If BJ Penn had fought at his real weightclass, he'd have gone undefeated

[Dave Poodle]

It was a robbery, no way Frankie beat him in Dubai.

Nah, it was a damn close fight that could have gone either way. A rematch was needed no matter who got the decision and we saw how that went.

 

[High Altitude]

No, BJ never trained to his potential.

Without a doubt, the most naturally gifted fighter of all time though.

 

[Koimpact]

You can't possibly understand BJ's level of talent by just looking at his win/loss record. The dude was an absolute killer and didn't even reach his ceiling.

 

[NoSmilez]

BJ stopped improving. He is a tough guy but he never really sought out better training. He dictated his training pace and regimen all the time.

 

[applesbananas]

I know nothing about MMA yet you just repeated what I said that BJ was in his prime when he fought Sanchez you're clearly stupid

Are you retarded or just lazy? Read your post and read my reply.

 

[Croton]

He lost to Frankie in his prime, who could fight at BW.

 

[MileHigher]

The problem is that in real life, he didn't do that. Playing the "what if" game is stupid. What if Chael hadn't gone for that spinning backfist vs Anderson? What if Chad Mendes had a full camp? What if Fedor competed in the UFC? What if you didn't start threads?

The “what if” game is just for fun. Same with the Goat conversations. If all just for shits and giggles (or it should be anyway). Other than that, yeah I agree it’s pretty pointless. But why not? We are here to talk MMA and share opinions and have discussions not just share facts.

It’s like that for fans of every sport. It’s like Lebron Vs Jordan debate. Or what if Bo Jackson stayed healthy? There will never be a definitive answer, but will be a hot topic for years to come. It’s just what sports fans do.

 

[RonniePickering]

Are you retarded or just lazy? Read your post and read my reply.

Are you retarded? I said BJ was in his prime when he fought Gomi and when he fought Sanchez, you replied with "He was in his prime when he was fighting Sanchez or Florian" the same fucking thing I said. You also said "The Edgar fight was when he started slipping" so 4 months after his fight with Sanchez (when he was in his PRIME according to both of us) he started to slip? oh how convenient that is because he lost that fight to Edgar lol grow a brain and then come back here you filthy casual

 

[ThunderStruck]

Wait, what?

BJ has literally walked around at 150 pounds for like 2 of his FW cuts as far as I know.

You havent heard of how bad his first cut was?

 

[cck311**]

OP probably faps to that video of BJ jumping out of the pool.

 

[kalabula]

No, he's underrated if anything.

he's no bigger than an average sized featherweight In the modern era, had he not spent most of his career fighting at welterweight..we'd be seeing him In almost every all time great list.

Had he actually fought at his real weightclass, It's hard to not see him going undefeated throughout his prime. At least for a very very long time.

Only people who think he's underrated are casuals, keyboard warriors and people who don't train or really know anything about MMA.

He’s one of my favorites. But honestly, he was just well rounded at a time when other fighters weren’t.

 

[applesbananas]

Are you retarded? I said BJ was in his prime when he fought Gomi and when he fought Sanchez, you replied with "He was in his prime when he was fighting Sanchez or Florian" the same fucking thing I said. You also said "The Edgar fight was when he started slipping" so 4 months after his fight with Sanchez (when he was in his PRIME according to both of us) he started to slip? oh how convenient that is because he lost that fight to Edgar lol grow a brain and then come back here you filthy casual

That's what happens when someone passes their prime. They start slipping. You can clearly see it. It happens all the time. You should probably go back and watch those fights for the first time instead of looking at Wikipedia.

 

[El_Diazo]

No he wouldn't. He lost to Jens Pulver in his prime and Jens was smaller than him. He was ballsy fighter bigger guys but let's not act like he was taking on bigger guys and winning most of them. He was the best LW at the time but not by a big enough margin to go undefeated. His record's actually not that great.

He lost to Jens, the champion, in his 4th fight ever dude.
His record isn't great because he actually took risks and fought anyone and everyone. How many people would actually have a great record if they were a small lightweight who fought guys like machida, gsp 2x, hughes 3x, Jon fitch, Rory, and Nick Diaz

 

[RonniePickering]

That's what happens when someone passes their prime. They start slipping. You can clearly see it. It happens all the time. You should probably go back and watch those fights for the first time instead of looking at Wikipedia.

You clearly dont know shit and just a delusional idiot. 2008-2009 Penn ran through Sherk, Florian and Sanchez and I remember everyone saying this was the best BJ Penn, but just 4 months after the Sanchez fight he lost to Edgar and you're saying that was because his Prime was over he lost to Edgar because of the matchup style. Go watch some actual fights for the first time instead of looking at highlight videos

 

[Bodil]

16-12... lol he was awesome, but GSP had his number, then he went to shit.

 

[JKS]

I don't know about that. He lost to Jens in his first UFC run and then lost to Edgar 2x in his second UFC fun. The Jens fight can be overlooked as it was close and early for Penn, but not the Edgar fights.

 

[tenniswhiz]

all throughout his prime. At least for a long period of time.

WIthout a doubt, Penn is one of the unsung p4p goats.

All while essentially at a fraction of his full potential.

Truly a special talent

What’s his “real” weight class?

I think 155 was his optimal weight.
He was too small for 170.
He hasn’t shown that he’s a good weight cutter that could have succeeded at 145, he’s just drained at FW.

 

[kungfuron]

Great talent but should have known that size mattered, he's lucky a fight with Pride Wand was never set up. There is a not so fine line between challenging oneself and making a stupid decision.

 

[Liquid Smoke]

No he wouldn't. He lost to Jens Pulver in his prime and Jens was smaller than him. He was ballsy fighter bigger guys but let's not act like he was taking on bigger guys and winning most of them. He was the best LW at the time but not by a big enough margin to go undefeated. His record's actually not that great.

He gave Jens shit about milking that win over him, but in reality BJ got more miles out of his win over Hughes.

 

[Pierced7681]

Nah, it was a damn close fight that could have gone either way. A rematch was needed no matter who got the decision and we saw how that went.

Close fight? It was one of the biggest robberies of the year.