LAS VEGAS - Georges St. Mike Richards Stanley Cup Jersey . Pierre and B.J. Penn both talked of legacy and the desire to be known as the best fighter in the world. But Penn pointed to a more basic motivation driving him ahead of Saturdays showdown at UFC 94. "I just want to kick his ass," the Hawaiian fighter said Wednesday at the pre-fight news conference. Penn did just that in the first round the first time they met, at UFC 58 in March 2006. Penn used his striking skills to bust the Canadian open and by the end of the round, St. Pierres face was a mask of blood. He was so befuddled he even headed to Penns corner instead of his own when the round ended. St. Pierre bounced back, gamely using his wrestling skills to take Penn down and suppress him the final two rounds. St. Pierre won a split decision, but it was hard to tell after the fight. St. Pierre looked liked someone had taken a baseball bat to his shaven head, which was knotted with bumps all over. After being poked in the eye in the first round, he headed to hospital as a precautionary measure. Penn partied the night away, wondering what had just happened. Almost three years later, they meet again - this time at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. St. Pierre (17-2) holds the welterweight title at 170 pounds while Penn (13-4-1), a former 170-pound champ, holds the 155-pound belt. The fight will be contested at 170 pounds, with St. Pierres title on the line. They are fighting for a place in mixed martial arts history, vying with perhaps only UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and former Pride heavyweight title-holder Fedor Emelianenko to be the best of a generation of a new breed of MMA fighters who are skilled in all aspects of the game. The first fight was a watershed for St. Pierre. He was cut open and hurt. And he came back. Now the Montrealer wants to finish Penn - and leave him in his tracks. "I want to be the best fighter in the world, known as the best pound-for-pound (fighter) in the world," St. Pierre said. "And to do so, there is this guy B.J. Penn whos there and I need to beat him to be able to do that." Both have to make 170 pounds at Fridays weigh-in and Penn - at 171 pounds - is pretty much there already. St. Pierre is bigger and will have to shed weight. His camp says he will probably be down to 175 or 176 pounds Thursday, squeezing out the final few pounds in the sauna. St. Pierre, 27, competes at 170 but essentially only ever makes that weight for four or five hours around a fight weigh-in. Come fight night, the Montrealer will be closer to 185 to 187 pounds when he enters the cage. Penn will still be around 170. Does size matter? Penn was digging away at his rival when the two squared off on stage Wednesday to pose for photographers. "B.J. said `You cut too much weight, Georges. Youre going to be weak. You cut too much weight," recounted UFC president Dana White, who was between them. "Georges kept going `well see B.J. , well see. "That goes both ways. is B.J. too small? B.J. fought at 170 pounds before, B.J. fought at 185 pounds. I think it could go both ways," White said of the size disparity. "The weight-cutting isnt good for Georges and Georges being bigger than B.J. maybe isnt good for B.J. Well find out Saturday night." Of course, cutting weight is way of life in mixed martial arts. The idea is to be bigger than your opponent and St. Pierre trims down for every bout. Penn, a natural talent who has rededicated himself to training in recent years, has enjoyed great success in his latest lease of life as a lightweight. White asked him to go back to 155 pounds, in essence forcing him to get into shape. St. Pierre won the fashion war Wednesday, wearing a dapper pinstriped suit and tie. The ever-casual Penn wore his usual bjpenn.com T-shirt. The 30-year-old Hawaiian was all-business. "Im here, Im ready. Lets go," he said when called to the microphone. His brother J.D. says Penn has his game face on. "Hes very focused. Usually hes having a little bit more fun. I think hes excited. I mean hes not showing it, but I think inside hes already ready to fight. He kind of turned this way a week ago." St. Pierre was equally serious. "This is one of those fights thats going to make history. Im ready for it. Ive never been so excited for a fight and I cant wait. Im ready to go." Wayne Gretzky Jersey . "Probably back in bantam," said the Florida Panthers right winger, before correcting himself. Brandon Dubinsky Jersey . - The New Orleans Saints signed free-agent cornerback Jabari Greer to a four-year deal Wednesday. Mike Richards Jersey .C. -- The wait is over for Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip. Ed Jovanovski Jersey . Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell scored for the Flyers in a 2-1 victory over the Islanders on Saturday, giving Philadelphia its 14th straight win over New York. Shane Doan Jersey . The rising world No. 15 Cilic handled German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-0, 6-4, while a sixth-seeded Kiefer bowed out against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) at MTTC Iphitos. Kohlschreiber titled here two years ago. WINNIPEG -- Evander Kane hopes Winnipegs effort against Tampa Bay was a glimpse into the Jets future. Kane, Tim Stapleton and Dustin Byfuglien each had a goal and an assist as the Jets ended a five-game skid with a 5-2 victory over the Lightning on Monday night. "It was the most complete game weve played," said Kane. "We need to be able to model that and be consistent with that type of game." Andrew Ladd and Mark Flood also scored for the Jets, who went 1-2 on the power play and upped their record to 6-9-3. Martin St. Louis and Steve Stamkos replied for Tampa Bay (8-7-2), which couldnt convert on six power-play chances. "We felt it was a good opportunity for us at home against a tough team to really get back on track and play the game that we need to play," Ladd said. "I thought for the most part we did that tonight." Jets netminder Ondrej Pavelec made 30 saves as Winnipeg registered only its third win at home this season. "It was a game we needed," Pavelec said. "Our biggest problem is being able to stay out of the (penalty) box. "But we did a great job tonight. We know that if we just stick with the plan and if were going to play all 60 minutes ... we can beat everybody and thats what we showed tonight." Winnipeg outshot Tampa 39-32. Dwayne Roloson started in net for the Lightning, but was replaced by Mathieu Garon midway through the second period after giving up his fourth goal on 22 shots. Tampa head coach Guy Boucher didnt blame bad luck for his teams lack of scoring with the man advantage. "I dont believe in luck. You make your luck," Boucher said. "We hit the post. You shoot two inches inside and thats not a post, its accuracy. And I think ((Pavelec) made some major key saves on our power play. Marc Staal Stanley Cup Jersey. " In the second of six games between the clubs this season -- Tampa won the first -- Winnipeg jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Kane and Byfuglien. Winnipeg outshot Tampa 16-11 in the period, while the Lightning had the periods only two power plays and couldnt beat Pavelec. Winnipeg killed off a four-minute Lightning power play early in the second period while defenceman Zach Bogosian was in the box for holding and unsportsmanlike conduct. The Jets went into the game ranked 22nd in the league in penalty killing and 20th with the man advantage. Winnipeg used its first power play of the game to make it 3-0 as Floods shot from the high slot when through Rolosons pads at 7:49 of the second. The Lightning got on the board three minutes later when St. Louis scored with a close shot that went through Pavelecs pads. Winnipeg made it 4-1 less than two minutes later as Ladd stood in front of Roloson and had teammate Johnny Oduyas shot bounce off him into the net. Ladds fifth goal of the season at 12:14 brought Garon into the net. Tampa had a two-man advantage for a minute and 17 seconds late in the second, but the Jets managed to carry the 4-1 lead into the final period. The teams traded goals 22 seconds apart in the third, with Stapleton scoring his second of the season at 10:04 and Stamkos notching his 11th. The Jets host Philadelphia on Thursday. Tampa returns home to face Pittsburgh on Thursday. Notes: The loss ended a streak of 12 straight Ligntning wins over the Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise, which had been the NHLs longest active streak by one team over a single opponent ... During the Jets five-game losing streak, they were only 2-of-20 on the power play. ' ' '
