After a string of injuries and disappointing main events, the UFC is looking to turn things around this Saturday at UFC 107, which features BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez in a headlining lightweight championship match.

Let's break down one of the most anticipated matches of the year.

While he has a mixed record at higher weight classes, Penn is the most dominant 155-pound fighter in the history of the sport. At lightweight, BJ sports a record of 10-1-1 with notable wins over Sean Sherk, Joe Stevenson, Takanori Gomi, and Kenny Florian.

BJ's history at lightweight is even more impressive when you consider the following:

1) BJ debuted in the UFC and so he has only fought top competition. BJ has never been given an easy opponent, though his second fight with Pulver was clearly a mismatch.

2) His only loss at LW (Jens Pulver) came very early in his career and was later avenged in brutal fashion.

3) In his 10 wins at lightweight, Penn finished 9 of his opponents.

BJ's strengths are well known to most MMA fans. He is an amazing grappler with a brutally-efficient top game and a very slippery guard. He is also an excellent boxer with serious punching power.  BJ also possesses some unique physical characteristics - namely his flexibility and balance, which contribute to his uncanny takedown defense. God even blessed BJ with a strong chin and tough skin, all the better for absorbing strikes.

BJ's fatal flaw has historically been a lack of motivation and focus. While he has looked good in recent fights, he has clearly come into some past fights without the proper preparation.

Diego Sanchez sports an overall MMA record of 23 and 2. After going 6 and 2 in the UFC's welterweight division, Diego dropped to 155 to pursue his goal of becoming a UFC champion. Diego's losses to Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch were a clear indication that he just wasn't big enough to compete with the 170 pound division's stable of powerful wrestlers.

At lightweight, Diego has had two fights, earning decision victories over Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida. His notable wins at welterweight were decision victories over Nick Diaz and Karo Parisyan, and a knockout of Joe Riggs.

The Nightmare is best known for his cardio, aggressiveness, and fighting spirit than technical acument. He is, however, a fairly strong wrestler and grappler, having been awarded his BJJ brown belt by Saulo Ribeiro. Most importantly, his desire to win can't be questioned. Even if Diego falls behind early against BJ, there is little chance that he'll break mentally as some of BJ's past victims have.

But is Diego's heart and desire enough to take down The Prodigy?

The answer is no. Here's why.

Diego will come into this fight in fairly good shape and should have a cardio advantage over BJ.

However, look at Diego's two recent performances against Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson.

Diego didn't look bad in either fight, but ask yourself this question - if he's really good enough to take out BJ Penn, shouldn't he have been able to finish, or at least dominate fighters like Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida? Both are quality fighters, but not nearly as technically sound or dangerous as BJ. I'd also argue that Diego's gas tank is just a bit smaller at lightweight.

Technically, BJ is just far more dangerous in every position, standing or on the ground. If Diego comes out swinging the way he did against Guida, he's going to get hurt very quickly. He just doesn't have the punching power to stand and trade with the iron-chinned Penn.

And if Diego manages to overcome BJ's patented one-legged, hopping takedown defense, he won't be able to deliver much damage on the ground. BJ is very good at defending from his back and getting up to his feet. And If BJ takes the top position, Diego is going to take some punishment. BJ ate Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson for breakfast on the ground. Diego may be trained by Saulo and Xande Ribeiro, two of the best grapplers and BJJ practitioners in history, but BJ's MMA grappling skills are far more advanced.

Diego may come into this fight in better shape, but I'll take the guy who is :

1) Better at everything from a technique perspective except offensive wrestling

and

2) Has fought, beaten, and finished better competition.

My Prediction: Penn by submission, round 3.

As an enthusiastic, gregarious guy that's been around the fight game for quite a long time, Renzo Gracie's always been a great interview subject.

However, in his recent interview with The FightWorks Podcast, he took things to a whole new level after being asked about some sensitive topic, notably the long-running Gracie family feuds.

TFWP graciously provided a transcription of their conversation with Renzo, but I recommend listening for the full flavor.

Here are some highlights:

On Rorion Gracie:

"One thing I feel sorry about, is Rorion’s kids. They are very good kids, but their father feeds them nonsense. So, they could be unbelievable fighters, but they are going to end up as mediocre fighters, mediocre people. They are going to go through life as great businessmen. If I was them, I’d be selling self-help books, that’s what they should be doing. There is more money in that, instead of claiming that they are real fighters.

They are far from being real fighters. Far. Believe me. When they created a competition, when my cousin Rorion created a competition and created the rules, so his kids could win, and then tells that his kid is going to win, they couldn’t even win that. Not even the pure jiu jitsu rule that he claims he created, which was nonsense rules. Next thing I see, his kids could win nothing. They were losing to guys on the second tier, like Marc Laimon, he was beating them up. Guys who could not even feature in a world championship! People who could never compete in an Abu Dhabi and do well!"

You know, its become a joke. Let me tell you what the real jiu jitsu is: the real jiu jitsu is the one that doesn’t back away from a challenge. It goes at the obstacle and defends its flag. It’s like, if you want to claim that you have the best fighting style, you should be in the UFC kicking some ass. That’s where the best competition is.

So when people call me, saying "this is the real jiu jitsu," the next thing they are going to say is "I cannot use it, because I could kill you!" [laughs] You know, that’s what I heard my whole life, from those fake martial artists who claim they were better than everybody else. So believe it my friend, I live my whole life watching this and seeing this. We were always against that, and now suddenly one branch of my family is turning into that! It’s claiming that, but doesn’t go on the proving ground to prove it, does not step into the place where he should actually be representing jiu jitsu, to do it.

On the "Who made GJJ?" controversy:

You have to understand, my uncle Hélio was one of the most amazing jiu jitsu fighters I have ever seen. He was responsible for developing a lot of the defence aspect. The fact that he was very weak, physically, but he was able to develop sharpness on the defence.

But, my uncle Hélio never had a chance to meet the Japanese person who actually taught my grandfather. Uncle Hélio never met him, never lay his eyes on Mitsuyo Maeda. So before Uncle Hélio, there was my grandfather Carlos Gracie, there was Jorge Gracie, there was Osvaldo Gracie and there was Gastao Gracie. Those four were fighting before my Uncle Hélio. Uncle Hélio had the chance to represent. Was he an important link on the chain? Yes he was. He was the Einstein, he spent his whole life on the mat, developing and working to make jiu jitsu better. But to claim that he was the creator? He was far from that.

*****UPDATE*****

According to a FWP Twitter update, Rener Gracie, son of Rorion Gracie will respond to Renzo's comments in a podcast to be released this coming Sunday. Should be entertaining.

Gonna keep this one short and sweet:

There's some minor grumbling out there about the judging of the Forrest/Tito fight, whether Tito's back and skull were in fighting shape, not to mention the wacky stuff that happened in the Koscheck/Rumble fight.

But nobody's talking about the REAL controversy at UFC 106 - the fact that Josh Koscheck received the submission of the night award.

Kendall Grove's lightning-fast, come-from-behind triangle choke finish of Jake Rosholt was WAY more impressive than Kos' comparatively boring rear-naked choke of Anthony Johnson. Koscheck simply muscled a worn-out Rumble to get the choke. I don't see how anyone can deny that Kendall's finish was both far more technical and exciting than Koscheck's, and just plain cooler to see.

I would also argue that George Sotiropolous' armbar submission of Jason Dent was way more impressive than Kos' RNC. 

Maybe Josh has pics of Dana White dancing around in ladies' underpants, but there's no way he deserved to win submission of the night over Kendall or George.

Am I crazy? Vote in the poll!

(even the Google agrees!)

I normally don't complain much about close decisions. If a fight's close enough to go either way, odds are that I didn't remember every little thing that could have swayed the judges one way or the other. So why go crazy?

But tonight, there was zero doubt in my mind that Mauricio "Shogun" Rua beat Lyoto Machida. Shogun clearly won rounds 1, 4, and 5 by outstriking Machida. Round 2 was close and could have gone either way, and Shogun probably edged out Round 3.

Bottom line, Shogun won at least 3 rounds and the decision was crap. Machida's facial expressions said it all.

Shogun, you may not hold the light heavyweight belt, but tonight you proved that you are a true champion and a legend of the sport. After a loss to Forrest Griffin, two knee surgeries, and an underwhelming performance against Mark Coleman, just about everyone counted you out.

But you did the unthinkable tonight - you made the invincible Machida look not only human, but bad. And with that, you now have a bigger fan base than you ever did before. The judges may have made you a loser on the scorecards, but the fans know who the real champ is.

Dana, thank you for making an immediate rematch. (Dana seemed to make it clear that it will happen during the press conference)

And Shogun, you'll have the people on your side next time.

I recently wrote 10 Fights I Want the UFC to Make Happen, a Fanpost now famous for its revelation that 110 BE readers can't live without seeing Dustin Hazelett fight Paulo "Silva" Thiago.

In the spirit of that post, here are 10 more fights I want the UFC to make happen:

1) Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin - After being finished two straight times, Forrest needs a big win to get back into the title mix, and Rich Franklin would be a perfect fit. Franklin has a name among casual and hardcore MMA fans, and would surely like his own chance to defeat a marquee 205-pounder.

2) Joe Lauzon vs. Nate Diaz - This is the fight I really wanted to see on Season 5 of The Ultimate Fighter. Joe is a wild, wide-open type of fighter, but Nate has proven he can capitalize on overly-aggressive fighters. This would be perfect to headline an Ultimate Fight Night, and would almost certainly lead to a Fight of the Night award.

3) Kenny Florian vs. Hermes Franca - At times, Kenny's practiced a diet-Machida sort of elusiveness, but Hermes would push straight forward and make it a brawl. Can Kenny catch Hermes overextending himself? There's only one way to find out.

4) Randy Couture vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - Randy wants to go back down to 205, and he likes "interesting" fights - so why not put him up against Rampage? Randy may have come up short against Nogueira at UFC 102, but he still put on one hell of a show that night. Would Randy try to outwrestle Rampage? Stand and bang? Who the hell knows, but the anticipation for this bout would be incredible.

5) Thiago Silva vs. Brandon Vera - Is "The Truth" for real? After yet another lackluster performance at UFC 102, I say no. But against an aggressive striker that's only been out of the first round once  in his UFC career, Vera would be forced to prove that he's not just taking up space on the main cards of PPV events.

6) BJ Penn vs. Josh Koscheck - One of my favorite fights of all time was BJ Penn/Matt Hughes 2. An in-shape BJ against a bigger, strong wrestler could be a recipe for an equally exciting bout. Koscheck isn't well-rounded enough to massacre Penn GSP-style. Rather, he's good enough to give the Prodigy one hell of a fight. If BJ gets tired of the lightweight division after the Diego fight, a fight with Koscheck is a definite possibility.

7) Tito Ortiz vs. Dan Henderson - You have one big wrestler and one smaller wrestler, with the latter having KO power that can end a fight at any time. Tito wants his world title back, and a win over Hendo would put him in the running. However, there's not much chance of this happening.

8) Eddie Bravo vs. Royler Gracie - In a stunning upset that some call a fluke, Eddie Bravo submitted Gracie by triangle choke at the 2003 ADCC tournament. Eddie would like to prove 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu critics wrong by fighting Royler in an MMA match. The UFC should try to make it happen. Casual MMA fans wouldn't care, but the BJJ world would go crazy for this fight.

9) Thiago Alves vs. Paul Daley - If both guys beat their next opponents (Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann), they should fight each other. Dana loves a good stand-up war, and there is no way these guys take it to the ground. Daley will have a hard time with Kampmann, but with his power, anything can happen.

10) Kurt Pellegrino vs. Roger Huerta - I'm beginning to think that Roger "I Want to Be An Actor But You Couldn't Tell By Looking At My IMDB Page" Huerta will sign a new deal with the UFC after his upcoming loss to Gray Maynard. Hollywood hasn't been kind to Huerta, and he still has a name in MMA. The aggressive Pellegrino would probably love to take it.

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Special Strikeforce Bonus:

11) Nick Diaz vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller - Nick's gone on record saying he doesn't think fighters should do things like dye their hair and paint their toenails, and has complained about guys getting more publicity than him. Well, then he'll love to fight Mayhem, a guy with pink hair AND a show on MTV! The smack talk would be epic...

Like many MMA fans, my aptitude test indicates that I'd be a good UFC matchmaker. What could possibly be more fun than coming up with great fights for the world to see? So in no particular order, here are ten fights I want to see happen in the UFC:

1) Anderson Silva vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic - The Spider is interested in fighting at heavyweight, so why not put him up happen against one of the best heavyweight strikers of all time? Sure, Cro Cop is past his prime, but he still packs a whallop with that left leg of his. This matchup could be especially hot if UFC pull of a show Japan. I also wouldn't mind seeing Anderson take on Cheick Kongo.

2) Randy Couture vs. Cain Velasquez - Randy likes interesting fights, and one with Cain would fit the bill. Cain is young, strong, aggressive, and one of the hottest heavyweight prospects in the sport. If Cain gets past Ben Rothwell, a match with the Natural should be on everyone's mind.

3) Brock Lesnar vs. Roger Gracie - Obviously, Roger Gracie isn't in the UFC, and there are rumors that he's ducked some fights, but just close your eyes and imagine seeing the headline UFC 1XX: Gracie vs. Lesnar. Like Lesnar, Gracie doesn't have a lot of MMA experience (2-0 with both wins by submission), but he is one of the greatest grapplers in history with record-setting performances at the BJJ Mundials and ADCC.  It would be the biggest BJJ vs. wrestling match of all time.

4) Brandon Vera vs. Jon Jones - Brandon Vera's gone from hot prospect to big question mark. His lackluster victory over a slower and clumsier Krzystof Soszynski couldn't have pleased UFC management, who have already cut his reported fight purse by 70%. Does Brandon want to be a f*cking fighter? Let's find out by putting him up against Jon Jones, one of the hottest prospects in the light-heavyweight division.

5) Matt Hughes vs. Karo Parisyan - Due to injuries suffered a few years back, Karo never got his desired title shot against former welterweight champ Matt Hughes. Since then, Karo's star has taken a fall due to a knockout loss to Thiago Alves and a positive drug test after UFC 94. At the same time, Hughes' wrestling-focused game is clearly losing its effectiveness. This is a perfect "who still has it?" matchup.

6) Dan Henderson vs. Nate Marquardt - There's a big debate over which guy is more deserving of a title shot, and there's only one way to settle it - let them fight. Dan vs. Nate is more interesting than either guy taking on Anderson Silva anyway. This could be a perfect co-main event to the BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez fight in November.

7) Diego Sanchez vs. Kenny Florian 2 - Kenny Florian's improved quite a bit since he appeared on The Ultimate Fighter, where he fought at middleweight. But just how much has he improved? The best way to find out is to put him up against Diego, who creamed him at the original TUF finale.

8) BJ Penn vs. Gray Maynard - Gray is probably a couple of wins away from a title shot, but this dominant wrestler may be the only lightweight capable of giving the Prodigy a run for his money. BJ is worlds above Gray in terms of technique, but Maynard has outstanding physical strength and takedown ability. If Maynard murderizes Roger Huerta with an impressive finish at UFC Fight Night 19, his name should come up in title contention talk. The UFC could also work a student vs. teacher storyline - Gray got his start in the sport as a training partner for BJ, and was on Team Penn during TUF Season Five.

9) Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 2 - Frank Mir doesn't like people discounting his victory over Big Nog, who came into their UFC 92 contest with some serious injuries. Now that Minotauro is back on track with a big win over Randy Couture, let's give Frank Mir a chance to shut the naysayers up. I mean, I'm still trying to find somebody who cares about his upcoming bout with Kongo.

10) Dustin Hazelett vs. Paulo Thiago - I want to see these BJJ experts take it to the ground and attempt to tie each other in knots. Grappling wars with guys who go for the finish are awesome. They could even try a reverse Marcus Davis/Chris Lytle vow - the first guy to throw a punch is a pussy. We'd also get to see Thiago fight someone at his own level - not a top-5 title contender.

Joe Silva, you hiring?

Let's give some props to Kenny Florian. For nearly four rounds, he hung in with the best lightweight fighter in the history of MMA. There's no shame in losing to BJ Penn, but watching Kenny's fruitless attempts to outwrestle BJ led me to one thought:

Did Kenny Florian and Sean Sherk mix up their game plans for BJ Penn?

At UFC 84 last May, BJ dominated Sean Sherk in what was essentially a boxing match. It was expected that Sherk would use his dominant wrestling to wear down the Prodigy. After all, BJ was a superior striker with excellent head movement, big power, and a rock of a chin - not to mention a reach advantage.

BJ has the best takedown defense in the game, but Sherk could tire out Penn and eventually begin scoring takedowns to squeeze out a decision. And if he exhausted BJ, a TKO victory wasn't out of the question.

It wasn't to be. Sherk stood and traded with Penn for the entire fight. At the end of round three, Sherk succumbed to a flurry of strikes and the Prodigy returned to Hawaii, lightweight belt and Sherk's blood in hand. 

Bizarrely, this past Saturday at UFC 101, we saw Kenny Florian try to outwrestle BJ - precisely what the MMA world thought Sean Sherk would do

The best possible strategy for Kenny was to try to outpoint and frustrate BJ with kicks, and potentially go for a finish late in the fight when BJ wasn't so fresh and sharp. Kenny certainly had little chance of knocking out or submitting BJ - and even less of a chance of outwrestling him.

When Matt Hughes has trouble taking a guy down, that guy is a damn good counter-wrestler. Even GSP, the best wrestler in the history of MMA, had difficulty in taking a fresh BJ down. (of course that would change as BJ tired...)

But instead of playing Machida, Kenny tried to play GSP - a fatally flawed strategy for a guy who's just not a wrestler. Kenny' supposedly superior camp may have failed him strategy-wise by giving him a game plan fit for Sean Sherk.

I didn't give Kenny Florian a snowball's chance in hell of beating BJ Penn. But in MMA, there's always a chance, especially when a guy is well-trained and hungry to win.

Kenny couldn't exactly stand and bang with BJ given the disparity in punching power. But a focus on scoring points rather than physical domination would have made for a more competitive bout.