Nick Diaz proved that he is no minor league champ on Saturday in the main event of UFC 137.

The last Strikeforce Welterweight champion overcame a slow start to dominant the final two rounds against UFC legend, B.J. Penn, as Diaz picked up a unanimous decision win for perhaps the biggest win in his career.

Diaz survived the opening round as Penn came out with a fast start, using dirty boxing and grappling to control the round. Penn had Diaz’ back at one point, but Diaz was able to get out of the dominant position and get into the later rounds, where he started to work his boxing.

Diaz used relentless jabs and combinations to pick apart the tiring Penn, who ended up with a busted nose and bruised face before the final bell sounded. The decision wasn’t really in doubt, as Diaz had clearly closed out the final two rounds.

Following the win, Diaz called out UFC welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre, whom Diaz was originally scheduled to face before being pulled from the title bout by the UFC as a disciplinary action for missing pre-event press conferences.

Still, Diaz is likely in line for a title shot against GSP or Carlos Condit, who will be fighting for the title in early 2012.

Penn announced his retirement from the sport following the loss, his third in his last five fights. Penn will go down as one of the all-time greats as he held titles in two different weight classes and was arguably the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world during his prime.

For full UFC 137 results, check out the jump.

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The UFC has two legendary welterweights facing off in the main event of UFC 137 on Saturday night as B.J. Penn takes on Nick Diaz.

Penn is a former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion while Nick Diaz was the Strikeforce welterweight champion prior to leaving the organization for greener pastures.

Penn (16-7-2) comes into this three-round contest as the favorite over Diaz (26-7-1), as Penn has odds of -125 to top Diaz, who has a money line of -105. Both fighters have similar styles as each relies on boxing and jiu-jitsu to win fights. Penn may have the edge in regards to wrestling, but Diaz will have a big size edge in terms of mass and reach. Both fighters will be sure to leave everything in the octagon, which makes this fight very interesting.

The co-main event also has a very competitive contest as heavyweights Cheick Kongo (26-6-2) and Matt Mitrione (5-0) face off with the winner emerging as a top-10 contender in the division.

Mitrione is the slight favorite, with a money line of -140 while Kongo has odds of +110 to win. Both fighters are primarily strikers, but Mitrione packs the harder punch and is more mobile while Kongo has a slightly better ground game. Mitrione will look to keep the fight standing and stick-and-move while Kongo will look to utilize leg kicks and takedowns to finish the fight with ground-and-pound.

For complete UFC 137 betting odds, check out the jump.

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According to HeavyMMA.com, UFC welterweight contender B.J. Penn has been scratched from UFC 132.

Former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion B.J. Penn will not be fighting at UFC 132 this July.

MMAjunkie.com reported the news earlier today after confirming the information with sources close to Penn’s camp.

A rematch between Penn and Jon Fitch was scratched from the card after the American Kickboxing Academy star was forced out of the contest due an injury. While it was believed that the UFC was searching for a replacement, the sources say that Penn will be fighting on a different card later this year.

Penn and Fitch fought a draw at UFC 127 last February and an immediate rematch was set in place for the two. The winner of the rematch would have in all likelihood been the next man to earn a title shot against the winner of Georges St. Pierre vs. Jake Shields.

UFC 132 is set for July 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada and features a bantamweight championship between rivals Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. A replacement co-main event has yet to be announced.

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According to HeavyMMA.com, an injury has forced Jon Fitch to withdraw from his July rematch with B.J. Penn at UFC 132.

B.J. Penn is in need of a new dance partner for UFC 132.

As first reported by MMAWeekly.com, original opponent Jon Fitch has been forced to withdraw from the bout due to an undisclosed injury. HeavyMMA.com has determined that Fitch injured his shoulder while training.

The two were scheduled to meet for a second consecutive fight after their headlining bout at UFC 127 ended in an unsatisfying draw. Now it seems it will take a little longer to determine a winner between the two top 5 welterweights.

HeavyMMA.com will continue to track this story and will have more information on the nature of Fitch’s injury and potential replacements for the bout with Penn as they develop.

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According to the guys at HeavyMMA.com, welterweights B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch will face off one more time at UFC 132 in July.

So much for B.J. Penn riding off into the sunset after his controversial draw with Jon Fitch last month.

The UFC announced tonight that Penn and Fitch have agreed to face off at UFC 132 on July 4th weekend in Las Vegas. Sources tell HeavyMMA.com that the bout is scheduled to be the co-main event.

Penn and Fitch fought to a draw in the main event of UFC 127 in Australia last month.

“Both fighters look to keep it out of the hands of the judges this time,” said UFC President Dana White.

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According to HeavyMMA.com, Jon Fitch believes he defeated B.J. Penn at UFC 127 but after further thought, Penn changed his mind about the outcome.

Jon Fitch has finally seen the fight with B.J. Penn and feels he definitely won.

The judges rendered a majority draw decision following UFC 127’s main event between Jon Fitch and B.J. Penn, a score neither agree with.

“Finally watched the fight back myself. first rnd draw and I won rnd 2 and 3. I will prove myself if I must. But I know I won that fight,” Fitch posted on his official Twitter account on Monday. “Much respect to BJ. He is the legend I thought he was. I think that was the best BJ ANY of us have ever seen.”

Following the fight, Penn told the crowd in Sydney, Australia and millions watching at home that he thought Fitch won the fight.
Moments later, backstage at the Acer Arena, Penn wasn’t so sure.

“The more I’m sitting here thinking about it, I definitely got the better positions and the more dominant positions,” said Penn to UFC.com. “I guess the first thing I was thinking was just the last round, but now, the more I’m sitting here thinking about the first two rounds – I did. I had much better positions than he had.

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Spencer Kyte of HeavyMMA.com compiles 10 things he learned from watching UFC 127 this weekend.

For the second time in two months (how has it only been two full months?), the UFC had a main event end in an understandable, but altogether unsatisfying draw. Such a result has always been labelled akin to “kissing your sister,” and no one likes that, even when the situation is warranted like on her birthday or at her wedding.

Jon Fitch didn’t like it. B.J. Penn thought is was the MMA gods giving him an opportunity to fight again, and fans and media alike will be debating the result until something crops up to distract them. The funny thing is that just as in the Edgar-Maynard battle on New Year’s Day, this result was the right result.

I had Penn winning the opening two rounds and awarded Fitch a 10-8 score in the third, producing the 28-28 total two of the three judges submitted; the other judge scored the fight 29-28 Fitch, giving him the second round and only a 10-9 in the final frame.

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UFC 127 takes place tonight from the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia. While the card doesn’t have any blockbuster bouts, all the fights are intriguing and should be somewhat competitive. Here is my take on tonight’s PPV bouts.

UFC Welterweight Bout – B.J. Penn (16-7-1) vs. Jon Fitch (26-3) – I think this fight plays into Fitch’s style as he should be able to execute a similar plan to what Georges St. Pierre did to Penn back at UFC 94. Look for Fitch to clinch and grapple and put his weight on Penn to tire him down and eventually score takedowns to earn another decision victory.

UFC Middleweight Bout – Michael Bisping (21-3) vs. Jorge Rivera (18-7) – Rivera has talked a lot of trash leading up to this bout in hopes of making Bisping let his emotions go during the fight, but I see Bisping staying composed and bringing Rivera to the ground where he can overwhelm him with ground-and-pound striking. I see Bisping finishing off Rivera in the second round by TKO.

UFC Lightweight Bout – George Sotiropoulos (14-2) vs. Dennis Siver (17-7) – Siver can win this fight is he takes advantage of a slow-starting Sotiropoulos, but I see George being able to survive the early flurry and finding a way to get the fight to the ground where he will lock up an arm submission against Siver in the third round.

UFC Welterweight Bout – Chris Lytle (40-17-4) vs. Brian Ebersole (46-14-1) – Lytle is riding a big wave right now and seems to be the best he has ever been. Ebersole has a lot of experience but is making his UFC debut, which always seems to be problematic. Look for Lytle to control the fight and win by submission in the later rounds.

UFC Middleweight Bout – Kyle Noke (18-4-1) vs. Chris Camozzi (14-3) – Noke is fighting in front of his home country and is being showcased for a push in the UFC, but I see that as a lot of pressure on a relatively new UFC fighter. Camozzi has nothing to lose in this fight and I think he will pull off an upset by decision with the use of his grappling.

Spencer Kyte of HeavyMMA.com believes it’s time to stop arguing about B.J. Penn’s legacy and just enjoy the ride.

Every time B.J. Penn prepares to enter the Octagon, the same string of stories and commentaries surface, describing the former multi-divisional champion as “an enigma” or “polarizing,” discussing whether not “the real B.J. Penn” will show up.

I should know, having followed those paths half-a-dozen times myself here at HeavyMMA.com.

While all of those angles are valid and a result of a career spent alternating between amazing and underwhelming, there comes a time when you have to step back from wondering what could have been or what might come next, and simply enjoy Penn for what he is, a truly one-of-a-kind fighter.

This new way of looking at Penn is a shift in perspective for me, having spent a long time being frustrated by the duality that is “The Prodigy,” a fighter who can go from unbeatable to uninterested from one fight to the next. That possibility still exists; he could just as easily follow up his 21-second knockout win over Matt Hughes with a sub-standard showing against Jon Fitch on Saturday.

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Jon Fitch is chasing B.J. Penn’s ghost at UFC 127 but as Spencer Kyte of HeavyMMA.com writes, he plans on finishing the legend and getting one more crack at the welterweight title.

Long before Jon Fitch became a part of the team at American Kickboxing Academy, the man he’ll face at UFC 127 was working with the same trainers who have helped make him one of the best fighters in the sport today.

Though the image many people have of B.J. Penn preparing for a fight has been crafted by various UFC Countdown specials showing the former two-division champion training in his native Hawaii, Penn indeed trained in San Jose, and Fitch has heard all the stories and uses them as motivation.

“It’s like chasing ghost almost, hearing stories about a guy you’ve never gotten to work with or train with or anything. When I first came to AKA was shortly after B.J. had left, and everybody who had trained him or trained with him was still around, and he was a pretty amazing athlete, so you’ve got a lot of stories about some of the things he’s done and what he’s capable of.

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