BJ Penn resume is the most comparable to Poatan among the legends in a GOAT list

[Goutfather]

He constantly challenged himself…

…and failed almost always.

7 title shots, only won 2. even got one of his shots after losing the title eliminator. all respect to bj and his legacy, but most fighters would have happily “challenged” themselves with an instant title shot. ufc gave bj those opportunities over, and over again, because he’s bj. unless he wins, or at least goes over .500, those opportunities seem pretty unjustified.

 

[Goutfather]

You can do better

bj and poatan both got title shots off 3 wins. bj lost. alex won.

bj got an instant title shot at the weight class above. alex beat a former champion in an elimination bout.

poatan has multiple defenses of his title at the higher weight class. bj had none.

bj would go on to lose both his next ufc title eliminator fight and title shot. poatan has not yet crossed that bridge, but based on the pattern im seeing he’ll either win his next title shot, or retain his title so that he never needs another title shot.