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Okay.
He was arguably the best Lightweight fighter for 8 years.
He essentially was the best from the berth of his career. He proved this by beating Uno, Thomas, Serra and Gomi all within the first 3 years of his career.
He was a natural born fighter, the type of guy who'd either finish you or you would leave you looking like you'd been run over by a truck - just ask Diego Sanchez or Joe Stevenson.
He beat a hoard of names that people just overlook. Some I've listed below:
Din Thomas - 12-1 at the time of their fight.
Caol Uno twice - 13-4-2 and 15-5-2 at the time of their fights.
Matt Serra - 6-1 at the time of their fight.
Takanori Gomi - 14-1 at the time of their fight.
Duane Ludwig - 10-2 at the time of their fight (yes, I know this was at Welterweight, but they were both Lightweights before this fight).
Jens Pulver - 21-7-1 at the time of their fight (arguably beat the guy twice, but lost a Majority Decision back in the day).
Joe Stevenson - 28-7 at the time of their fight (had only lost one fight in 5 years immediately prior to this fight).
Sean Sherk - 34-2-1 at the time of their fight (unbeaten at Lightweight at the time).
Kenny Florian - 11-3 at the time of their fight (7 fight winning streak immediately prior to this fight).
Diego Sanchez - 21-2 at the time of their fight (unbeaten at Lightweight at the time).
Bear in mind, he finished 9 of the 10 names I mentioned.
You also HAVE TO factor in that he fought in a time where the Lightweight division was a mess, the UFC couldn't make their mind up if they wanted it or not. He had contract disputes and went to fight in K1 where he was fighting guys who have fought as big as Light Heavyweight and even won some of those bouts. His fights at Welterweight have very little to do with his Lightweight resume, but the fact is he was way too small for 170lbs and he still beat the unbeatable Matt Hughes via stoppage is simply stunning. The guy had a 3 year stretch outside of his division and outside of the UFC, that hurt his resume, but not really his fault.
Not to mention that many people had him beating Frankie the first time out.
I don't think Pettis, Henderson, dos Anjos or Frankie can stand up to that at 155lbs especially over a 9 year span from debut at Lightweight to retirement from Lightweight. Some of their wins are fantastic, might even supersede some of Penn's, but Penn has one loss at 155lbs which wasn't competitive. Penn was never subbed like Benson, was never laid on and beat on like Pettis, was never knocked from pillar to post like Edgar and never knocked out on his feet like dos Anjos.
That's my argument, show me your hand...
He was arguably the best Lightweight fighter for 8 years.
He essentially was the best from the berth of his career. He proved this by beating Uno, Thomas, Serra and Gomi all within the first 3 years of his career.
He was a natural born fighter, the type of guy who'd either finish you or you would leave you looking like you'd been run over by a truck - just ask Diego Sanchez or Joe Stevenson.
He beat a hoard of names that people just overlook. Some I've listed below:
Din Thomas - 12-1 at the time of their fight.
Caol Uno twice - 13-4-2 and 15-5-2 at the time of their fights.
Matt Serra - 6-1 at the time of their fight.
Takanori Gomi - 14-1 at the time of their fight.
Duane Ludwig - 10-2 at the time of their fight (yes, I know this was at Welterweight, but they were both Lightweights before this fight).
Jens Pulver - 21-7-1 at the time of their fight (arguably beat the guy twice, but lost a Majority Decision back in the day).
Joe Stevenson - 28-7 at the time of their fight (had only lost one fight in 5 years immediately prior to this fight).
Sean Sherk - 34-2-1 at the time of their fight (unbeaten at Lightweight at the time).
Kenny Florian - 11-3 at the time of their fight (7 fight winning streak immediately prior to this fight).
Diego Sanchez - 21-2 at the time of their fight (unbeaten at Lightweight at the time).
Bear in mind, he finished 9 of the 10 names I mentioned.
You also HAVE TO factor in that he fought in a time where the Lightweight division was a mess, the UFC couldn't make their mind up if they wanted it or not. He had contract disputes and went to fight in K1 where he was fighting guys who have fought as big as Light Heavyweight and even won some of those bouts. His fights at Welterweight have very little to do with his Lightweight resume, but the fact is he was way too small for 170lbs and he still beat the unbeatable Matt Hughes via stoppage is simply stunning. The guy had a 3 year stretch outside of his division and outside of the UFC, that hurt his resume, but not really his fault.
Not to mention that many people had him beating Frankie the first time out.
I don't think Pettis, Henderson, dos Anjos or Frankie can stand up to that at 155lbs especially over a 9 year span from debut at Lightweight to retirement from Lightweight. Some of their wins are fantastic, might even supersede some of Penn's, but Penn has one loss at 155lbs which wasn't competitive. Penn was never subbed like Benson, was never laid on and beat on like Pettis, was never knocked from pillar to post like Edgar and never knocked out on his feet like dos Anjos.
That's my argument, show me your hand...
