BJ Penn, Genius or Fool?

[Tony Montana]

http://www.marcoantico.com/fightingwords_BJPenn.html

I'd be interested in hearing what your opinions are of BJ Penn. I make the argument in my article that he's the most important fighter in all of MMA.

ps. excuse some grammar mistakes. I wrote this late last night, I'll touch it up tonight.

[sportsgenius86]

http://www.marcoantico.com/fightingwords_BJPenn.html

I'd be interested in hearing what your opinions are of BJ Penn. I make the argument in my article that he's the most important fighter in all of MMA.

ps. excuse some grammar mistakes. I wrote this late last night, I'll touch it up tonight.



pretty good IMO.....

however i think is legacy will fizzle as time passes....I think he should be remembered as the guy who took chances and made them work...unfortunately i think he may just end up as That guy who Beat Matt Hughes and then skipped out on the rematch......I hope that isn't how it ends up but i also fear that Penn is letting himself go after that Renzo match...He looked to be in terrible shape

I do think that ROTR has that best chance of being a threat to the UFC...but if he becomes threating in the next year or two it could essentially kill MMA in america because it would become over-saturated in a population of people that isn't all too large to begin with.

All In All I say great work. I was impressed by the work and hope that you post more writings as you complete them in the future.

[bushidofighter]

BJ's just some lightweight who was put into a worked match-up with Matt Hughes and instead of laying down for the champ, he screwed up everything by not following the plan and subbing Matt.

i agree. he is nothing more than that.

[Skinnyboy]

So the guy has become even more successful without the UFC. Most other fighters would love to be in his shoes - total control of his career and making mucho dinero. He might not be adding to his legacy as a fighter, but like so many other fighters, he's trying to take care of his financial future first. Bad for for the fans, but great for him.

[Loot]

And where and when did people decide Hughes' fights were worked??.....geez, some of you conspiracy theorists just really make no sense at all.....

As for BJ, who cares.....He would be a soild addition to a stacked division. Now if he was a LHW or a HW, which seems to be something he considers, then maybe the UFC could use him. But they have proven time and time again that they give a **** about fighters....As long as the ignorant public will buy **** with pretty packaging they will not care...

Now if BJ could get some funding and challenge the UFC, then I would actualy care about what he says (which is always much more than he actually does).

[Iron Maiden]

Stupid little ego maniac who thinks he can beat every fighter in the world regardless of weight class.

[ningai]

Matt Hughes is not nearly as good as the TUF kiddies make him out to be, so it didn't surprise me to see Penn sub him. If Trigg can take his back that easily then Royce would submit Matt in less than 2 minutes.

[Serialkilla]

Yet another intelligent post by Ningai...

Trigg hit him low, then pounded the **** out of Matt who was on the brink of being KO'ed. That had a lot to do with Matt getting mounted and havinf his back taken...

I don't know what Royce has to do with this but more power to you...

If you want to discredit Matt's accomplishments then do it with real arguments.

[Loot]

Hughes puts himself in danger of being submitted all the time. He constantly seems to be caught in a triangle or giving his back. BIG DEAL.....In 41 fights the guy has been subbed twice. If Penn did not sub him, half of the conversations that we have about Penn would not even take place. Not as many people would care about Penn.

[ColeTrain]

Good article. Penn is an excellent fighter that many love to hate. Many fans try to discredit and/or ignore him because they don't want to acknowldege that the best fighter under 180lbs. (in the world) doesn't fight for either Pride or the UFC. He's arrogant, he's his own man, but he's extremely talented. Too bad he doesn't train very hard...

[?daeHyMs'erehW]

And where and when did people decide Hughes' fights were worked??.....geez, some of you conspiracy theorists just really make no sense at all.....

As for BJ, who cares.....He would be a soild addition to a stacked division. Now if he was a LHW or a HW, which seems to be something he considers, then maybe the UFC could use him. But they have proven time and time again that they give a **** about fighters....As long as the ignorant public will buy **** with pretty packaging they will not care..

NO MORE CONSPIRACIES!

[?daeHyMs'erehW]

Penn's the best.

[Loot]

NO MORE CONSPIRACIES!

lol, I was just responding to your post before you changed it.......

In case you did not figure it out already, people refer to worked fights all the time here, and they usually infer that the fight was totally fake (see discussions on the last Kimo fight). Some people here have argued that Hughes/Trigg 2 was fake..........It is ridiculous

[Lefty]

BJ's just some lightweight who was put into a worked match-up with Matt Hughes and instead of laying down for the champ, he screwed up everything by not following the plan and subbing Matt.

the only thing you got right in your statement was ""bj's just a lightweight. that's it.

the fact that he moved up in weight and schooled matt hughes standing and on the ground obviously mean nothing to you. he also beat the now #1 LW takanori gomi, and tough as nails rodrigo gracie. just the fact that he was competitive and narrowly lost to a tough heavyweight in lyoto machida is amazing in my eyes.

no other fighter jumps weight classes like penn, who is still a natural lightweight despite his pillsbury doughboy appearance. he does what other fighters dream of doing ad hasnt backed down from any fighter. the guy definately has balls.

as for his conditioning and weight gains, i think it'll eventually catch up with him.

i do think bj penn is PFP the best fighter in mma.

[Lefty]

excuse me. i'm sorry. you're right.

but seriously, you've been around here awhile. how can you deny that Gomi is anything better than a #4 LW? he's 0-1 amongst the top 4(Kawajiri1-1, Ribeiro1-1, Hansen1-1). Penn's last appearance in UFC prior to the Hughes fight was a draw with Uno.

penn's appearance against uno was a draw, but his previous fight with him was a first rd blow out for penn. that draw decision was messed up also. how the hell did they score a draw?

as for gomi's ranking, that's disputable. i personally think hansen will clear up the competion because he' a better striker than them . for now, gomi is bushido's golden boy who's been racking up more impressive W's than anyone else. only time will tell who's "the man" at LW.

[Skinnyboy]

Good article. Penn is an excellent fighter that many love to hate. Many fans try to discredit and/or ignore him because they don't want to acknowldege that the best fighter under 180lbs. (in the world) doesn't fight for either Pride or the UFC. He's arrogant, he's his own man, but he's extremely talented. Too bad he doesn't train very hard...

Exactly. He's a nonconformist, so all the sheep out there can't stand him. Just like Bernard Hopkins, he did it and continues to do it HIS way and people hate him for it???

[Loot]

I could honestly care less about BJ Penn, and it has nothing to do with any organization.....here are a few reasons...

1) I still do not consider him the rebel journeyman that everyone wants him to be.....2/3 of his fights were with UFC...he only fought 3 times with K-1 and twice with ROTR...big deal...

2) He took Uno to a draw, lost to Pulver, and lost to Machida. For whatever excuse people want to make for his last lost, it was a loss...That is what he gets for fighting in weight classes he has no business being in...He is not that great, and I am not impressed by him being fat one month and really skinny the next....

3) Everyone loves to talk about his win over Gomi and Hughes. First, without the win over Hughes, no one would be sitting here wasting time talking about Penn. As for Gomi, everyone forgets that thsi was 2 years ago, well before the Gomi bandwagon was so quick to get on their knees for him.

Penn is a good fighter who is impressive at times, but I fail to see why anyone would consider him so great....

[Skinnyboy]

Penn is a good fighter who is impressive at times, but I fail to see why anyone would consider him so great....

Yeah. Nobody should be calling him "great" as of yet. But he's shown the potential and he's awful close to deserving the title.

[Keso]

I saw those clips in the media thread and this guy has skills. I would love to see him in Pride against Silva. When is his next fight and against whom?

[ningai]

His last fight was against Renzo Gracie. Although he won through a judges's decision, he was fat and out of shape and wasn't impressive during the fight. Maybe he can turn things around.

[Keso]

Silva? Wanderlei Silva? Penn's a fat ass at 185, i can't even imagine what he's look like at 205. it would be a horrible beating for Penn.

You're right. I didn't know his natural weight, only saw that he didn't mind jumping weightclasses. He is still impressive though.

Ningai: I'll get a hold of that match, thanks for the heads-up.

[sportsgenius86]

Penn at 205 would look like Eric Pele Jr.

[Skinnyboy]

Penn at 205...hmmm...that's not going to get him on the cover of "Muscle & Fitness". BUT if he were to beat a legit 200 plus pounder, then send him a cheesecake and leave him alone.