Every division has a well established GOAT. Except...

[StopDucking]

Most people would say BJ but if you ask them who would win a fight between BJ and Edgar, all of them would say Edgar, lol.

 

[shococham]

As great as BJ is/was I always feel like he wasted his talent despite what he accomplished.

 

[TheComebackKid]

fighting at WW, lyoto, or w/e is completely irrelevant to be GOAT in a division. it makes him better as an overall fighter or a claim at one of the greats, but "that's it"

It's an intangible attribute. Penn, the natural 155er, was so good he could go up in weight divisions and compete with the best. You can absolutely use that aspect of Penn's career and resume in the LW GOAT discussion.

 

[Sparkie]

let's see what Will Brooks can do

 

[Sparkie]

As great as BJ is/was I always feel like he wasted his talent despite what he accomplished.

can't give it to BJ
no clear goat as of yet

 

[HaikenEdge]

You could probably argue that WBW and WSW don't have GOATs.

 

[MMAViewer]

BJ or Edgar and I don't think it's debatable.

Wait. You brought it up in a discussion forum. It's clearly debatable.


If Alvarez wins he has as much an argument as anyone.

 

[TheComebackKid]

Guys...it's Penn.

Again, he has 9 top 10 wins in the division and 3 UFC title defenses. That's on top of his extraordinarily high finishing % and being the biggest name/legend in LW history. The only guys that come close are Takanori Gomi and Benson Henderson.

Gomi has 11 top 10 wins, a Pride GP win, and won and defended two major LW belts. But...he got crushed by Penn.

Henderson has 9 top 10 wins, the UFC & WEC LW titles, and 3 UFC title defenses. So he has matched Penn's accomplishments. But at the same time some of his biggest wins are controversial decisions. Plus he can never say he is the greatest when he went 0-2 against another champion from his own era.

Other considerations would be Shinya Aoki. Great resume on paper but lets be honest...while he was the king of JMMA he got crushed by the top guys in the states. Frankie Edgar is as good as anyone in LW history but he's only sitting on 4 top 10 wins in the division. He only has 2 legit title defenses and then got beat 2x by Henderson. RDA only has 4 or 5 notable wins and a lone title defense. Same thing with Pettis. Alvarez is in position to challenge tho so we'll see how it pans out.

Penn is definitely the least secure among the divisional GOATs but make no mistake about it...he is still the LW GOAT.

 

[Venom]

Khabib? lmao

DDDD Lmaaaoo

 

[MuyThaiElbows]

Obviously BJ Penn. He was a LW and WW champion and literally dominated a division much like Anderson, GSP, and Aldo did.

He's more goat than MM & Cruz, though Dom is right behind him imo

 

[Davemeddlehed]

Everyone says BJ

But yet when topics ask about the very best 5 or so fighters in the world, his name rarely comes up

Yet your poll is dominated with BJ votes even this early in the process. Looks like it backfired on you, eh?

 

[TUFNewb]

lol @ Khabib and Nate Diaz. What the fuck?

The poll speaks for itself. BJ is obviously the LW GOAT.

TS what an epic fail thread.

 

[Venom]

BJ Penn was the most talented for sure...fighting well above your weight and not getting finished.......does that count toward LW status>? idk.....hard to say.

 

[My Spot]

Obviously BJ Penn. He was a LW and WW champion and literally dominated a division much like Anderson, GSP, and Aldo did.

He's more goat than MM & Cruz, though Dom is right behind him imo

He "literally dominated" a division with 3 title defenses?

 

[Davemeddlehed]

Most people would say BJ but if you ask them who would win a fight between BJ and Edgar, all of them would say Edgar, lol.

BJ won the first fight.

 

[My Spot]

BJ won the first fight.

 

[EvilManny]

Sean Sherk, jens pulver, Giblert, aoki and Gomi at-least deserve mention

 

[MuyThaiElbows]

He "literally dominated" a division with 3 title defenses?

He beat Kenflo, Sanchez, Stevenson, Sherk, Uno, and Serra.

He also beat Matt Hughes twice who was the 170 champ for years. He also has fought world class talent and was successful throughout his career.

Much more than what you can say about MM or Cruz imo

 

[My Spot]

He beat Kenflo, Sanchez, Stevenson, Sherk, Uno, and Serra.

He also beat Matt Hughes twice who was the 170 champ for years. He also has fought world class talent and was successful throughout his career.

Much more than what you can say about MM or Cruz imo

Only 3 title defenses doe.

 

[binny]

I'm not saying its not BJ, but most fans' views of his lw greatness seem to be tainted by his other fighting exploits.