RVCA has another new BJ Penn shirt, this time it’s the “Skelepenn”.

RVCA BJ Penn Skelepenn T-Shirt

Shirt features:
- 30/single 100% cotton crew neck t-shirt
- BJ PENN, RVCA and HAWAII text and large skeleton graphic on front
VA and Hawaii map graphic on shoulders
- Logo hits on sleeves
- BJ Penn and RVCA logos and TEAMHAWAII text on back

Here’s an excellent look inside BJ Penn’s training camp heading into his UFC 137 bout against Nick Diaz.

RVCA | BJ PENN THE ROAD TO UFC 137 from RVCA on Vimeo.

I think most fans enjoy watching this kind of short-form documentary. It’s not all in your face with music and effects, just a well-produced piece about one of the all-time greats in MMA. And you actually learn something and get to go behind the scenes.

I remember hearing about the change from Penn/Condit to Penn/Diaz and thinking that the Diaz bout would be even more exciting than Penn/Condit. But BJ takes us inside his thought process during the change in opponents, at first unsure if it is even legal, let alone something he wants. He also first heard about it from someone other than the UFC.

So now fans get the best of both worlds with GSP vs. Condit for the UFC welterweight title and then BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz, a bout that could turn out the next challenger for the welterweight belt. Of course, if Condit beats GSP you would think that GSP will get a rematch right away. But still, how awesome would it be to score some UFC tickets to see that event? Not only do we get those two bouts, but also Roy Nelson vs. Cro Cop and Matt Mitrione vs. Cheick Kongo.

Here’s a killer look at the upcoming UFC 137 BJ Penn vs. Carlos Condit fight. What’s remarkable about this clip is that it’s not even produced by the UFC — it’s a fan-made video by NicktheFace.

When executed properly, flying knees are fight changers. Your opponent is left wobbly and dazed, and you’re right in front of him to finish the fight — if it isn’t already over. Here are some of the best flying knees in MMA history.

Jon Jones vs. Shogun Rua

Kid Yamamoto vs. Kazuyuki Miyata

Alistair Overeem vs. Kazuyuki Fujita

Valentijn Overeem vs. Kazuo Takahashi

Robbie Lawler vs. Joey Villasenor

Patricky Pitbull vs. Toby Imada

JZ Cavalcante vs. Hiroyuki Takaya

Anderson Silva vs. Carlos Newton

Karl Amoussou vs. Kazuhiro Hamanaka

Diego Sanchez vs. Luigi Fioravanti

Thiago Alves vs. Matt Hughes

Spencer Fisher vs. Matt Wiman

James Irvin vs. Terry Martin

Yves Edwards vs. Edson Berto

Nick Pace vs. Collin Tebo

Joachim Hansen vs. Caol Uno

Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda

Fredson Paixao vs. Pablo Garza

Jose Aldo vs. Cub Swanson

Thiago Tavares vs. Tyson Griffin

Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Riggs

BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk

Patricio Pitbull vs. Gleristone Santos

Ricardo Lamas vs. Bendy Casimir

LC Davis vs. Rafael Dias

Tip of the hat to Damn Severn and The UG. Click the link to see more there.

Dana White:

“I didn’t think it was a draw. I looked at the scorecards and the two judges who had it a draw scored the first two rounds for Penn and the third round a 10-8 [for Fitch]… Personally, I scored the first two rounds for Penn and had him winning the fight. There’s no doubt B.J. got pounded in the third round, but that wasn’t a 10-8 round.”

Jon Fitch:

“Finally watched the fight back myself. first rnd draw and I won rnd 2 and 3. I will prove myself if I must. But I know I won that fight. Much respect to BJ. He is the legend I thought he was. I think that was the best BJ ANY of us have ever seen.”

Chicago’s MMA had it 10-9 Penn, and then both rounds 2 and 3 10-9 for Fitch.

Chicago’s MMA writer LJ Tabano: “I feel bad for Fitch because this set him back a lot, and I believe not just in the title race either.  Everyone knows Dana doesn’t want him to fight for title because of the marketability limitations…and I doubt Fitch will be a headliner again.  Fitch is a winner but he’s the type of fighter the UFC can afford to lose to Strikeforce — he’s what Matt Lindland was in the early 2000′s.   He doesn’t sell tix… and he didn’t win over anyone with his performance.”

I actually really like watching Fitch fight. Before Frankie Edgar, it was virtually impossible for anyone to get BJ down, let alone stay on top for the entire round and beat the tar out of him. Fitch was able to do that in round 3.

Fitch could do himself favors by adhering to what his corner told him between rounds: if the shot is unsuccessful, disengage, throw strikes and try it again. Standing there with his rear end in the camera and head lodged between someone’s legs for 15-30 seconds is what makes people think he’s boring. Thing is, at the same time he is making them work by defending the takedown and wearing them down, but the perception is much different. The perception is that it’s boring.

The other thing he could do is ground and pound but then look for the sub. Fans want finishers. Submitting Penn might have been out of the question, but inevitably Fitch has to start finishing fights. He hasn’t had a submission win since 2007, and hasn’t scored a KO since 2006.

I personally enjoy watching Fitch mount people and ruthlessly beat them up for 5 minutes at a time. But that’s not what sells tickets and pay-per-views. That performance the other night would not have been good enough to beat GSP. So Fitch needs to get with Dave Camarillo and work on the other aspects of his game that people want to see. Maybe not for his true fans, or himself, but to please his bosses and continue to work toward a title shot.

Fitch beats people up and wins lots of fights. Ironically, it turns out that can be a problem.

There are a lot of big names being nominated for MMA Fighter of the Year, but in the end, I think it’s a fairly easy call. I made my decision based on a few factors: quantity of fights, quality of opponents, type of fights (title bouts weigh more) and overall dominance. First, the runners-up…

B.J. Penn

No fighter looked more dominant than “The Prodigy” did in his wins against Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian. But Penn was throttled soundly by GSP back in January.

Fedor Emelianenko

Fedor fought only twice and won both times. He beat Arlovski and Rogers, but it’s not enough for FOY.

Gegard Mousasi

Mousasi will get a lot of mentions for FOY, but his 2008 was actually more impressive than his 2009. He beat Mark Hunt, who was on a 4-fight losing streak. He needed just one minute to KO Babalu. And he finished the year with a TKO win over Sokoudjou here in Chicago.

Anderson Silva

“The Spider” probably was the most bored fighter of the year. The Forrest Griffin fight was nonsense and Thales Leites is no longer in the UFC. The UFC needs to challenge him more in 2010.

Georges St. Pierre

GSP dominated B.J. Penn and Thiago Alves, but it’s not enough for the FOY.

Lyoto Machida

Machida beat Thiago Silva, then Rashad Evans for the LHW belt. But it is the opinion of many that Shogun Rua should be the champion after their UFC 104 fight. I agree. So I can’t give Machida FOY.

There’s just one man left that could be the “FOY”.

Jose Aldo

Aldo was the most active and impressive fighter in 2009. He fought 4 times and won them all. He started 2009 with a round 1 knockout of Rolando Perez at WEC 38 in January. He fought again just over a month later at WEC 39: Brown vs. Garcia. There he needed just 1:39 to get the TKO victory over veteran fighter Chris Mickle.

In June, Aldo was back to face an even tougher opponentin Cub Swanson, who entered the cage having won 13 of his last 14 fights. Aldo’ s flying knee and the subsequent gash above Swanson’s left eye are now legendary. Aldo needed just :08 to destroy Swanson.

Those 3 straight victories got Aldo a title shot against Mike Brown at WEC 44 in November. Brown is one of the most well-rounded and respected fighters in all of MMA. Aldo absolutely domianted him. He took the belt after a TKO win at 1:20 of round 2. No one had a more dominant or impressive year than Jose Aldo. He is Chicago’s MMA 2009 Fighter of the Year.

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