This is the most motivated BJ Penn we have ever seen , he wants to show the world hes unbeatable when he tries his hardest. Hes been relying on his talent all these years and half-assing his training , he realizes now he wants to be a legend and that hes gotta work hard to obtain that status. BJ Penn at LW is unstoppable , his most natural of weights,Idont see a single person out there that can take that belt from Penn. He has takedown defense rivaled only by GSP , hes stuffed the best of the best most namely Matt Hughes , the takedown master , his BJJ credentials need no introduction hes the youngest american to take gold in BJJ competitions in Brazil at only 20 years old. He can scrap on the feet with anyone , just ask GSP how his face felt after their fight , not to mention all the LWs hes knocked out. BJ is gonna clean up all the LW contenders in 2008 and possibly move back up to WW to take GSP again
Welterweight : Georges St.Pierre
GSP , probably the best WW on the planet , hes absolutely obliterated everyone hes fought , with the exception of BJ Penn , even in his first fight against Matt Hughes , he was dominating the entire fight up until he got caught in an armbar at the last 2 seconds of the 1st. His only real blemish in his career is Matt Serra , George lacked his mental game and got caught , I still believe strongly Serra isnt even top 10 WW division , and he simply caught GSP with a lucky punch. "Rush" is gonna show everyone that fight was a fluke and put Serra away in their rematch in April. GSP has no flaws in his game , hes dangerous everywhere , hes out-wrestled Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck , and has put away many strong opponents such as Sean Sherk , BJ Penn , Frank Trigg , Jason Miller , and Karo Parisyan. All of those guys are or are very close to top 10 in their respective divisions and GSP completely manhandled all of them anywhere the fight went. Rush will remain WW champ for a long long time.
Middleweight : Dan Henderson
Yes i believe Hendo has all the right tools to defeat the invincible Anderson Silva , Henderson is the biggest test of Silvas career by far. Dans got that beasty right hand and hes not afraid of Silvas stand up to throw it , and i give Dan the edge on the ground , former olympic wrestler hes got great takedowns and awesome submission defense. I hope Rich Franklin gets a shot at Dan later in the year cuz that would be another memorable fight as well , im picking Hollywood Henderson all the way for 2008!
Light Heavyweight : Chuck Liddell
Yes i picked Chuck , what can i say ive always loved the guy. Hate him or love him Chuck is back and he proved it with Wanderlei. I think Chuck has got the fire back in him to take that title again , and I predict he KO's Shogun this coming June to put him right back into a title shot. I think 2008 is our last year to see the old Chuck Liddell , after he runs through Shogun , hell get his last chance with Rampage and finally do the deed. With the belt back and his losses to Quinton finally avenged i feel Chuck will retire at the top of the game and solidify his legend as one of the best LHWs in the world.
Heavyweight : Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera
Big Nog! the man whos always gonna be #2 in the world , hes put away almost every elite HW with the exception of Fedor. Nog is like the Rocky of MMA , hes taken countless beatings in all his fights and managed to come back and take the win. Hes never been knocked out and hes never been submitted in his MMA career , out of the 3 fighters to have defeated him hes avenged 2 of them , leaving only the Russian to hold true victories over him. Nog has more heart , more chin , and better BJJ and striking then everyone in UFCs HW division , Randy would be his only worthy competition but with him outta the picture i see Nog holding that belt atleast all through 2008. War Minotauro!