Penn vs. Fitch
February 28th, 2011
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BJ’s fight is drawing a lot of controversy on my Forums. I only watched the fight once, during the PPV on Saturday night, so I haven’t rewatched any clips at all. This is my opinion based on what I remember. BJ started to execute the gameplan well as he went out and took Fitch down. He did a little work on top and then got Fitch’s back. Fitch then reversed and BJ stood up. I think everybody scored the first round 10-9 for Penn. The second round started well for BJ, as BJ threw some punches and ended up taking Fitch down again. BJ then gets Fitch’s back again and goes for a rear naked choke. Fitch is able to reverse and lays on BJ for about a minute and a half, as I remember. At the end of the round, BJ then gets on his feet. In my opinion, BJ did most of the damage in that round, as blood was coming out of Fitch’s nose and BJ was doing some good striking while Fitch was pushing him up against the fence. So, the second round I would have scored to BJ because he was in dominant position longer, went for a submission, had dominant striking in that round, and my number one criteria for judging a round is damage. With Fitch bleeding out of the nose, I believe BJ did the most damage in round 2. Even though, Fitch’s minute and a half of being on top was at the end of the round, I don’t give him the round. But I think a lot of people will because the last thing they see tends to be what they’ll score. Between the second and third round, I was listening to Fitch’s corner and they were desperate for Fitch to end the fight in the third round. When I heard that, I really thought BJ had won the first two rounds and, of course, the third round is nothing but Fitch. He gets a takedown early and lays on BJ the rest of the fight. I do think BJ did a good job avoiding strikes and it was a little disappointing seeing Fitch not do anything to try to end the fight. That round to me was a 10-9 round for Fitch. A lot of people don’t understand the judging criteria, in boxing you can give a 10-8 round pretty easily because there are a lot more rounds. In fighting you just can’t do that. With 3 rounds to judge, a 10-8 has to be a pretty dominant round. With Fitch doing nothing to end the fight, that was not a 10-8 round, in my opinion. I even had one person comment on my forum that it could have been a 10-7 round… ??? So, at the end of the fight, I had BJ winning 29-28; but I can see how the judges called it a draw. BJ and I have thrown a couple of texts back and forth since the fight and he seems to be in good spirits, even though he was down on himself after the fight. Moving on, I think this week’s Trophy Hunters TV is probably the best episode so far. When I watch hunting shows, one thing I always like to know is what gear they are using. When I’m hunting on an episode, I’ll be sure to tell you what gear I’m using for that hunt. For this week’s show, I was using a Barnett crossbow and a Browning .270 X-Bolt and I had a total of 4 kills on the episode. Here are the air times for this week’s episode of Trophy Hunters TV that I’m hosting, on the Outdoor Channel:
The show description for this week:
Here is the Bible verse for this week:
-matt |













March 1st, 2011 at 11:15 am
your assessment of the fight is spot on. i scored it the exact same way. however, i don’t have a problem with the fight ending in a draw. fitch definitely peppered bj with a TON of punches in the 3rd and although he didn’t advance his position, he controlled the entire round. it’s borderline. i scored it 10-9, but 10-8 isn’t a travesty either. fighting your style of fight was very grueling on bj…he’s not used to it. perhaps another training camp with you would help him with his endurance, so he could go into the 3rd with a bit more gas.
March 1st, 2011 at 1:14 pm
Yea you could deffinitly tell BJ’s gas tank was pretty low in the 3rd round. You gotta give it to Fitch. He is a very hard working and persistant man. You can tell in his style of fighting.
March 1st, 2011 at 1:41 pm
Yeah I agree with that I think BJ pulled off a close decision. It was interesting seeing as how fitch didnt try and pass BJ’s guard and I dont really remember him throwing any big shots it looked more like to me he just wanted to win the round.
March 1st, 2011 at 1:45 pm
Matt, I totally agree with your views on the fight!!!
March 1st, 2011 at 4:10 pm
matt,
great opinion of the fight. BJ just cant finish a fight unless he finishes quick. any word on ur next fight. PLEASE email me and let me know it would be an honor
chris coleman
March 1st, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Matt you should be a judge or a commentator alongside Mike and Joe you would be great at either one. Did u hear that the UFC best of 2010 DVD is going to have a tribute to you? Hope the training is going well and God Bless.
March 1st, 2011 at 7:09 pm
[...] following is a blog written yesterday by UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes (43-8) for his website, stating his stance on one of the two controversial bouts from last Saturday’s UFC 127: Penn [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 11:47 pm
Hello Matt,
I agree with how you saw this fight. It was awesome to see how much BJ improved after training with you. The two of you have such different styles and it’s good to see that they complement each other. I hope you’re not hanging them up because if this is how BJ looked after the two of you trained, I can’t wait to see how he’s rubbed off on you. I sure hope the two of you train more in the future.
March 2nd, 2011 at 3:04 pm
[...] former nemesis and training partner for the Fitch fight, Matt Hughes, echoed Dana’s sentiments on his blog, and added that round three should have been a 10-9 because Fitch didn’t try to end the [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 3:20 pm
[...] former nemesis and training partner for the Fitch fight, Matt Hughes, echoed Dana’s sentiments on his blog, and added that round three should have been a 10-9 because Fitch didn’t try to end the [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 6:03 pm
[...] former nemesis and training partner for the Fitch fight, Matt Hughes, echoed Dana’s sentiments on his blog, and added that round three should have been a 10-9 because Fitch didn’t try to end the [...]
March 4th, 2011 at 5:06 pm
Matt, Great opinion on the fight, you break it down like a champ. ha. I feel BJ needs to be stronger for 3 rounds in this division so hopefully he will improve on that. I hope to see your hunting show, I still don’t know what channel it is but I will look everywhere. God Bless, hope to hear your future fights soon
March 4th, 2011 at 8:46 pm
Please Matt don’t retire and ask for Dennis Hallman and avenge those losses…
March 5th, 2011 at 9:55 am
Thanks for the insight on the fight Matt! I totally agree with your analysis. I also appreciate your strong witness for Christ! After hearing BJ’s comments after the fight, I hope you get the chance to talk to him about Jesus. Keep strong brother!
March 6th, 2011 at 8:57 pm
Thats awesome matt, enjoyed reading your opinons…. Have not seen the fight but what I have heard my buddys see it the same way
Take care God bless
March 6th, 2011 at 10:27 pm
Matt,
Watched your show for the first time and loved it! It was very cool to watch you doing something that you have such a passion for! It looked like you were having a blast~( It was the hunt in Texas). As a big fan of yours from the UFC, I love to watch your fights but would be just as happy watching you hunt! Keep doing what makes YOU happy!
Molly
April 28th, 2011 at 2:23 am
You stayed at Cibolo Creek Ranch filming that episode. I served you dinner!