Who had a better career in MMA?.. Matt Hughes or BJ Penn?

[Dragon Punch]

Hughes had the better career but BJ will be more fondly remembered.

 

[Mamou]

Brian Ebersole also fought in five divisions, does that make him an all time great?

Does Brian Ebersole have title belts in 2 different weight classes? And did he win one of those by beating the other fighter in this thread he's being compared to?

BJ didn't care how big you were or how much you weighed, he just wanted to fight. That's why he's so well respected by other fighters. And that's why he's an all time great!

 

[Dragon Punch]

BJ didn't care how big you were or how much you weighed, he just wanted to fight. That's why he's so well respected by other fighters. And that's why he's an all time great!

I agree. In hindsight, BJ v Machida was ridiculous.

 

[yookfarb]

Hughes was #1 p4p for a few years, finished GSP, and was an 8 time champ. BJ had his #, but he still managed to get a win over him.

 

[Chaos Spawn]

this is a pretty tough one imo. gotta respect "open weight" penn, but his fans were really really annoying. they might have been the origin/inspiration of the term "nuthugger" iirc.

hughes was a little more consistant, definitely had that aura of invincibility for a time, but came to the cage to that awful hang williams jr tune "a country boy can survive".

despite the cringe worthy crooner entrance theme, im going to give the edge to hughes via less annoying fanboys.

 

[Mamou]

I agree. In hindsight, BJ v Machida was ridiculous.

Exactly! You'd never see a fighter go up that high in weight to challenge themselves now. GSP wouldn't go up 15lbs to fight Anderson, but Penn went up 15lbs to fight Hughes and GSP for titles, and then like 40lbs to fight Machida. It's just sad that people think BJ is an overrated fighter because of W's and L's

 

[Jayfiddy]

BJ > Hughes IMO. He had a higher ceiling

 

[heatbag]

Hughes

 

[IIIIIIII]

definitely hughes. he's in my top-five all-time.

 

[jx820]

who cares if he fought in 4 divisions.

A lot of people care. Read any Ronda thread and you'll find some jackass saying "BJ stepped up, why can't Ronda" or some variation on that theme.

I personally care because it's unique. A differentiator that sets him apart from anyone else in the modern MMA era.

 

[vry pwrful]

hughes