The Brighter Side Of BJ Penn’s Loss (Editorial)
I know, I know, “GreaseGate” is still raging on like a forest fire but this post has nothing to do with such matters, so follow one of these links if you’re still looking to add your two cents to that whole mess.
Lately, I can’t help thinking that those who are simply fans of great MMA, and those who are specifically fond of BJ Penn should be more thankful for baby Jay’s “super-fight” loss to Georges St. Pierre. Of course it would have been nothing short of spectacular if BJ had pulled off such an epic victory, but after that he more than likely would have retired at the tender age of 30, never to be heard from again inside the octagon. Think about that for a second. At the apex of his career, one of the most gifted and dominant mixed martial artists of all time would call it quits, leaving a massive gap in MMA as we know it. That’s even worse than pulling a Frank Shamrock, who at least comes out to fight about once or twice a year, albeit against questionable opposition.
While Penn’s loss has understandably damaged his ego along with his face, it will however help to keep him an active competitor for at least the here and now. The biggest difference between someone like BJ Penn and Georges St. Pierre is not physique or nationality, but something much more internal. While St. Pierre is known for his determination to constantly prove himself inside the cage, BJ Penn conversely requires a greater tangible drive to pursue fighting with any real dedication. Enter the beating undertaken from GSP and voila, you get BJ Penn on the hunt for victory yet again. Because let’s face it, nobody wants to retire on a loss.
At the end of the day, BJ Penn only has to answer to himself regardless of what I or anyone else has to say about a premature retirement. Such a decision is his and his alone. However as a long time fan of Penn, an admitted fanatic of mixed martial arts, and as a person who simply hates to see wasted talent, I would argue that BJ’s losing effort was possibly the best thing that could happen to the niche, but always passionate MMA community. Even if a pithy destruction of Kenny Florian is the last performance we ever see from BJ Penn, it will be one more shining moment that we can say we witnessed before “The Prodigy” hung up the gloves for good. Sometimes losing isn’t so terrible after all.
Tags: BJ Penn
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I hope Kenflow pounds him
so do I, but bj might acuse him of having greasy hair and use it as an excuse for losing
I still wanted to see BJ holding two belts!!
Thats the only reason why he got a shot at the WW belt is cause Dana kissing bj’s butt giving him a chance at history, he never deserved a chance, he lost his last 2 fights in that weight. Drops weight, fights lesser of opponents, then gets a title shot at 170? come on
Im sure once Penn returns to 155 he will continue dominating everyone including KenFlo, Sanchez, Guida and anyone else who stands in his way of holding onto his belt. The current UFC champions are the most dominant we’ve seen in years, perhaps since the good ol’ days of Hughes, Franklin, Liddell, and Sylvia.
Hope he does come back and dominate the division,but KenFlo will be his toughest fight yet at lightweight.Sanchez is no slouch either and Guida,well i’m sure BJ is not worried about him or his hugging.
How cash you say that? Rashad hasn’t even defended his belt yet. Neither has Lesnar.
Thank you for taking this “grease-gate” thing in a better direction. I still think that if the final outcome is a rematch, then we’ve all won no matter what side you’re on. If it did happen I think it’d be great if GSP got Vaseline as a sponsor.
I know I’ll get flamed for this but….
I still think BJ Penn is over-hyped. Don’t get me wrong now! I think that BJ Penn is definitely a good fighter, and he probably will beat most 155lb fighters in that division, but really who has BJ beat that makes him so legendary? Outside of the argument of then v. now on whether fighters evolution can be factored in, his best wins are years behind him. His RnC of Matt Hughes and his defeat of Gomi will forever herald his legacy, but his beating of a washed up 145lb Pulver, his Title fight against a completely one dimensional Joe Stevenson are just barely above lukewarm. Now the defeat he handed Sherk was his best to date for sure, but I still argue that if Sean Sherk had not tried to box BJ Penn and fought him like he does most of his opponents that fight would be entirely different, that argument is moot however because Sherk did fight to Penn’s obvious strength, but even that do we consider Sherk a win that cements your legacy?
I hope that Penn and St. Pierre do fight again, because the greasing argument only taints a completely one sided thrashing that St. Pierre gave Penn, and another one sided victory would help to silence those that look for excuses. Look at what GSP did to Hughes, the mental demons were not at all present in their third fight, and Hughes never even came close to mounting an offensive. Penn can’t beat GSP (barring a fluke) because he is not bigger, stronger, faster, or better than GSP in the sport of MMA.
Lastly do we really attribute greatness to a fighter whose conditioning and mental prowess are constantly in question? When we think of the real greats of MMA (Randy, Hughes, GSP, A. Silva, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz) in their prime, how many of them do we have to constantly make excuses for and wonder what fighter will show up and deliver on fight night?
The only,and youngest,american to win a BJJ World Championship.
One of only two(the other being Couture)UFC fighters to hold belts in two weight divisions.
A. Silva got reamed by fans for his fighting style against Cote, Liddell has been a different fighter in his last few fights and makes people wonder who will show-up, Tito was very much one dimensional (G&P) so you knew what he was bringing, GSP is becoming an all-around beast (that kills me to say since I am not a fan of his), Couture continues to shock people (except the Lesnar fight) in winning while fighting father time.
Over-hyped, besides BJ, only 1 other fighter has won a title in 2 different weight divisions, Randy Couture. Rumble on the Rock Lightweight Champion, multiple awards and championships as a black belt in BJJ, and from the mouth of Dana White “This guy loves to F*CKING FIGHT!!!” Wait, he says that about everyone…
Just throwing my 2 cents in since I am a BJ fan and do see him as a legend and that’s my opinion.
Dana only says that about everyone he doesn’t fire for not loving to fight…. haha.
BJ loves to fight! Hates to train….
Even if your not a gsp fan you cant help but like to watch him fight, great skills is all.
BJ also defeated Rodrigo and Renzo Gracie, at 185 lbs. It was five years ago, though.
And how about the questionable defeat to Machida?(and Machida looked like a heavyweight in that fight).
BJ did better against Machida than Rich Franklin or Tito Ortiz did against him.
Well said and could not have said it better!
you said it all man, couldn’t be more true
Good points muaythai4life. I would like to see how he matches up with Kenflo. I believe that fight would tell us a lot about BJ. Side note, I really dont understand why BJ fans would even want to see their guy fight GSP again, those two r clearly not on the same level. Mentally or Physically. Im a Rich Franklin fan and by no means do I want to see him against A. Silva again….
I agree with this editorial. Now that i think about it, Bj probably would have retired if he won. It would have been at his very highest and cemented his legacy for sure. He will probably come out of this loss angry, and hungry to prove himself again and he’s going to take it out on the lw division(where he belongs). BJ’s a great fighter but lets face it, the dude doesn’t have the consistent drive he needs to be what his fans think he is, and want him to be so he should get some more w’s @ lw, then hang up the gloves with his head held high.
Jazzkok, you feeling ok? Not one negative thing about BJ in your comment! You turning a new leaf since reading this editorial?
and some dignity…
This is a silly excuse the Penn camp is making.There making excuses for there embarrasment. GSP not only dominated Penn , he also gave him a spankin. BJ Penn truly knows he cant and wont ever beat GSP. GSP wanted it more and worked harder for it. I knew GSP would win, I didnt know he would dominate the fight, but I was not surprised. No matter GSP earned that fight and every other one before . Hes fought way better fighters than Penn and he destroyed them at ther own games. He always comes with a fight plan and sticks to it and deserves credit for it from everyone, even the haters. He truly is the best pound for pound.
How can anyone say he is the best p4p fighter? I hate to put so much emphasis on one fight, but he lost to Matt Serra. Do you think Anderson Silva would lose to someone at Serra’s level. I would not be shocked if GSP loses his next fight. Alves is bigger and stronger, that is not saying he is a better fighter, but would anyone be surprised. If Anderson Silva ever loses, MW or LHW, the whole of teh MMA would would watch with hanging jaws. To say anyone in the UFC is the best p4p fighter other than Silva is crazy. Anderson Silva will not lose anytime in the next two years (barring in-fight injury) in any weight class. That is the best p4p fighter.
No, it’s the best at a given weight class. Don’t forget, Silva HAS lost more fights than GSP, and to MUCH lesser competition. And really, he looked bad for most of the Lutter fight, until he slapped the triangle on.
I’m not saying Silva shouldn’t be considered, but there is no clear person you can call p4p best. Since the Serra loss, no one has looked better than GSP. I personally put him and Silva a very close 1-2, mostly because Silva has not looked good since he destroyed Franklin last.
Who lost to Matt Serra? BJ defeated Matt Serra via decision at UFC 39. He then went on to defeat Matt Hughes. This was done in a weight class that is NOT his home.
Its unfortunate that there is not a Matt Hughes of the LHW division right now for Anderson Silva to fight because that would, in my mind, cement his place as the best P4P fighter. I do think A. Silva is the best p4p right now.
I wont argue BJ is THE best P4P but he does make the list. Here is my top 5:
A. Silva
GSP
BJ Penn
Fedor
Randy
Randy’s age boosts him on the DigYourOwnHole Top 5 ranking.
you are high if you think gsp will loose to alves. just cause he had a fluke against serra, you can say the same againts alves with his lose against spencer fisher
I am a huge Penn fan and was hoping he obliterated GSP but after watching the fight, greased up or not, GSP did dominate. I dont see the point of a rematch, I believe the outcome would be the same. I’d much rather see Anderson Silva dominate GSP.
Willy D,
Nah dude i’m just a big GSP fan, and like every fan, i got caught up in the “who’s the better fighter” debate. Having said that, I think bj’s a great fighter and would like to see him fight @ lw. I just don’t think he’s better than gsp.
On that night he was not better then GSP no doubt and I don’t want to see a part 3. I do want to see Penn vs KFlo and GSP vs Alves. I really wanted to see BJ win to witness history with him holding 2 belts, but in a way, was best he lost so KFlo and Alves get a shot sooner.
Yeah Penn did say he would retire after this fight after he won.
Basically Penn is a freak of nature and thinks his ability alone will win him fights, and usually it does and has in the past. But now when you got guys that are just AS gifted AND talented AND train 10x harder AND study tape, get a great team around him AND wants to win as much as you do, talent and a big mouth wont win.
I love Bj but his over confidence and not willing to train as ELITE champions has always been his weakness, which will always end in defeat when facing guys like GSP.
ONLYTRUE1
dude i completely agree
Great article, cant wait to see BJ/Kenny, two great strikers who really are intense…superfight for me.
I’ve said it before…if Serra ever dropped down to his more natural weight of 155, he would beat BJ.
You also tried to compare the WEC to Major League Baseball…
I don’t see Serra beating anyone. Win or lose, I see him done in the UFC after the Hughes fight. And I’m not at all disappointed.
Serra has gone downhill but he has shown moments of brilliance in the past. Give him a little credit for being in the UFC with his physique. Its a tough sport to be exceptionally short. No dis intended to short people.
What would you say if he dominated Hughes, just curiously? I dont think it will happen, just what if… I imagine we would hear a lot of “hughes hasnt fought in a long time” rhetoric.
Serra has a good record in the UFC and has evolved with the game to remain relevant.
He is a better corner than fighter but that doesnt make him a slouch in the ring.
i agree that BJ would do better at smaller lower weight
Kenflow definetly wont be a gimmie for bj
KenFlo should be a good fight. Both BJ and Kenflow fight with their heads. I think a prime BJ wins that fight but will a prime BJ show up? I think KenFlo will be ready to go for this fight so BJ needs to take it seriously.
I believe if BJ Penn loses to Kenflo he will retire. Did you guys read the article about BJ talking retirement? He said he wanted to fight GSP and then retire. You heard it here first (or second): BJ loses to Kenny Florian, he’s done.
SIDE NOTE: Have Urijah put on 10 lbs and THEN let’s give BJ another beating.
BJ Penn was destroyed by Georges St.Pierre period. He needs to get his act together and start training even harder. He will definitely destroy anybody in his path at 155. kenflo,Sanchez don’t have a chance against the prodigy. Bj is one gifted athlete and he should not be a sor looser