Yesterday in Memphis, Tenn., UFC lightweight champion BJ "The Prodigy" Penn and challenger Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez both made the 155-pound weight limit for their five-round title fight today at UFC 107.

But Sanchez, who won the first season of SpikeTV's "The Ultimate Fighter" at middleweight in 2005 and had competed at welterweight until February of this year, had to take two trips to the scale before officially weighing in at 154.5 pounds.

Penn weighed 155 pounds on his first try, and then extended his right palm up to the sky in his typical King Kamehameha pose atop the scale.

The difference in demeanor between the calm champion, Penn, and wired challenger, Sanchez, couldn't have been starker.

"He's got some stuff that he brings to the table," Penn said of Sanchez at the UFC 107 press conference. "But, I've faced all types of opponents, all types of champions, all the best guys all over the world. You know, it's just another fight. That's all it is."

A fight some think has come too soon for Sanchez.

After a stare down during which Sanchez intensely contorted his face, the challenger summed up his attitude toward his first UFC title fight by saying, "One word: Destiny!"

After failing to prevail in welterweight contender fights versus Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch and with only two wins in the lightweight division, Sanchez's rapid ascendency to a title shot seems more forced than inevitable. Sanchez leaped over better-vetted, though less popular lightweight contenders Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar to matchup with Penn in the UFC 107 main event.

On dropping down to the lightweight division, Sanchez said, "I thought it was a faster road to the title. And, obviously it was, because here I am fighting for the title."

Sanchez insists his advantage in the fight is his stamina. "What's BJ's biggest weakness? It's his conditioning. You think that two camps is going to get you ready for a guy with a never ending gas tank?"

Conditioning has been a nagging deficiency in Penn's game, but Penn contends he's fixed the problem over the past year. "Everybody wants to question my gas, question my cardio. Sean Sherk, does he have cardio? Kenny Florian, does he have cardio?"

Penn stopped both former champions Sherk and Florian in his last two lightweight fights. In fact, Florian wore himself out testing Penn's conditioning before succumbing to a rear naked choke at UFC 101 in August.

Since his loss to UFC welterweight champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre at UFC 94 in January, Penn has been training with conditioning coach Marv Marinovich.

In an interview with ESPN radio yesterday, Penn said: "I think everyone talks about Marv being a joke because he's not doing what everyone else is doing. All that stuff that's the fad right now, he doesn't do that stuff. I bought into (Marinovich's training). Whether it works or not, it gives me a level of confidence that helps this out." Penn pointed to his head.

UFC President Dana White agreed yesterday at the press conference, saying: "The stuff that BJ Penn is doing right now is phenomenal. And, this kid has taken his game and his body and everything to a whole other level. It's very exciting to watch and I know it's going to make for a very exciting title match on Saturday night because Diego Sanchez has become a very well-rounded mixed martial artist. He's been well-known for his cardiovascular endurance, staying in people's faces, and pushing the pressure. This kid is never in a boring fight."

Penn promised Sanchez that if he wants to test his conditioning, "I'm not going to be hard to find. I'll see you in the middle (of the Octagon)."