Neil Davidson / AP

UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, of Montreal, left, and lightweight champion B.J. Penn pose with their championship belts. The two meet on Saturday.

Mike Chiappetta • E-mail

I recently wrote about the importance of this matchup, which cannot be understated. Years from now, this could be looked at as a seminal bout in the sport’s existence in terms of competition and mass appeal. Two superstars in their primes with a championship on the line. What else could you ask for?

So how will UFC 94 go down? Let’s take a look at St. Pierre-Penn, as well as some of the night’s other key bouts.

B.J. Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre

Penn’s record: 13-4-1
Penn’s strengths: Boxing, takedown defense, ground game
Penn’s quotable: “I think that’s why he gets so mad when I call him a quitter. Because maybe there is some quit inside. When you push through all the outside, all the strength, all the muscles – when you get through all that stuff – it’s on the inside, and that’s where I’m going to beat him.”

St. Pierre’s record:  17-2
St. Pierre’s strengths: Wrestling, dynamic striker, conditioning
St. Pierre’s quotable: “I’m not going to fight with anger. I’m going to fight with my heart. That’s what I always do. It’s not the first time someone says not-so-nice things about me, but I’ve got to keep my eyes on the goal. The promotion stuff is part of the game, too. I’m training too hard to let myself go and to ruin everything. I train myself to fight an army, so one guy will not be able to break me.”

Keys to the fight: Penn has his best chance of winning by keeping this fight standing. He has very crisp hands and may be the best boxer in MMA. Unlike many fighters, Penn uses a jab to keep his opponent off-balance, which serves to soften them, frustrate them, and open them up for the overhand right. He has excellent takedown defense, which he will need for all five rounds to stay off his back. If St. Pierre is able to take him down, the fight’s complexion will change greatly, because even if Penn is able to neutralize St. Pierre on the ground, ringside judges always count takedowns as offense. Of course, the biggest X-factor for Penn is conditioning. In each of his last three fights, he’s come into the fight in excellent shape. Although the   Primetime preview show has raised about questions as to Penn’s current work ethic, I suspect he’s playing possum, as he knows this is the most important fight of his life, and will enter in excellent shape to go five rounds.

St. Pierre needs to mix up his offense to keep Penn off-balance. Everyone has a hard time taking Penn down, but GSP has to continually try. He is also so athletic that he creates interesting scoring combinations where he fakes a takedown shot and instead throws a strike. GSP looked about as good as he’s ever been in his five-round methodical dismantling of Jon Fitch last August, so his confidence is probably sky-high and it can’t be hurt by his previous win over Penn. The most important thing for St. Pierre is to make Penn constantly feel his strength advantage. Nothing tires a fighter more quickly than having to fight out of disadvantageous positions, and Penn will have to do it against someone naturally bigger than him. If St. Pierre can put Penn on his back, he will certainly increase his chances of winning.

What’s at stake: St. Pierre’s welterweight title. But there is also legacy at stake. These are two of the best fighters in the sport’s history, getting together in their respective primes. This is a match that will be talked about for years to come.

Likely outcome: While there is no “likely” outcome in this one, St. Pierre goes in as the favorite, and for good reason. Because he is the better wrestler, a comparable striker and jiu-jistu player, and has a decided size advantage, he has more key factors in his favor.

Prediction: It should be noted NBCSports.com readers are overwhelmingly picking St. Pierre in our poll (Vote here), and that is understandable. But on a pure gut instinct level, I think Penn will not be denied in his pursuit of history to become the first man to simultaneously hold two UFC titles.

Lyoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva

Machida’s record: 13-0
Machida’s strengths: Accurate striker, elusive target, good takedowns

Silva’s record: 13-0
Silva’s strengths: Power striker, excellent chin, good ground game

Keys to the fight: This is a straight-up style clash. Silva continually comes forward, having great trust in his striking and his ability to take a punch, while Machida is known for a style that values patience, defense and counterstriking.