by another challenge that GSP concurred, a match with Frank "Twinkle Toes" Trigg who was at that time the most recent opponent that Hughes had defended his title against. GSP was able to submit Trigg with the same choke that Hughes had finished him with.  With another successful victory in the books, Sean Sherk was the next man that the UFC put in front of the red-hot rising star from Canada.  GSP was able to finish Sherk in the second round via TKO due to strikes.  Next up for St-Pierre was a hungry Penn who was looking to make a successful return to the UFC since he won the UFC Welterweight title two years earlier.  St-Pierre went on to win a successful split decision victory over Penn.

With a win over BJ Penn GSP was able to gain a second title shot against Matt Hughes in November 2006 at UFC 65.  St-Pierre would go on to take the title from Matt Hughes on that very night as he stunned Hughes in the second round to gain a TKO victory over the the UFC's most dominant Welterweight Champion.

This fight would begin GSP's first UFC title reign.  For St-Pierre the title reign would be he short-lived as he has a hungry challenger waiting to snatch the title up from underneath him.  His first title defense would be against the TUF 4 winner Matt Serra.  Serra caught "Rush" in the first round and went on to earn a TKO victory in the first round.

After that defeat, St-Pierre would have to fight his way back to a title shot with Serra.  He then met TUF 1 alumni, Josh Koscheck. He defeated Koscheck via unanimous decision.  His next test would be his third meeting with Former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes.  He defeated Hughes with the same move that Hughes beat him with in their first bout.

After defeating Hughes by submission in the second round, it was time for GSP to face off with Serra again.  In that fight St-Pierre showed up with a a new found fire in his eyes that led him to TKO Serra with a vicious series of knees to the body that caused the referee to end the fight and GSP to gain his title back.  St-Pierre was scheduled to face Jon Fitch as his first challenger since getting the title back.  St. Pierre went on to earn a decision victory over Fitch earning his first successful title defense.  While St-Pierre was making his mark in the UFC's Welterweight division, former UFC Welterweight Champion, BJ had won the UFC Lightweight Championship.  The UFC put on it's first super fight as St-Pierre was placed against Penn in a fight for the UFC Welterweight title.  GSP went on to win a TKO victory when Penn couldn't answer the bell at the beginning of the fifth round at UFC 94.

After his victory over Penn, the challengers continued to pile up and GSP began to knock them down. Thiago Alves at UFC 100, Dan Hardy at UFC 111, Josh Koscheck at UFC 124, Jake Shields at UFC 129, Carlos Condit and UFC 154 and Nate Diaz at UFC 158.  All of those men suffered the same fate at the hands of Georges "Rush" St-Pierre.  It wasn't until UFC 167 that we would see GSP struggle with an opponent in a fight.  To put it as simple as possible, GSP got beat up.  He even admitted it himself.He went on to win a split decision that many experts have disputed and thought belonged to his challenger, Johnny Hendricks.

After the fight, a flustered St-Pierre stated that he needed to take some time off from the sport to deal with some personal issues.  Since then we have had no confirmation of whether or not he was going to retire or give Hendricks a rematch for the title.  This Friday we will find out if we have seen the las of GSP in the Octagon.

Should UFC Champ Georges St-Pierre retire this Friday?--Rough Spar MMA

Yes - He should go out on top

Yes - He has nothing left in him

No - He still owes Hendricks a rematch

No - He still has many years ahead of him

Other

Please Specify:

Poll Maker

Bas Rutten to Join TUF 19 Coaching Staff

TUF 19 Coach BJ Penn made an appearence on journalistic MMA show Inside MMA today and while he was there he extended the offer for television host Bas Rutten to join his all-star cast of assistant coaches for the upcoming season of the Ultimate Fighter.  Bas Rutten happily accepted and will be expected to make an appearance on the show.

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Bas Rutten retired from MMA with an impressive 28-4 record.  Bas Rutten is a man that eats, sleeps, breathes and lives MMA.  Rutten became a major player in the legendary Pancrase promotion years ago and won the King of Pancrase Championship twice.  In 1999, Rutten made his way to the UFC and defeated Kevin Randleman to become the UFC Heavyweight Championship.  After winning the UFC Championship, Rutten retired from MMA but later came out of retirement in 2006 for one more fight before officially retiring again.

Mark Coleman to Aid Team Penn on TUF

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion and Pride Grand Prix Champion, Mark Coleman, retired from MMA competition earlier this year at the age of 48.  Though he has retired from fighting himself, he still will be involved in the the future of MMA as we have received word that Mark Coleman will be aiding longtime friend BJ Penn in the upcoming season of the UFC's the Ultimate Fighter reality show.

Mark Coleman will be working alongside former UFC Lightweight and Welterweight Champion, BJ Penn, as the wrestling coach for Team Penn on TUF 19.  Coleman stated that it would be an honor to work with a man who has been his friend since the early days of the UFC.  BJ Penn will be coaching opposite of the man who has beaten him on two different occasions and taken his title, Frankie Edgar.  The two men will square off at the end of the season in a featherweight bout.

Aldo to Help Penn Beat Edgar

Anthony Pedernieras, Head Coach of Nova Uniao in Brazil, has made it public that he and his team will be aiding BJ Penn his featherweight debut against Frankie Edgar. Pedernieras says that he wants Penn to Join his camp including UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo.

New TUF Coaches are Rivals BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar

Just when you thought that BJ Penn was becoming irrelevant in the UFC, the you find out that he has resigned with the UFC.  Former UFC Welterweight and Lightweight Champion, B.J. Penn's first challenge will be to coach opposite of the man who stopped his title reign at lightweight in April 2010, Frankie Edgar.  The UFC is expecting to begin airing the new season of the Ultimate Fighter in April 2014.

The two of them first met in April 2010 at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi for the UFC Lightweight title.  This was a fight in which Frankie Edgar won the title by a close decision that some of the experts could argue could've went either way.  In the second fight Frankie Edgar won undoubtedly to retain his title.

The original plot for the show was to have Frankie Edgar coach against Uriah Faber, but it was impossible to get the two men to move out of their current weight class and agree on one class. Concurrently B.J. Penn had stated that he had wanted a fight with Benson Henderson in hopes of getting a rematch with Edgar with a victory over Henderson.  Instead of fighting Henderson, White and Penn are able to get him on the show and a featherweight to follow.

What Should Happen Next For Henderson

After Ben Henderson's title loss to new UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis we are left with the question of who Benson Henderson should fight next.  I think that there a few fights that make sense for the UFC to put together.

I think that a fight with current #4 ranked UFC Lightweight Josh Thomson would be the fight that I want to see the most.  Josh Thomson is coming off of a knockout finish over Nate Diaz at UFC on Fox 7 in April.  Josh Thomson has been considered an elite lightweight fighter for many years.  In his UFC return he proved that the bright lights of the UFC place no extra pressure on the MMA vet.  I think that this match up is one that makes the most sense.  Thomson is on his way to the top and knocking on the door of his title shot and a win over Henderson would be a good way to secure a shot.

On the inverse it is also a beneficial match for Henderson as well.  Henderson has demolished most of the UFC's top lightweights upon his entrance into the UFC.  Now that Strikforce has been absorbed  by the UFC there are more options out there for Henderson to face.  If Henderson could defeat Thomson he could cement his elite status by defeating a very respected MMA vet who still has a lot of fight left.  Josh Thomson has many victories in Strikeforce and has challenged for the Strikforce title on three occasions.  Josh Thomson could arguably be considered the second best Lightweight fighter to come out of Strikeforce, following Gilbert Melendez.  If Henderson wins it means that he can still beat the UFC's best-of-the-best in the 155lb weight class.

Another option is the possibility of a Henderson-Cerrone III.  There's nothing that fans love more than a good trilogy.  Both men are coming off a defeat within the last two weeks and need a win.  Like Thomson, Cerrone has been a long time contender in the Zuffa organization.  Donald Cerrone has fought for the WEC Lightweight Championship on three occasions.  His first title fight was with Jamie Varner and his next two were with Benson Henderson.  Cerrone is a one of the UFC's best lighweights and a great match up for Henderson to produce a war.

In October at UFC 166, the king of the Strikforce Lightweight Division, Gilbert Melendez, will be facing the original Ultimate Fighter, Diego Sanchez.  If Ben Henderson were to face the winner of the Melendez-Sanchez it provides UFC fans with two beautiful options: a rematch that allows Gilbert Melendez to avenge his split decision loss to Henderson earlier this year or a fresh match between two of the UFC's biggest stars whose paths have yet to cross.

Other options: Rafael dos Anjos, Gleison Tibau, Gray Maynard and BJ Penn if he chooses to pursuit his fight career again.