Sonnen: Prime BJ Penn Could Have Beaten Khabib

No he couldn’t of, he had a good run but lost to guys who weren’t great, especially compared to today. “Motivated” penn is like 6-4 in the ufc
 
Penn was a monster. Beating Lws,WWs, and MWs. Fighting machida at 220lbs to a decision.

Not saying he would win but it's possible. Dude took Hughes back and choked him out in a Rd.

Who here thinks khaibib could beat Usman? Or Hughes
 
Of course he would of had a chance, anyone who thinks other is ridiculously dumb.
He has the nickname "Prodigy" for a reason.
 
Prime Penn arguably beat GSP when he was severely outsized in their first fight and subbed prime Hughes to win the WW belt as a natural FW/LW. Prime Penn vs Khabib would be a pick em imo
 
Too bad prime Penn was busy snorting coke off a strippers taint
 
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ConditFan said:
Who here thinks khaibib could beat Usman? Or Hughes
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Nobody has seen Khabib perform at WW, so these kinds of predictions are pretty meaningless. It's like saying 'who thinks Usman could beat Romero? Or Adesanya?'

I don't think he'd stand a chance against Usman though. Way too big. Hughes, under USADA? Definitely can beat him.
 
Good MMA boxing and arguably the best takedown defense... he could be a bad matchup for Khabib.
 
BJ in his prime has a very good chance of beating Khabib.

If Khabib doesn’t get BJ down, he’d be in trouble
 
TheSpider said:
Prime Penn arguably beat GSP when he was severely outsized in their first fight and subbed prime Hughes to win the WW belt as a natural FW/LW. Prime Penn vs Khabib would be a pick em imo
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how easily people seem to forget... Prime BJ was a monster

totally agree with this
 
People forget how great prime BJ Penn was. Like an above poster said, he subbed Matt Hughes and took GSP to a super close decision.

BJ had excellent takedown defense. He was dangerous off his back. He had a granite jaw. He had KO power and decent boxing.

I don't know if he would have beat Khabib, but it would be interesting, and I think he'd have a better chance at beating Khabib than any of Khabib's past opponents besides Conor.

Also, Prime BJ would be the best grappler that Khabib has ever fought.
 
First off all the title is clickbait, Sonnen didn't even say that. He said Penn would come out on one side of the bracket and Khabib would come out on the other side of the bracket for the GOAT LW.

Second, yes Penn probably could beat him, a prime Penn. Whoever said he couldn't...yeah he's been washed up and yes overall the talent pool and skill has increased since Penn's prime era, but Penn was the LW Goat, still is really...and his tools translate stylistically to beat Khabib potentially.

Penn did lose to GSP but it was a competitive fight too relatively, that was a prime Penn. So it's easy to see how he could remain competitive or beat Khabib at 155.

Third, everyone needs to stop dick riding recency bias so hard. Who has Khabib even fucking beat? Let's be real here. Everyone bashes McGregor for no title defenses but who has Khabib beat? He beat Al Iaquinta, a journeyman, for the title and then he beat McGregor (easily his best win) and Porier - who's not some amazing name in reality. He beat a FW for a vacant title.

Khabib is undefeated and he's a great fighter, but let's not go full Joe Rogan and crown him as the GOAT of his division like Rousey and Holloway were without fully deserving it.

Khabib needs to defend his belt and beat at least 2-3 more legit - elite opponents before we can talk about him being such an amazing figure. Really, let's slow it down. His 2nd and 3rd best wins ever are against Dustin Porier and RDA prior to a title run/steroid cycle. He should have a loss to Tibau on his record.
 
I'd pick penn... he beat prime Hughes who at the time was a bigger, better version of Khabib.
 
djacobox372 said:
I'd pick penn... he beat prime Hughes who at the time was a bigger, better version of Khabib.
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that was the first fight I thought about after seeing the title. The way he beat Hughes as well, makes me think he would win. He made Hughes look like he didnt belong in the cage with him
 
djacobox372 said:
I'd pick penn... he beat prime Hughes who at the time was a bigger, better version of Khabib.
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Hughes was bigger, but not a better grappler than Khabib.

Penn at his best shape would have a decent shot, but I think Khabib gets him down and grinds him out.
 
World class grappling
Good boxer
One-punch ko power
Good transitions
Uncrackable chin
Athleticism
Natural LW who fought half of his career against top 5 WW's

Yeah, I think he'd stand a chance.
 
Chael is white Nam Phan. Literally every fight insight he gives is wrong. No idea how and Schaub were paid to give fight advice.
 
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