The Las Vegas Sun has a decent preview of UFC 84 in today’s paper. They list 5 ’subplots’ and they’re pretty much on the money. The start with the ‘ill will’ between BJ Penn and Sean Sherk:

Sean Sherk sees tonight’s title fight as a big step in rebuilding his reputation among mixed martial arts fans after he tested positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone at UFC 73 in July in Sacramento, where he beat Hermes Franca. Sherk has vehemently maintained his innocence and vowed never to fight in California again. In the buildup to tonight’s bout, his first since failing the urinalysis, Sherk dismissed Penn as “a lot of hype,� “overrated� and even “pudgy.� Sherk had his game face on at Thursday’s prefight news conference at MGM. “There’s been a lot of stuff said between us,� said Sherk, of Oak Grove, Minn. “It’s over. It’s time to fight. That’s it.�

They also feature a funny line from native Hawaiian Penn about the importance fighting has played in his life:

“If it wasn’t for this sport, I’d be being a bum right now drinking a beer at the beach,� said Penn, who has held the UFC welterweight title.

Sole! Finaufinau i mea lelei.…that’s a Samoan phrase that roughly translates to “be all you can be, dude”. “Sole” is a slang term similar to ‘dude’ in English, so if you know any Samoans you can use this greeting on them. Just don’t call them fafafini unless you want to fight a really mad Samoan who you just called something slightly worse than a “girly man”. But like Penn said you see a similar thing in Samoa all the time with guys who just drink beer and fish their whole lives away.

Dana White is also in his usual sideshow barker form hyping the Penn/Sherk fight:

UFC President Dana White has hyped the headliner, which pits a strong wrestler in Sherk against a top-notch striker in Penn, as one of the best MMA matches of the year. “This is a fight where whether you’re a hard-core fan or someone who just got interested in the UFC, people are pumped about this fight,â€? White said. “It’s an exciting, rare moment when you get to see two of the best fighters in the world face off and find out who the best is. This is what professional sports and what fighting is all about, when you’re able to make great fights like this … It doesn’t suck when they hate each other, either.â€?

With all due respect to BJ Penn and Sean Sherk the assertion that this fight will determine the ‘best in the world’ at the weight would no doubt be disputed by Shinya Aoki, JZ Calvan, Caol Uno, Luis Buscape, Eddie Alverez and Joachim Hansen among others. If the winner of the Sherk/Penn bout took on the eventual winner of the DREAM lightweight tournament you’d then have a good approximation of the best fighter in the world at the weight.

Aside from these minor issues its a pretty good summary of the backstory behind the three main fights on the PPV:

UFC 84 Ill Will Preview @ Las Vegas Sun