Is BJ Penn the only top BJJ guy with awesome striking

JayElectra said:
BJ was winning the stand up for most of the first round and I would have probably given him round 1. Now, Diaz is a bit of a slow starter (it goes with his style) and he obviously dominated round 2 and took 3 clearly but I think the whole fact that BJ even survived in that fight is a testament to some of his skills. Normally when Nick Diaz has anyone with their back to the fence and largely immobile, it is only a matter of time before they get finished but BJ survived and a big part of it was his head movement and positioning which allowed him to take far fewer shots flush than you'd expect (though, he still did take a lot, he avoided a fair amount of damage by slipping and moving his head just slightly). The area where both Rory and Nick had the most success was going to BJ's body which he doesn't defend as well.
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I agree with most of this post...and I am admittedly a biased diaz fan. Nick won 3 rounds against BJ to me, and Nick won 4 against Condit. Flame on. The thing that's crazy to me is that BJ has fought Nick,GSP, Lyoto, etc and never has been KO'ed or even knocked down. People talk about the Diaz's relying on their chins too much but never ever throw BJ into that same group even though he should be.
 
JayElectra said:
Well, he was lighting Diaz up for periods of their fight. It should be noted he is past his prime and fighting at a higher weight class. In his prime, he had very close to the best boxing fundamentals in the sport. If you want to look at him being outstruck by Diaz after gassing and playing right into Diaz's game (and Diaz is one of the best strikers at WW) as evidence that he is a bad striker for MMA, go right ahead.
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The first round of BJ vs Diaz was much closer than people claim. Rewatch it and see the clean shots Diaz got in after he got his timing down.
 
Overeem won the ADCC Euro trials. Jose Aldo, Lil Nog, Vitor, are all better strikers and grapplers than BJ so the answer to your question is no.
 
Werdum's striking is looking better in the past year than ever before. Hopefully Vinny Magalhaes works on his striking also, and we can have an MMA rematch of their ADCC final.
 
justblaze717 said:
The first round of BJ vs Diaz was much closer than people claim. Rewatch it and see the clean shots Diaz got in after he got his timing down.
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It wasn't a blowout and I never have claimed it was but I think BJ certainly landed the cleaner, harder shots. Nick got some decent body work in and some other punches but it wasn't as significant as BJ's work, I don't think. As I said before, though, it usually takes pressure fighters like Diaz some time to warm up and get their bearings.
 
Steve Blunts said:
I agree with most of this post...and I am admittedly a biased diaz fan. Nick won 3 rounds against BJ to me, and Nick won 4 against Condit. Flame on. The thing that's crazy to me is that BJ has fought Nick,GSP, Lyoto, etc and never has been KO'ed or even knocked down. People talk about the Diaz's relying on their chins too much but never ever throw BJ into that same group even though he should be.
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Well, at LW he rarely got hit flush so it doesn't apply to a prime BJ. I don't really think the Diaz's rely on their chins too much. They don't get hit flush as much as many suggest and it is part of their style.
 
Steve Blunts said:
Plus Gomi x 2, BJ Penn, Zaromskis, and Robbie Lawler.
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Not to mention Cyborg. Say what you want about that guy but hes a awesome striker. Id rather take every condit leg kick that Diaz did instead of one of that guys leg kicks that Diaz ate.
 
JayElectra said:
Well, at LW he rarely got hit flush so it doesn't apply to a prime BJ. I don't really think the Diaz's rely on their chins too much. They don't get hit flush as much as many suggest and it is part of their style.
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I completely agree but the majority of people say this on Sherdog. This leads to a tangent about the Diazs who "have pitter patter punches, no footwork, and have no head movement" The exact thing can be said about BJ. BJ never moves his head ever, he plods in just as much as Nick and Nate, and also will eat a punch to throw his own. Nick has 13 t(kos), Nate has 3 t(kos), and BJ has 7 t(kos). With those numbers it should be obvious that Nate and BJ aren't as effective at striking as Nick is. But that's not enough for people.
 
Wasn't Overeem introduced to MMA through kickboxing? I admit I could be wrong and please correct me if I am but I was always under the impression that he was a kickboxer first.
 
Jose Aldo

What would be considered the wrestling equivalent to a black belt mundial gold medal?
 
Steve Blunts said:
I completely agree but the majority of people say this on Sherdog. This leads to a tangent about the Diazs who "have pitter patter punches, no footwork, and have no head movement" The exact thing can be said about BJ. BJ never moves his head ever, he plods in just as much as Nick and Nate, and also will eat a punch to throw his own. Nick has 13 t(kos), Nate has 3 t(kos), and BJ has 7 t(kos). With those numbers it should be obvious that Nate and BJ aren't as effective at striking as Nick is. But that's not enough for people.
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Not that I disagree with your overall post but you are leaving out the fact that Nick has had more pro fights than BJ and quite a few more than Nate. Of course he should plausibly have more TKOs than either of them.
 
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