UFC 94

UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2
A poster or logo for UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2.
Information
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	January 31, 2009
Venue	MGM Grand Garden Arena
City	Las Vegas, Nevada
Attendance	14,885
Total gate	$4,290,020
Buyrate	920,000
Total purse	$1,091,000
Event chronology
UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2 UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens

UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2 was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on January 31, 2009. The card featured five televised MMA bouts, as well as five un-aired preliminary bouts. It was the second UFC event of 2009 and took place on the weekend of Super Bowl XLIII.

The main event featured the UFC Welterweight Champion, Georges St-Pierre, defending his title against UFC Lightweight Champion and former UFC Welterweight Champion B.J. Penn. This represented the first time two current titleholders competed against each other in the UFC. The contest was heavily promoted, featuring a publicity tour to Canada and Hawaii, as well as the introduction of UFC Primetime, a preview show that cost $1.7 million to produce. The co-main event of the evening was a battle between two undefeated light heavyweights sporting 13–0 records in Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva.

The main event featured the UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre defending his championship against UFC Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn in a fight contested at the UFC welterweight limit of 170 pounds (77.1 kg). The fight represented the first time two current title holders faced off in the UFC. Penn also sought to become the first fighter in the UFC to concurrently hold two championships in two separate weight classes. The UFC 94 main event was met with a high level of anticipation from both the media and the fans. Sherdog called the fight between St-Pierre and Penn the most anticipated bout of 2009, and NBC Sports described it as one of the most anticipated fights in MMA history. In an article previewing the fight, Dave Meltzer discussed the over-usage of exaggerations to promote contests in combat sports, but argued that the January 31 match between St-Pierre and Penn was "one of the true epic matches in the history of the sport." The fans voiced their opinion in a poll conducted by Inside MMA, where 45 percent of the viewers voted the match up between St-Pierre and Penn as the most anticipated fight to take place between December and February. The poll also featured (in descending order according to the results) Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski, Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson, and Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson.