2009 Bloody Elbow Reader Awards: Performance of the Year

This was about as close as Diego Sanchez came to hitting B.J. Penn all weekend.

Few people gave Diego a shot to beat B.J. as he challenged Penn for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 107.  On paper, Penn did everything Sanchez could do, but better.  Much better.  Even Diego’s infamous John Nord-inspired explosions of “YUS!” as he made his way to the Octagon could be matched by Penn’s stone cold I’m-going-to-open-you-up-and-taste-your-blood stare of death.

Marv Marinovich must know some real-life “iddqd” or Konami code because Penn didn’t just exceed the expectations of fans and pundits.  He emasculated the expectations.  Penn dominated Sanchez like Jay Leno on a late night lineup.

The fight lasted 22 minutes and 37 seconds.  Penn landed 150 of his 214 strikes.  That’s 70%.  That’s a lot.  By FightMetric‘s count, Sanchez attempted 27 takedowns.  Qualifying word is “attempted”. 

But the best part?  In the four-plus rounds of fighting, and out of the 108 he threw, Diego Sanchez landed a total of 8 strikes in the bout.  Eight.  Penn landed more than eight jabs in each round.  Referee Herb Dean made more contact with the Hawai’ian than Diego.

That may not be the most impressive part of Penn’s performance.  In January, welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre battered Penn up, poured him over a griddle, and emptied an entire bottle of maple syrup over the contents.  Penn’s ensuing Vaseline witch hunt drew the ire of the MMA community.  It took eleven months and a calculated b—- slapping of a top 10 contender, but Penn found his redemption.

Full results after the break.