Is Max Holloway > Prime B.J. Penn?

[HHJ]

Penn when he fought sherk...thats a paddlin

 

[Luvhawky]

Hell no. Very few are.

BJ gave GSP all he could handle in their first fight.

Destroyed Gomi and prime Hughes.

These guys are legends.

Won multiple titles.

How is this even a question.

I'm a Holloway fan, but cmon.

I don't think the queston is about legacy. I think Max is absolutely better, but that has to do with 10+ years of knowledge to grow on. The sport has developed. Hollaway entered when the base knowledge was on another level. Had BJ entered the same time with his gifts, his new gen pre prime version would be better than his actual prime version. If that makes sense...

 

[B0mbSquad]

BJ had the best boxing and BJJ in MMA during his prime and would still be top 5 in the UFC in both categories if he was in his prime and competing today. He'd probably be LW champ right now. His chin and BJJ make him a tough match up for Conor, his TDD gives Khabib fits, and his counter punching would light up Tony.

 

[B0mbSquad]

prime Bj wouldn't have won 2 belts if he was competing in the current rosters

But Prime BJ very well could have beaten Aldo and Eddie.

 

[The Great Macsby]

Prime BJ is overrated. Has a terrible record and people think he's good because he outclassed hughes. Hughes was a limited fighter and the perfect match up in favour of Penn.

 

[SnowInformer]

I kind of agree with this. Penn could hang on the feet with Max but I don't think Max could hang on the ground with BJ. Max is getting there though

 

[Mixed]

Marinovich Penn destroys and embarrasses him.

Young WW Penn beats him also.

 

[Mixed]

Prime BJ is overrated. Has a terrible record and people think he's good because he outclassed hughes. Hughes was a limited fighter and the perfect match up in favour of Penn.

Perfect matchup for Penn? Lol. Except that time Hughes beat BJ's ass. Hughes was a beast when he was younger.

 

[The Great Macsby]

Perfect matchup for Penn? Lol. Except that time Hughes beat BJ's ass. Hughes was a beast when he was younger.

in a weak pool of part-time fighters. Both would struggle to be top 10 if they hit their prime.

 

[Podcast]

There are a plethora of MMA fighters 125-155 that are better than prime Penn.
People's nostalgia makes them deluded. Holloway would smoke him.

 

[Mixed]

in a weak pool of part-time fighters. Both would struggle to be top 10 if they hit their prime.

Tell me how Sherk was a part time fighter. He was notorious for how much he trained. He probably trained more than 95% of the current roster.

 

[Davemeddlehed]

Pettis didnt even make weight, clearly something was wrong.
Because of that his win over Pettis is not impressive.

Tho his winstreak is

Trying too hard.

 

[Davemeddlehed]

There are a plethora of MMA fighters 125-155 that are better than prime Penn.
People's nostalgia makes them deluded. Holloway would smoke him.

That wasn't even the question. Words are hard.

 

[ExitLUPin]

Hes a better sturiker than BJ ever was but BJ is superior overall due to the gurappling

 

[andnowweknow]

Nah, I think if prime BJ and current Holloway fought, Max would win. The game has evolved too much since BJ was the best.[/QUOTE]

It really hasn't

 

[andnowweknow]

Prime BJ is overrated. Has a terrible record and people think he's good because he outclassed hughes. Hughes was a limited fighter and the perfect match up in favour of Penn.

The Matt Hughes that BJ beat for the title would curb stomp Max Holloway. This thread is fucking stupid. The 30-40lb weight difference along with Hughes being a far superior grappler would lead to a barbaric beating.

 

[The Best JG]

Prime bj had multiple LW title defenses and looked unstoppable during that run so no