Is prime BJ Penn among the 20 best p4p MMA fighters in history?

[DanDragon Machi]

This guy in prime had everything: Elite striking and grappling, tough to take down, iron chin. I believe if beyond all this he had athletic advantages like reach, size and physical strength he would be on Jon Jones's level

Can you think 20 better/tougher fighters than BJ is his prime?

 

[AmericanMMA]

Motivated BJ Penn did ok in ufc

 

[KO Shotz]

Motivated BJ Penn could've been the best LW ever. I mean he almost beat GSP in their first fight at fucking WW.

 

[RockyLockridge]

Best? No.
Most storied and accomplished? Yes

 

[DanDragon Machi]

Motivated BJ Penn could've been the best LW ever. I mean he almost beat GSP in their first fight at fucking WW.

But his best perfomances were in WW in my opinion (when he had air)

 

[GordonMMARamsey]

At the time, it seemed like he would be top 5 all time forever. But I think guys like Dustin, Gaetche, Khabib, Islam, RDA, Max if he went to 155 full time all beat the best BJ we ever saw.

 

[GordonMMARamsey]

This makes me want to get Fightpass back, and watch old BJ fights now.

 

[KO Shotz]

But his best perfomances were in WW in my opinion (when he had air)

not for me. Him beating up & dominating Pulver, Uno, Sherk , Joe Daddy Stevenson, Gomi, Florian, & Diego Sanchez were flawless. That's a solid resume especially during those times.

 

[DanDragon Machi]

At the time, it seemed like he would be top 5 all time forever. But I think guys like Dustin, Gaetche, Khabib, Islam, RDA, Max if he went to 155 full time all beat the best BJ we ever saw.

BJ had way better boxing than RDA and I doubt the brazilian would take him down easy
Dustin and Gathje has too havey punch but I can see BJ submit both. 50/50
Max is too good on feet, tireless and too tall for BJ. I think it would be a remake of Penn x Diaz
Yes, Khabib and Islam would dominate him

 

[fedorthegoat777]

Top 20 is fair.

Yes, I think without question.

Great record plus he almost got two epic wins by moving up one weight class to fight GSP and he also moved all the way up to heavyweight to fight Lyota. Heavyweight!

 

[fedorthegoat777]

I think he is #2 in his division & top 20 all time.

 

[Memnok]

Motivated BJ was a beast, good hands, solid chin and really good BJJ.

 

[DanDragon Machi]

I think he is #2 in his division & top 20 all time.

Light division? Do you think he was a better fighter than Charles, Islam, Dustin and Prime Connor?

 

[Sweater of AV]

GOAT. Da Best.

 

[MMAProfessional]

His prime was just too short. It's a shame some didn't get to see it and only say his demise.

 

[Pitier of Fools]

No.

But he is one of the 20 most overrated fighters in UFC history.

He got way too much credit for losing fights.

"He's not afraid to fight biggers guys!! He fought Machida and GSP!!!!"

Uhhh, yeah, but he lost.

It's also hard to call him a great pound-for-pound fighter when he got beat on my a much smaller Frankie Edgar.

 

[TheMadHatter]

I would say he definitely is top 20 all time, I was so certain that sherk was going to whoop his ass and boy was I wrong. What a great fight, licking the blood off the gloves, telling sherk he was done at the end of the round and sherk then giving up after the fact. people forget how good sherk was at the time too. That is peak BJ Penn for me, such a dominant fight.

 

[2432sj]

BJ Penn’s prime lasted about five minutes and gets talked about constantly. His longest winning streak was four fights and lasted just over a year. He had talent, but I think he’s the most overrated fighter in history.

 

[jx820]

2 division champ with wins over Hughes 2x, Pulver, Serra, Gomi, and Sherk. I think there's a strong argument for top 10, but definintely top 20.

 

[Mammothman]

I wish he could have been smarter with his career, despite being a dumbass he achieved a lot but sadly he threw it away after going 0-6 or something like that.