B.J. Penn vs. Aoki-Aoki the favourite?

[ChrisK1]

Anyone who thinks BJ isn't the favorite here is absolutely nuts. BJ was competitive in his fights with Diaz and Fitch - one could argue that he would've won those fights if the competitive fire was still there like it used to be. Where are Aoki's last 5 opponents in the MMA world?

BJ by heat seeking missiles in MMA and RNC in Grappling.

 

[Drew Foster]

in an mma match penn keeps it standing and knocks him out.

in a grappling match, i'd say bj stays on top and wins by points from a guardpass. i have a hard time picturing anyone catching bj in anything from their guard. aoki would throw all kinds of whacky shit at him, only to have it escaped. i see penn passing to halfguard, then side or mount and aoki escaping. then repeat, for the duration of the bout.

This....all day.

 

[Ryo]

I think people here are severely underestimating Aoki's takedown ability in a grappling match. I dont see it being certain at all that Aoki would just pull guard or that he would get out scored on takedowns.

 

[Sir Galahad]

BJ will eventually take Aoki's back for a RNC.

 

[ASMBJJ]

In MMA, BJ would easily handle Aoki. He would keep it standing and KO him with his superior boxing. In a grappling match, it's hard to say. The easy answer is BJ, because he is better on paper, but the match would not be fought on paper, so who knows. I'd still pick BJ but wouldn't count Aoki out. His leg locks are insane and I honestly have no clue how good BJ's leg lock defense is.

 

[ShidokanJudo]

Another vote for penn here. Both grappling and mma. I wonder if aoki would pass penn's guard... I would guess no.

GSp pass BJ guard so I assume Aoki can.I go with Aoki anyway,I think he could sub Bj.

 

[randomg1t]

GSp pass BJ guard so I assume Aoki can.I go with Aoki anyway,I think he could sub Bj.

how is aoki's passing anything like GSP's? you literally cannot find more opposing styles of bjj than aoki's and GSP's.

 

[KarateFist]

Aoki would not even be competitive against BJ Penn, what a ridiculous thought

 

[D00M]

you talking grappling or mma

 

[Mumrik]

Gi or no gi - Penn by much much better wrestling and not being subbed by Aoki.

In MMA Penn is the worst imaginable stylistic matchup for Aoki.

 

[nefti]

gi - i go with aoki

no gi--penn

 

[Rod1]

On the gi topic and BJ wrestling. People are forgetting Aoki was a top 5 collegiate judoka in Japan and that he freaking flying armbared Koji Komuro.

Thinking that Penn can score an easy victory on the GI despite the fact that the last time he competed was 11 years ago, also what "beast" did he had to go through in his 2000 run? Again BJJ back then isnt BJJ right now.

I stick to

Gi, Shinya Aoki.

MMA, Penn by a million years of striking advantage over Aoki, KTFO.

Nogi, would have to see

 

[FIGHTING TALK]

How is Penn's leg lock defense?

My understanding was that its top notch. I mean you see how flexible he is for one thing?

I think this could be a close match but BJ seems to have mastered a more complete game than Aoki. Neither would be out of place at ADCC, but then it would be unlikely for either to win.