Penn vs. MacDonald

This is the official discussion thread for Penn vs. MacDonald. Let's see what you've got.

This is a fight between two warriors at pivotal points in their careers. Rory Mac is on the up and up and unfortunately, BJ Penn lost his fire after the second fight with Edgar and is on the decline. 

Penn's a legend and his place in MMA history is cemented. That said, Rory is young, hungry and in better shape. I see him taking the fight to Penn and winning decisively. I won't be upset in Penn wins but, I just don't see it happening realistically.  

Lol, Mike makes it seem like Rory is an amateur. You do understand that Rory has pretty much plowed through everyone he has fought, except for RD3 against Condit? Rory has good stand up and excellent ground control, on top of that you ar enot including his athleticism and intelligence. Trying to say Rory won't control Bj Penn on the ground because his ground game is better than Mills is absent of logic.

1. Mental Edge/Confidence/Gameplan - When it comes to a question of confidence, there is no shortage of it for either fighter. Rory MacDonald trains Tri-Star Gym and current undisputed UFC WW Champion GSP, and if anyone knows how to beat BJ Penn, it's GSP. MacDonald is also the more active, larger fighter coming into this contest, but with both fighters agreeing to the VADA testing, MacDonald has made it no secret that it is distracting and annoying. Could this be the way that BJ gets into Rory's head coming into this fight? BJ Penn has been out of action for sometime, and has only had a handful of successful fights in the WW division. His last two fights prior to retiring, was a draw with Jon Fitch, in which he was fully dominated in the 3rd and final round, and Nick Diaz, who picked BJ apart on the feet. On that note, you have to wonder how much this will play in BJ's head coming into the fight, but he has stepped up his training, and changed training partners to make him a far better fighter. At one point, he even utilized Matt Hughes to help step up his cardio. I think that the deciding factor in this category is the gameplan area. MacDonald training at Tri-Star, you know that coming up with good gameplan and executing is going to be one of the biggest strengths coming into this fight. Mac Donald has done really well with gameplanning in the past. Even his loss to Carlos Condit, Rory was winning the fight with a very good gameplan execution until he got caught in the 3rd round. With all that said, I have to give the edge to Rory MacDonald here. BJ - 8/10, MacDonald - 9/10

2. Experience/Level Of Opposition - When it comes to facing a who's who of MMA, and championship experience BJ Penn has done more in 26 fights than many fighters in any sport have done in their entire careers. Penn has fought in several weight classes, faced world class opposition, and is one of only 3 fighters in MMA history to be a champion in two different weight classes for a major MMA organiztion. MacDonald has faced some good opposition, but the biggest names he has faced thus far in his career has been Nate Diaz, Carlos Condit, and Che Mills. I think BJ takes the cake here. BJ - 9/10, MacDonald - 7/10

3. Heart/Determination To Win - This is one area where BJ has fallen short many times in the past. He has a tendency to lose his fighting spirit, or just plain and simply give up when the fight doesn't go his way. We've seen this happen in his 2nd fight with Matt Hughes, his 2nd fight with GSP, his 2nd fight with Frankie Edgar, his draw with Jon Fitch, and his loss to Nick Diaz. IMHO, I don't think that Rory MacDonald has been truly tested in this category, so I can't give him a 9 or a 10, but with BJ's track record, I think I will give MacDonald the advantage. BJ - 6/10, MacDonald - 8/10

4. Stamina/Cardio - BJ says that he has worked on greatly improving his cardio. He's eating better, and has worked with Matt Hughes, but the proof still needs to be in the putting. BJ has been really hot and cold in this area in the past. His cardio is great improvement from what it was, but he still has a tendency to fade the longer a fight goes on. MacDonald has only seen the 3rd round 3 times in his career, but he seems to have had no problems with a fight going the distance. Though BJ's cardio has improved, and he's been working on it more in this training camp, I'm still going to give MacDonald the advantage here. BJ - 7/10, MacDonald - 9/10

5. Endurance/Toughness - This is all about who can take the most punishment. MacDonald really hasn't been tested here, but I'm sure that BJ will test him in their upcoming fight. Though BJ's heart and cardio are not the best in the business, he's one of the toughest fighters in the game to finish. In other words...........BJ is one tough ***********er!!!! Of BJ's 8 losses, he's only been finished twice. Once agaisnt Matt Hughes, and once against GSP. Not a bad resume for BJ in this category. Advantage..........BJ. BJ - 9/10, MacDonald - 8/10

6. Overall Striking - BJ has some dangerous hands both at 170 and 155. He has very good boxing skills with great accuracy. MacDonald has some very good kickboxing skills with very good power. I think that power goes in favor of MacDonald, but technique and accuracy goes in favor of Penn. BJ - 9/10, MacDonald - 8/10

7. Overall Wrestling/Grappling - BJ Penn has a great takedown defense, and fantastic dexterity and flexibility, but MacDonald has the rest of the wrestling department sewn up. This is where I think that Rory can win the fight. Take BJ down relentlessly, and wear him down. BJ - 8/10, MacDonald - 9/10

8. Overall Submissions/BJJ - Both fighters have 6 submission victories to their credit, and neither figher has ever lost by submission, but BJ has submitted the better stable of fighters, earned his BJJ Black Belt in only 4 years, and won the world BJJ Championship after only 3 years of BJJ training. This is why BJ is called "The Prodigy". BJ - 10/10, MacDonald - 8/10

9. Size/Strength - MacDonald is definitely the larger of the two fighters. BJ walks around at 168-175, but BJ is deceptively strong for his size. In the first 2 rounds of his fight with Jon Fitch, he was actually outwrestling and outmuscling Ftich. Something that not only surprised MMA fans around the world, but also surpsrised Fitch. Rory MacDonald is a strong WW, and with the size advantage, I have to call this one in favor of MacDonald. BJ - 7/10, MacDonald - 9/10

10. Speed/Athleticism - This one is really tough to call right here. Penn is not a youngster anymore, but he is the smaller more flexible and mobile fighter, but MacDonald has some great speed and athleticism of his own. GSP has said that he sees a lot of himself in Rory MacDonald, and that MacDonald is the future of the UFC WW division. I think that this fight will show who is really the faster more athletic fighter, but with Penn's mobility and flexibilty vs. MacDonald's youth and athleticism, I think that for now, I will call this one even, but I might give a very slim edge to MacDonald. BJ - 8/10, MacDonald - 8/10

Overall Score = BJ "The Prodigy" Penn - 82/100, Rory "Ares" MacDonald - 83/100

Keeping my sig until this fight happens...

WAR PENN

@jaykool
beautiful break down and man after you put it like that it is going to be a very close fight. I think it will be a total war between Old School vs New School.

@ hdmexiqtioner - Thank you for the kudos, and I agree with you 100%, it is going to be one helluva war.

@Jay

I like your 10 point break downs man.

@Bassistdood

According to that logic, Condit finished Rory, but he obviously got out boxed by Diaz, which means if Diaz couldn't finish BJ, then Rory can't either. You following me?

BJ is in shape!!! i don't like rory. i won't deny the fact that he's got good work ethic and is very skilled but BJ looks ready and he's gonna knock the crap out of rory, and i'm going to really REALLY enjoy it

Rory is a great fighter and a huge threat, but I'm rolling with BJ if only because he's my favorite

Why are people acting like that video means anything? He's shadow boxing, slowly. The guy filming is probably a yes man buddy from high school and they are probably stoned out of their minds, why else film this nonsense? What is he trying to show exactly, that he isn't fat for once? Most workout footage of people you see for huge fights is of them working their ass off in the gym with world class athletes. Not play boxing outside of some ritzy neighborhood. 

* Edited at 11.23.2012, 2:02 AM ET *

Rory is a sexy man no doubt 

@cthulu really that video showed where he's at condition wise? My mother could do the exact same thing, maybe throw her in there with Rory?

^^ I'd watch that fight :)

I pick messiah's mom via overcooked lasagna :)

* Edited at 11.23.2012, 2:56 PM ET *

Maybe it'll screw me, but I can't bring myself to pick against BJ on this.

I hope BJ doesn't get charged with a hate crime after knocking out this gay hipster! 

I hope the BJ fanboys can forgive Rory when he sends their hero into retirement

@ DelRose - Thank you. I enjoy writing them. Glad you enjoy reading them.