Is B.J. Penn overrated?

[oliver766]

I get that B.J. choked Hughes out while Hughes was in his prime to win the Welterweight belt, and that he defended his lightweight belt three times. But Frankie and Benson Henderson also defended their LW belts three times, against what some people could argue as better competition. I just don't see why B.J. is held so highly. I feel like if he was in his prime today he'd get KO'd by Conor and mauled by Khabib and have a hard time against the top LW contenders today. I put him at best getting ranked probably 4 or 5 if he were in the UFC right now. What do y'all think?

 

[BrianC18t]

I think you are right and the game has evolved.... but I still have lots of respect for BJ and what he did in his prime.

 

[OnMcGregorNutz]

 

[cevo]

He was great in his prime, but his cult following still overrate him because of his willingness to take fights against much larger opponents.

 

[yekmurat]

All I can say that when BJ had a fight the fans were pumped I mean really really really pumped..Not like Ngannou type pump...

 

[wilKO]

He's under-rated. He's way better than his record shows.

 

[oliver766]

He was great in his prime, but his cult following still overrate him because of his willingness to take fights against much larger opponents.

Yeah. I feel like besides beating Hughes twice, which is a big accomplishment, he couldn't beat that next level of talent. He lost to St-Pierre twice, Frankie three times, Nick Diaz, and Rory MacDonald.

 

[Deleted member 535377]

First post...

 

[TheHNICuLuv2Hate]

No

 

[Franc Mittelo]

He is Big Time overrated. He has a 53% win rate record. Dude is only slightly above average. LOL

Most fighters who were relevant pre-2009/2010, and disappeared after post-2009/2010, are grossly overrated.

MMA records become more legit from 2009/2010 forward.

 

[TheHNICuLuv2Hate]

I think you are right and the game has evolved.... but I still have lots of respect for BJ and what he did in his prime.

 

[Unsurprised Diaz]

He needs to start training with Erick Silva so that they both can come up together, progressing to one day reach their full potentials

 

[Blanqa Blanqua]

Yeah he took Prime Machida to a decision at open weight.

TS you mad?

 

[MadDogMahoney]

They are usually talking about his prime. There are some die-hard fans, but I don't think anyone overrates him rly.

 

[Chomsky Honk]

Depends where you rate him and how much you care about a fighter "ruining their legacy" by not retiring when they are clearly over the hill

I think that in his prime he was an absolute beast, way ahead of his time. His top game was savage af and he could dominate high level guys standing.

For GOAT status, looking at his resume and accomplishments I think you could make a good argument he is the LW GOAT, but you could also do the same for guys like Gomi, Frankie, RDA etc., it is a very competitive division. For overall MMA GOAT status I would probably put him in the top 15-10 area

 

[Breaking]

BJ Penn was a front-runner.

Supremely talented, and a bit lazy.

He was much, much, better than most other fighters early in his career because he was a great athlete, with a broad array of skills, who also had a very high fight IQ.

But he was a front-runner.

So when the sport started to catch up with him, he didn’t know how to evolve, and he thought that he could rely on this athleticism, his will power, and his old tricks.

He was wrong.

Then the game passed him by, and he didn’t want to run anymore.

So he did this instead:

 

[Frank23]

He was great in his prime and helped make LW popular.

 

[Soul On Ice]

Underrated these days

Took so many fights he shouldn't have took that his run of dominance is almost forgotten

 

[Ares Black]

BJ Penn is the most talented fighter of all-time. If he had the work ethic of Edgar or GSP he would be the indisputable GOAT.

 

[bubbleboyjones]

He is Big Time overrated. He has a 53% win rate record. Dude is only slightly above average. LOL

Most fighters who were relevant pre-2009/2010, and disappeared after post-2009/2010, are grossly overrated.

MMA records become more legit from 2009/2010 forward.

"Agreed BJ sucks. Proof is he lost a decision to Machida. What a shitty fight. Guys like Frankie Edgar would have beaten Machida easily. "

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