Why Not Faber v Penn?

[newjack900]

1st let me say what's up to everybody it's been a while since I've been on but I'd like to get back in the mix on this board. To the thread..

2 of the greatest lighter weight guys in the history of the sport, and def the 2 most popular fighters in their respective weight classes during their peak dominance, championship days (Faber FW, Penn LW), these 2 guys basically kept their weight classes on the map back in the Just Bleed days up until the WEC began really coming on and eventually absolved by the UFC.

Faber was so popular at 1 pt he was basically the face of the WEC & the Versus cards with Faber on them avg nearly 1 million viewers while those without him did around half that (David Smith, Michael, 2010, Without Urijah Faber, WEC Ratings on Versus Are Weak).

Urijah's prime occured at FW, where he is 1 of the greatest ever and will go down as a hall of famer. He wants to retire in Sacramento's new stadium and somehow Brad Pickett got the call. B.J. just happens to be ready to fight and wanting to make some noise at FW. So how could the UFC not match these 2 guys up? Allow Faber to go out without that big weight cut, in a fight that could headline a non PPV. Penn gets a big name in an intriguing matchup. It could be a celebration of 2 of the greats. Instead we get Faber v Pickett and BJ v Yair. I think they missed a big opportunity to show how important these 2 guys legacies were to the newer generation of fan. You know they woulda put on an amazing fight too. Damn shame

 

[kneeblock]

I agree. It would've been good, but BJ isn't about risk. He wants a win.

 

[ECC170]

I'd watch. .bj all day

 

[regular john]

this is a great idea and a much better matchup than what they ufc actually came up with.

BJ shouldn't be fighting no young hungry up and comer and Faber shouldn't be having his retirement bout outside of a main event. you should replace Joe Silva or whoever is the matchmaker these days.

 

[HEATH VON DOOM]

Why do you hate Faber so much @newjack900 ? Faber wants to retire not die.

 

[Robbie Hart]

Because bj would get submitted

 

[sparkuri]

First off, you can't just waaaaltz in to here and start barking suggestions like you own place.
Really you should have to turn in your "First 100" badge and give it to someone who knows the ropes, like @teamquestnorth.



That aside, fantastic idea. Fans should vote on fights, and determine the value based on interest.
This is an obvious matchup.

 

[dacofty]

I am not sure who would win, they both seem to have the same mental block that Pettis has, they all have the skills to win but just cant put it from mind to hands lately

 

[Greenbean]

How are we still talking about bj penn in late 2016? He's 1-5-1 in his last 7. Gimme a break lol

 

[newjack900]

Really you should have to turn in your "First 100" badge and give it to someone who knows the ropes, like @teamquestnorth.

I'd actually like to turn my 1st 100 badge in for a 1st 20. #16 style

 

[newjack900]

How are we still talking about bj penn in late 2016? He's 1-5-1 in his last 7. Gimme a break lol

As a huge fan of both and somebody who feels like the UFC does a horrendous job celebrating it's pioneers.. I like a legends celebration fight over a stepping stone situation for Penn (Yair) and a matchup that doesn't get a lot of people pumped up for Faber (Pickett). Although there seems to be a huge variance in age / performance in MMA these 2 guys are only 5 months a part in age.

 

[Wild]

I agree. It would've been good, but BJ isn't about risk. He wants a win.

 

[sparkuri]

I'd actually like to turn my 1st 100 badge in for a 1st 20. #16 style

I think an "Interim #16" is appropriate when taking extended time away.

 

[Kingtony87]

Because bj would get submitted

 

[wiz]

nah we need to see bj get a win first. yair is already a very tough fight as it is. Bj should be fighting someone like cole miller. if bj beats yair we can talk higher level matchups

 

[benjo0101]

Did you just put an actual reference in your post? You know this is the internet right and legit referencing is optional to the point of not required.

 

[nuraknu]

This fight could have been happening, but here's why it's not. We talked about it on this forum, and I asked Justin Buchholz to address the idea that the fans want to see Faber vs Penn. I thought if he liked it, we would see a callout. HOWEVER, I made the mistake of putting a link to tmmac in my tweet, and the woman who helps run his show didn't click it, or if she did she didn't read even one post, so she thought I was asking about Penn vs. Korean Zombie. So that's what they ended up talking about. Then it was like the next day or soon after that Faber announced he was retiring. So he had already announced that by the time I corrected her (I don't listen live because I'm on the east coast and have a toddler and a job). She never answered on the correction.

So what I'm really saying is, I tried to make it happen and I failed. But it will be an even bigger deal when Faber "comes out of retirement" for it for the money. So I think it can still happen.

EDIT: That is, after BJ gives up his new 145 title aspirations.