I’m biased, I admit it. I will always support BJ Penn. Nut-hugger, fanboy, whatever you want to call me, I’m it.
We’ve had our moments, don’t get me wrong. When I learnt Penn fought Lyoto Machida at Light Heavyweight I was proud, yet still a little confused.
When he lost to Georges St-Pierre the second time I wondered why on earth he let his mother speak to the Nevada State Athletic Commission into the greasing allegations.
When he fought Nick Diaz and was about to take his back in the first round, I screamed when he gave up arm and shoulder control.
But, through all this, my loyalty never wavered. To me, BJ Penn is one of the greatest fighters.
Penn was one of the very first few Mixed Martial Arts fighters true to the name. Penn’s Brazilian Jujitsu (BJJ) is on based on a solid top game, good transitions and tight submissions.
His boxing is layered with good combinations, sound head movement and power in both hands. His scramble is excellent, takedown defence strong and his balance and flexibility could make a gymnast blush.
Penn was the first non-Brazilian to win in the black belt division at the BJJ Mundial back in 2000 (held in Brazil). Freddie Roach considers Penn’s boxing one of the best in MMA and Randy Couture once mentioned Penn’s strength in the clinch.
I’m stubborn. When people say lack of motivation, I say burnout. Not evolving his skill-set? How can he get better? Penn forced other fighters to evolve.
Back in the day, strikers who had a decent sprawl could see themselves through to victories. Wrestlers could throw a cursory jab, then shoot for a single leg takedown before some ground and pound.
But Penn made people question the one dimensional fighter model when they watched him fight. He made coaches question the viability of such game plans and made fighters consider their shelf-life in the sport.
BJ Penn’s fight record isn’t great, true, so I’ll pause and bite my lip. But every time Penn has struggled, he’s been fighting in the wrong weight class.
Machida at Light Heavyweight and GSP, Matt Hughes and Diaz at Welterweight. All excellent fighters and a loss is nothing to be ashamed of, just embarrassing Penn could be so stubborn to fight above his best weight class over and over again.
Penn’s only real losses at Lightweight were against Jens Pulver (who he’s destroyed since), and Frankie Edgar twice (where I personally think something was wrong with Penn’s mindset and/or body).
I figure Penn wants to test himself when he fights up. He doesn’t want to fight the easy fights, a mark of a true champion.
I’m realistic enough to say yes, Penn could be better, but not by very much. His cardio has failed him more than once and the spilt with Marv Marinovich was baffling. I truly believe he was the best pound for pound MMA fighter in the world when Marinovich was in his corner and it’s hard to imagine anybody countering that observation.
After viewing some lead up footage this last week, it looks like Penn has had a great camp. Penn is ready.
In the lead up to UFC’s FOX 5, I’m confident BJ Penn’s fight with Rory MacDonald will be in a true test and one where Penn will look for a convincing victory.
The roles are reversed now. Penn is the hunted, the one with more to lose. This is his last role of the dice at Welterweight, if not the UFC as a serious contender in any division, so he needs to prove he is still relevant.
And that is why he’ll win. BJ Penn is a legend and will want to prove this to the world on the weekend.
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