I don’t think so. It was really close though. I remember back in the day, BJ Penn fans were acting like it was a dominant round for BJ, but the fact is I think Georges landed more, and more clinch control, and was more active. GSP’s skin under his eye was messed up from something like a poke or a thumb, and his nose was bleeding, but BJ never hit him with anything that looked too hard. Georges was never rocked.
Now that we’re more mature fight fans. Watch this with a fresh set of eyes and decide who you think won round 1, and how big the margin of victory was for the guy that won the round. It definitely wasn’t a dominant round for BJ if you grade it based on the action and based on the fact that Georges was never rocked at all.
Yeah, there was a lot of that nonsense back in the day. I don’t think BJ won round one, but even if he did, it was close, and GSP definitely won rounds 2 and 3. Some of the Penn fans were talking like GSP didn’t win the fight. It was insanity. I was wondering if the community could see this fight for what it was in 2023.
The first round was close. GSP’s skin didn’t do so hot. GSP clearly won rounds 2 and 3.
Also, GSP is a tough guy. People act like some skin abrasions from blows that weren’t that powerful represents suffering that is a challenge for GSP to endure. It wasn’t.
Q: Tell me, what went wrong in the BJ Penn fight?
St-Pierre: BJ put his finger in my eye. I don’t think it was intentional; I think it was an accident. That’s no problem. Stuff like that happens sometimes in a fight. I should’ve got on my knees and taken a few minutes out because I couldn’t see anything. But I didn’t because I was too much into the fight. And I learned from my mistake and next time I will know how to react from my experience. The first round was the worst because I could not see. I had to close one eye. And when you fight with one eye you’re not accurate, the exchange of blows were not accurate. He had two eyes and I was fighting with one. When I came back to my corner, my corner men wiped my eye with water and after that the eye got a little better. I should be fighting him again soon. It’s not scheduled yet but I think it’s in January.
Still a fan of Penn. He’s the guy that got me into the sport as a hardcore, but it is what it is. He lost this one and is the biggest what if of all time. I remember arguing with my brother who is still a big GSP guy.
Rd 1 - pretty close, but i still think BJ was more active and did more. Commentary was fluffing him up something fierce though.
Rd 2 - definitely gsp’s round. 2 takedowns and smushed bj against the fence for a good portion of the round. Striking was close, but nothing consequential happened on either side
Rd 3 - similar to round 2. Gsp with takedowns and control. Bj does some neat rubber guard stuff at the end, but nothing comes of it.
Insanely biased commentary and decently competitive fight, but Georges was too controlling in the grappling exchanges and stifled bj’s offense. 29-28 for gsp
