Can it get any better than this?

ESPN, the Associated Press and every other far-reaching sports media outlet would be foolish to ignore this encounter. But, I’m sure they’ll try their best, maybe throwing a few skinny bones of attention that won’t compare to the meaty coverage they heaped on Oscar De La Hoya’s laughable loss to Manny Pacquiao on Dec. 6.

Drawing lines between MMA and boxing is futile because the latter has been entrenched as mainstream for a century and maintains a devoted fan base. But, the prospects for St. Pierre-Penn II put to shame a duel like De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao – the most recent “super fight” in the boxing world.

It simply served as a stage for Pacquiao to display his unparalleled pugilistic prowess against a has-been. He agreed to a drastic move up in weight and enforced his tenacious style to basically embarrass “The Golden Boy” for an eighth-round TKO.

If St.Pierre-Penn II turns out to be that lopsided, I’ll eat a printed copy of this article.

It’s precisely the kind of pairing that could catapult MMA into the consciousness of the masses – something the UFC wisely seeks to capitalize on with “UFC Prime Time,” a three-part promotional series.

Penn is a proud Hawaiian who seems to have buckled down and realized his opportunity for greatness. He can hype a fight with the best of them, as he proved before dismantling Sean Sherk in May, and his background (the tale about how he became known as “The Prodigy” is pretty entertaining) lends itself well to storytelling.

St. Pierre, meanwhile, is a fighting machine that also happens to be a publicists dream: The French-Canadian is intelligent, good-looking and honorable. In other words, he’s the perfect role model for the sport.

As if the top-shelf ability of the fighters wasn’t enough of a magnet, there also is the intrigue of their 2006 meeting in which GSP won a split decision.

Was it controversial? Not really. “The Prodigy” bloodied St. Pierre’s face in a close first round and attempted one submission in the waning moments of the third. But “Rush” used at-will takedowns to dictate the rest of the non-title welterweight bout and therefore notched the win.

Since then, the two have cemented themselves in the pound-for-pound ratings – Penn with three straight wins at lightweight, GSP with a string of 10 victories in his last 11 at 170 pounds.

This is a rare instance where two men with world-class ability will lock horns for a title in their prime, a scenario that was found often during the heyday of boxing, but hasn’t happened with much frequency yet in MMA.

That is changing. The direction and growth of MMA indicates that fights like this will only grow more commonplace in the future, even while Miletich and Couture continue to fight as living legends.

We’re still just at the tip of the iceberg. But, it’s a pretty cool place to be.