UFC 107: B.J. Penn Stops Sanchez, Frank Mir Submits Kongo
BJ Penn finished 2009 with a commanding lightweight title defense at UFC 107. On December 12 at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee, he stopped Diego Sanchez in the fifth round after controlling the championship fight from its opening moments. Frank Mir needed only 72 seconds to defeat Cheick Kongo, while Kenny Florian submitted Clay Guida. Eleven bouts gave the year’s final UFC event a substantial supporting card as well as a memorable champion’s performance.
Video: UFC’s contemporary Penn vs. Sanchez extended preview, introducing the event before the results below.
Penn’s precision beats Sanchez’s pressure
Sanchez brought intensity, forward pressure and the determination to force a difficult fight. Penn answered with timing. An early right hand dropped the challenger and established a pattern that would continue: Sanchez could keep coming, but the champion could intercept him and prevent those attacks from turning into sustained offense.
Penn’s takedown defense was just as important as his striking. Sanchez could not consistently move the contest to positions where his pressure might become more effective. The champion remained balanced, chose his shots and made the challenger pay for closing distance. This was a lengthy fight on the clock, but not a closely balanced one.
The finish came after Penn landed a head kick in the fifth round, opening a severe cut on Sanchez’s forehead. The ringside doctor ended the contest at 2:37. Penn retained the lightweight belt by TKO and completed his third successful defense, following his submission of Kenny Florian at UFC 101. Sanchez’s refusal to give in was striking, but it did not erase the champion’s control.
This performance belongs among the strongest examples of Penn at lightweight. The lesson was not simply that he could hit hard. His striking, balance and defensive wrestling supported one another, letting him deny the challenger’s preferred route into the fight while continuing to score cleanly. Sanchez’s toughness prolonged the contest; Penn’s technical advantage determined its direction.
Mir makes a fast return to the win column
Mir was coming off his loss to Brock Lesnar at UFC 100. Kongo, an established heavyweight striker, offered an opportunity to recover but also a clear standing threat. Mir removed much of that uncertainty immediately, hurting Kongo with a punch before securing a guillotine choke.
Kongo lost consciousness, making the result a technical submission rather than a tap. At 1:12 of the opening round, Mir had another win and a renewed place in the heavyweight conversation. The sequence combined a successful standing entry with the submission skill that had long made him dangerous on the ground.
Florian rebounds, Fitch and Struve go the distance
Florian also returned from a title-fight defeat. Against Guida, he used effective striking to create damage and eventually a ground opportunity, finishing with a rear-naked choke at 2:19 of round two. Guida’s energy could make fights chaotic, but Florian produced the more decisive work and turned his opening into a finish.
Jon Fitch earned a unanimous decision over Mike Pierce in a competitive welterweight bout. Stefan Struve defeated Paul Buentello by majority decision. These outcomes required the judges, unlike the three other main-card contests, and ensured the evening included longer tests of control and endurance alongside its striking and submission highlights.
Belcher leads a varied preliminary card
Alan Belcher and Wilson Gouveia fought at a 195-pound catchweight, with Belcher stopping Gouveia through punches in the first round. Their exchanges supplied the preliminary card’s most prominent striking battle. Matt Wiman defeated Shane Nelson by unanimous decision, and Johny Hendricks did the same against Ricardo Funch.
The other preliminaries produced three finishes. Rousimar Palhares submitted Lucio Linhares with a heel hook, DaMarques Johnson caught Edgar Garcia in a triangle choke, and TJ Grant stopped Kevin Burns with punches just before the first round ended. The full card therefore offers more than Penn’s title defense: it captures established contenders recovering, younger fighters advancing and several different routes to victory.
Complete UFC 107 results
Main card
- BJ Penn def. Diego Sanchez — TKO (doctor’s stoppage), round 5, 2:37; retained the lightweight title.
- Frank Mir def. Cheick Kongo — technical submission (guillotine choke), round 1, 1:12.
- Jon Fitch def. Mike Pierce — unanimous decision, round 3, 5:00.
- Kenny Florian def. Clay Guida — submission (rear-naked choke), round 2, 2:19.
- Stefan Struve def. Paul Buentello — majority decision, round 3, 5:00.
Preliminary card
- Alan Belcher def. Wilson Gouveia — TKO (punches), round 1, 3:03; 195-pound catchweight.
- Matt Wiman def. Shane Nelson — unanimous decision, round 3, 5:00.
- Johny Hendricks def. Ricardo Funch — unanimous decision, round 3, 5:00.
- Rousimar Palhares def. Lucio Linhares — submission (heel hook), round 2, 3:21.
- DaMarques Johnson def. Edgar Garcia — submission (triangle choke), round 1, 4:03.
- TJ Grant def. Kevin Burns — TKO (punches), round 1, 4:57.
Sources
Article Tags
UFC 107, B.J. Penn, Diego Sanchez, Frank Mir, Cheick Kongo, UFC Results
