E. Spencer Kyte of HeavyMMA.com compiled a list of 10 things he learned from UFC 118.

The Shifting Legacy of B.J. Penn

Before the fights Saturday night, I wrote a piece at my blog for the Vancouver-based newspaper I work for asking if we’ve all been buying into the B.J. Penn mystique for far too long. Watching “The Prodigy” look decidedly non-prodigious, it looks like maybe we have.

Make no mistake about it: Penn is a supremely gifted talent who could be one of the greatest fighters of all-time, but his legacy might be moving closer to “imagine what could have been” territory.

Some fighters work every day to prove why they are considered the best in the world (see St-Pierre, Georges), while others are willing to accept the accolades and get by on their natural gifts. That is where Penn rests right now, and he’ll stay there for eternity if he doesn’t make some changes.

Read the full article here.

UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2 takes place tonight from the TD Garden in Boston and the card is stacked with intriguing fights from the main event UFC Lightweight title bout to the MMA vs. Boxing match featuring James “Lights Out” Toney and UFC Hall of Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture. Here are my picks for tonight’s event.

UFC Lightweight Championship Bout: Frankie Edgar (12-1) vs. B.J. Penn (15-6-1) – Edgar won a close decision in the first match where Penn was heavily favored. This time around, we should expect to see the Penn we thought we would see the first time around. While Edgar has a good skill set to beat Penn, as he is quick with sharp strikes and good wrestling, he doesn’t have the natural talent that Penn has. Look for Penn to work his jab and put together combinations on Edgar, slowly breaking him apart before choking him out in round four.

UFC Heavyweight Bout: Randy Couture (18-10) vs. James Toney (0-0) – This fight has gotten more hype than any other on the card as it marks the first time a legitimate boxing champion is stepping into the octagon. While Toney has one-punch knockout power, Couture is too smart to be beaten that easily. Couture will push Toney up against the cage early and work his dirty boxing before eventually scoring a takedown and finishing with a submission. Toney is too big and slow to be able to keep Couture from getting him to the ground.

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E. Spencer Kyte previews Saturday’s UFC 118, inlculding the big bout between Frankie Edgar vs. BJ Penn.

Frankie Edgar (12-1-0) vs. BJ Penn (15-6-1)

This might be the fight I’ve been most excited about seeing all summer. No disrespect to the UFC 116 or 117 mains, but this one was so unexpected the first time around that I really want to see if (a) Frankie can do it again and (b) BJ comes with a different level of ferocity than we saw in Abu Dhabi.

Edgar rightfully earned the title in my books the first time around; his executed perfectly, darting in and out, scoring points, and avoiding damage, and he most certainly could do it again. He also scored a takedown, and could turn to his wrestling a little more this time.

That night in Abu Dhabi, Penn looked lethargic to me. I don’t know if anything was wrong – illness, injury, bad cut, whatever – but he didn’t look like the guy who had dismantled Diego Sanchez just four months earlier. If that same guy shows up, he’s losing two-in-a-row for the first time in four years.

I expect a better BJ to show up in Boston, but Edgar will be better too; now that he has the belt around his waist, there is no way he wants to give it up. These are two of the best lightweights in the world and it should be another exciting contest.

Read the full preview here.

With UFC 118 coming up this Saturday, the entire HeavyMMA.com team is on hand in Boston for the pre-fight press conference. Check out Jeremy Botter’s notes below.

– The fighters and Dana White make their way to the stage to huge cheers from the fans in attendance. This venue is really, really cool. It’s called the Great Hall and it’s a historic building.

– James Toney is wearing some serious bling around both of his wrists. He says he’s a warrior and something else. I need live subtitles for this man. Says he’s going nowhere when the cage closes.

– Penn says when you come out and star beating people the way he did ten years ago, people are going to put expectations on you. All of the pressure that people put on him over the years made him stronger today, and he feels like he’s going to blow a lot of people away on Saturday night. People will be surprised at just how good B.J. Penn is.

– Florian says Boston is one of the most passionate sports towns in the entire world and he expects the Garden to be a crazy atmosphere on Saturday night. White agrees, saying that while the UFC is great on television, it doesn’t compare to being in attendance.

Check out all of HeavyMMA.com’s UFC 118 presser notes here.

Nate Lawson of HeavyMMA.com writes that the UFC is heading back to the big screen on August 28.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is making its way back to the big screen.

On August 28, UFC 118 will be broadcast live in high definition in select movie theaters nationwide. The event features a lightweight championship rematch between title-holder Frankie Edgar and former longtime champion BJ Penn. As a part of the evening’s co-main event, boxing great James Toney will take on fan favorite and former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Randy Couture in what is being billed as a “Boxer vs. Mixed Martial Artist” bout.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at www.fathomevents.com and a list of theaters participating can be found there as well. For parties of four looking to attend the event, an exclusive offer is available through www.ufc.com/4pack. If the fans elect to buy “The Ultimate 4 Pack”, which includes four tickets to the broadcast, they will receive one free TapouT t-shirt.

The event is set for August 28 at select theaters with the five-fight main card broadcast beginning at 10 p.m. ET. Tickets are available now.

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