Penn Agrees To UFC 101 Matchup Against Florian
BJ Penn
UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn has verbally agreed to take on top contender Kenny Florian in the main event of UFC 101 on August 8th at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The rumored matchup was confirmed today on Penn’s official website, BJPenn.com.
In an appearance on ESPN’s MMA Live, Florian said, “At the end of the day, I just want this fight to be signed. Let’s get an event, let’s get a date, and let’s make it happen.”
Penn has now accepted the bout, agreeing to take on Florian in the headlining bout of the UFC’s first-ever event in Pennsylvania.
“I look forward to the challenge,” Penn told his official website.
According to the report, Florian has already signed on for the contest while Penn will reportedly make the matchup official this afternoon.
Tags: BJ Penn, Kenny Florian
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That’s awesome I wish they didn’t move it to Philly, I would’ve watched it in Portland or Vegas. Philly is to far for me in this economy. BJ will walk throught Florian. But I know 80 trillion BJ haters are gonna come on and talk about how Florian is gonna do this or that. Despite the fact that his skills are just a poor mans version of BJ’s. Florian will admit that his BJJ isn’t as good as BJ’s and you are kidding yourself if you think that Ken’s stand up is even close. Should be a good fight, with B licking the blood from his gloves.
BJ via TKO in the 2nd.
what are you talking about BJ Penn is the worst UFC fighter ever…he doesn’t even know BJJ and he couldn’t out punch a bag of sand he’s such a punk he’s going to be killed by KenFlo…
Oh wait maybe he is one hell of a fighter, with world class submissions and great striking… Regardless of what people think of him as a person, he’s still one hell of a fighter, his only losses are to ex, current, or future champs. He definitely lost to GSP badly but, GSP is hitting his prime now and anyone beating him will be tough. BJ is still king at 155 and although Florian is in my mind one of the most underrated fighters in the UFC, BJ Penn still has better skills, the question will be his mindset and conditioning. I think it’ll be a great fight but if Penn takes his training seriously he’ll be able to out bang KenFlo.
The same question is always asked with BJ tho, “Conditioning” and as far as “aznstar” comment as Kenflo’s striking being a poor mans version of BJ’s. So far from the truth .. I kind of think its even BJ has better hands, but Kenny better kicks.. wrestling Kenflo has the better takedowns ,BJ has the better takedown defense.. BJJ that goes to BJ. This is a realise brake down of the fight. 60% of the time BJ wins / 40% of the time Kenflo wins. This is not a walkthrough for BJ or Kenflo and if anyone of them thinks it is there toast. BJ wins this fight if it hits the ground but I think this is going to be a stand up war for some reason.
i’m with you on this one. ken seems like a good guy and he is an exciting fighter to watch but he’s just not on penn’s level. i would like to see ken fight diego again because i think the end would be different. diego’s never really impressed me and kenflo has grown by leaps and bounds since they were on the show
It’s about time. This guy last defended the title in May/08, and it was to the guy that originally had the belt. I think Penn can still beat Florian, but I’m routing for Florian. The guy works hard and represents what a true champion should, courage. BJ believes his own hype and that is his downfall. Let’s see what happens.
finally penn grows a pair and gets over greasegate for “now” but anyways kenny florian by UD
This has greasegate 2 written all over it. I can’t stand BJ. He will always find a bad excuse for losing.
yeah is that over yet(grease gate)?
Not sure if grease gate is over with, but I sure hope so.
penn is just much better in every aspect of the game then kenflo, his stadup and ground game are much stronger. i agree that bj’s downfall has always been his belief in himself which can affect the way he trains but fighting again at 155 will make sure that penn comes in in shape, cardio has always been his weakness. also, fighting as a lw again will make sure he’s one of the bigger guys in the division. gsp was just much much bigger and stronger then him, that guy’s a beast. anyway, penn by tko in 2
Quite the contridiction you say that bj’s better in every aspect of the game yet you admit that his conditioning and mental game isn’t the strongest.So wouldn’t you give kenflo the edge in them to areas?And in my opinion those are to very big areas.I do agree talent wise Bj got the advantage.But if you look at why bj looses most of the time it’s not do to being out classed it’s do to the to reasons above.
no i said that talent wise penn is far better. his standup is much better and he’s one of the best in the world when it comes to ground game. i am conceding that his belief in himself is a downfall and he has been known to show up without the best cardio training. fighting at 155 will make him show up with good cardio though and yes i agree that kenflo is hungry and might want it more but talent wise you cant say he has anything better then penn
Thank the Lord! Only 5 more months of Baby J crying over grease gate. Oh wait!! Then its another 5 months of crying over the beating he’s gonna get from KenFlo.
I said a while ago that no champ should be allowed to go over a year without defending the belt. I don’t care that his match up with GSP was delayed so that GSP (who fought 4 times in a year) needed a rest. BJ could have fought in that time. That he didn’t speaks volumes about his DESIRE in the octagon.
Without “fighter bashing”, I don’t know what to make of BJ “verbally” agreeing to the fight with KenFlo. I mean look at all the BS that comes out of BJ’s mouth. I wont believe it until he puts pen to paper. But I hope he stays true to his word.
I said it once, I’ll say it again…I never bet on fights, but I am taking bets on this one. KenFlo will beat the excuses out of BJ. Anyone wanna bet a dollar?
i’m in
no KenFlo go go go
lets see… CBJ could do well if he trains for this fight properly
Kenflo is training hard, wants it bad…
CBJ says he looks foreward to the challenge… damn straights it will be a challenge kenflo will knock CBJ down a notch or two
Kenflo’s heart and will, will over come CBJ’s natural ability…
if CBJ had the heart of a true champion there wouldnt be a debate about this fight, as he would destroy kenny… but i think we are all gonna be saying
” OMG they killed CBJ, you Bastards “
I’m glad that we’re finally getting somewhere with this fight. Kenny has been waiting a while, and is well deserving of this shot. Not sure how its going to turn out for him, but I’m glad it’s finally going to happen.
BJJ better win this fight
or his era will be over…
I dont approve of all u guys bashing BJJ.
If he had an issue with grease, thats his problem.
I have read other fighters having similar prob.
On the other hand, I believe that GSP would have won anyhow
I’ll bet on Bj in this fight though…
Everyone isn’t bashing BJ, Maybe some people bash him a little but, he really needs to take fighting a little more seriously ,and defend his title at light weight .. this isn’t bashing this is facts lol. Plus lets be truthful if BJ wins verus GSP. Does BJ out strike or even takedown Thiago Alves?
I hope Penn shows up in shape and “inspired” for this fight. If not you will see a new champ. Kenny has improved every aspect of his game since we all first saw him on the first Ultimate Fighter show. Hell he is not even the same fighter since he lost to Sherk. It will be a big test for BJ.
For me this is going to resemble KenFlo vs Sherk, Baby Jay is going to totally overwhelm Florian and pound him out, regardless of how he reacted to his beat down from GSP we all know BJ is a better fighter than Florian
Bye Bye BJ. GSP has gone to train Kenflo for the win. Will be a good battle thou – I’m not much of a Kenflo fan but it is almost like cheating when you have a GSP training you on how to be victorious on someone who he has destroyed before. Grease or no grease!Lets get it on!
Ok so I didn’t read the comments above I assume they are filled with BJ is overrated he will lose and then retire, how dare he take so long in defending his belt blah blah blah….
It’s the norm, I haven’t seen such a flip flop towards a fighter as I have seen recently with Penn, all because Phil Nurse rubbed some vasaline on The Greatness GSP and Penn called him on it….. So be it Penn thought is was wrong and took to the NSAC that happens..
BJ Penn is not the same fighter @ LW as he is at WW… He is clearly better @ LW and KenFlo is better at 155 too.. I think KenFlo is the clear cut #1 contender in the UFC LW division, I think that he has progressed soo much in MMA it is crazy, I think KenFlo will lose….. Not anything against the guy I like him and his fighting style, and nobody will be ready for Penn as KenFlo will be that night, and if Penn doesn’t realize that KenFlo might just end the night for Penn.. I truly believe that LW division belongs to Penn and don’t see KenFlo changing that anytime soon, F it BJ Penn 2nd round (t)ko
What up FR.
It’s hard for me, cause I love both guys and their skill. I agree Kenflo has improved by leaps and bounds and I dont see anyone able to stand with him at LW. His M.T. is sick right now.
If it goes to the ground. Yeah its over, BJ too strong and skilled at LW.
But you gotta tell me FR how you see BJ tko’ing florian 2nd round homie.
Hey True1,
Um I’m going to say KenFlo shoots in for the takedown eats a knee gets sent back Penn jumps on him gnp’s him and Yves stops the fight with 45seconds left in the 2nd round… That’s what my gut tells me
People talk abou penns sick ground game but not too much has been mentioned about florians ground game. I beleive six of his ufc victories are by way of sub compared to bjs two. Florian is becoming the lightweight version of machida. Very elusive with unorthadox skills who doesnt get a whole lot of respect. Florian by UD. His cardio and ever improving muay thai will overcome anything penn throws at him
Jimmy how can u have Florian by UD, he finishes fights @155 he told us all geez
Hey good comparison JimmyG
And it’s true he does finish fights at 155!!
Ok ok fine. Just for the sake of florian being true to his word he’ll submit penn 4:58 in the fifth lol
Ha
finally kenny gets his shot. I see him as the guy to beat bj at 155. bj needs to bust his butt training and bring his cardio up to even stand a chance against kenny. kenny is going to push the pace in this fight and I will laugh when he submits bj by armbar. I would laugh even harder when he snaps bj’s arm. not to mention kenny has gsp helping him, that only gives him more advantage. what would be bad-ass is if gsp is in kenny’s corner at the fight. I see the fight going like my avatar. just put kenny’s face where gsp’s is. I want to hear bj’s excuse when he loses. is his momma going to defend him then?
I don’t really see kenny beating bj. the only people i think would be a threat is diego and i know he already lost but i think sherk would go with a different gameplan the second time around so i see him winning it….and don’t bash me about sherk getting a second shot lol. But i do hope kenny wins. BJ just makes excuses and is really full of himself…..awaiting fans of BJ to defend him lol!
I do enjoy that people keep shhhiting on Penn, Hamster perhaps this isn’t directly pointed to you but lets face it, BJ Penn is a better fighter at 155 than he is at 170… That being said here is the deal BJ Penn has only lost to The Greatness GSP(2x), Hughes, Machida, and Lil Evil its not like he loses to scrubs or anything.. I do believe that KenFlo is a hell of a fighter and all bs aside has a good oppritunity (I believe more than most give him credit for) of becoming the LW champion and defeating the master.. Hey get mad about Phil Nurse putting vasaline on The Greatness and Penn pointing it out.. GSP was dominating the fight but vasaline was applied to GSP, its not like Penn doesn’t have the talent to be the dominating champ or anything or like he is similar to Serra ko’ing GSP, there is no shock that BJ Penn is the #1 LW in the world..
My point is that BJ Penn takes fights, doesn’t matter who, not like he is running from competiton, part of the reason that KenFlo is waiting so long for the bout is due to The Greatness pushing back the superfight to Jan 31, also the whooping that he put on Penn also has to has a bit to do with it (damage and such)…. Most people shiit on Penn due to the fact that he is easy to dislike, ya know young guy lots of money, does what he wants, is a highly successful fighter and talks a lot of shhhit too… A majority of fans loved when he said he would destroy Sherk and then he licked the blood off of his gloves people liked him then, but now that he said something about The Greatness omg wow Penn is just making excuses again blah blah I’m over it, people get pumped about the fight between KenFlo and Penn because it is happening and it should be great…
O and Hamster not all of this was “directed” at you, I was just venting and such, yes I’am a Penn fan as well as GSP aka The Greatness…. I just don’t like the flip flopping that people do, hey ya can’t please everyone and I do realize that people jump on and off of “bandwagons” hell a perfect example is Lyoto Machida, but that is a different rant for a different time cheers/
Yeah your right FR you proved a good point. I know for a fact that bj penn is better technically than kenflo. There is no one 155 that outclasses bj. i just can’t see myself being a bj fan anytime soon, maybe that will change someday but he’s just not my guy. I’m only 18 but i love this sport and am glad to know alot about it.
ken-flo by towel being thrown in!
Dude it’s about time this fight was signed. If BJ loses this fight, what’s left of his “legacy” and reputation will be erased. I say this because of this whole greasegate shat. He’s lost the respect of many people and the whole aura of being “the prodigy” because he didn’t backk up all the **** he talked. If he loses to kenflo, then he isn’t and never was the best *in his prime*
Because Kenny is some pushover and Penn should just walk through him?? So what say you if GSP loses to Thiago Alves?? Is “legacy” out the window too and everything he has accomplished out the window?? Com’on double standards are fun and all but hell don’t discredit Kenny like he is expected to lose, Jazz I know you don’t care for Penn I respect that, but if he does lose to Kenny that isn’t going to ruin a legacy or make him any less talented, did Serra ko’ing GSP ruin his career/legacy, because he looked like absolute shhhit in that fight and he did what you’re suppose to never do and that is overlook an opponent, much respect JaZz but look at both sides of the coin I guess is what I’m saying
well said fr702
what i’m saying is that bj dug himself into a hole that he’s going to have to get out of and the only way toget out of this hole is by finishing florian. He’s said time and time again he’s the best he wants to be the best and he talks allll this shiit, but we all know what happened against gsp and after that fight. Can you bj fans honestly say that this beatdown by gsp, and this whole greasegate ****ing hasn’t in some way ruined his reputation and whole “prodigyness”?? For real dude?
I’m saying because of all this, if he were to lose to florian, it would only make things that much more worse then what they already are for the lw champ.
He’s lost a ton of respect and credibility and if florian wins, all he’ll be rememberd as is some dude who was thought to be great but showed his true colors towards the end of his career.
For the record, i’ve always thought bj was a talented fighter, but i’ve always thought his opponents were mediocre at best, hense the lack of me being impressed by “the prodigy”.
Sean SHerk is mediocre????!!!! look at his record and tell me that again, seans a beast and has the most heart in a fight i’ve ever seen. Sorry for hatin lol but i am a huge Sherk fan.
I do agree that BJ penn can’t looze another fight. If he does he will loose so much respect. Maybe in the future he would gain it back up again but i don’t see that happening.
kinda off topic: look in the jui jitsu world, bj penn did amazing things becoming the first non brazilian to win the tournament. But really what has he accomplished that is major to get where he is now, who has he beaten to put himself there. He beat matt hughes and that was amazing but then he lost to him the second time. IMO bj penn didn’t do enough to get to the spot where he’s at. FR plz don’t take offenzzze to it but im just sayn that it’s kinda crazy for people to consider bj penn the pound for pound best fighter in the word.
No one here is talking about BJ as a best P4P anymore. The best lightweight yes, but P4P, not so much.
In terms of what he has accomplished outside of his BJJ… well… besides his 9-1-1 record at 155, and beating Matt Hughes (the first time around) and Duane Ludwig at 170, he also beat Renzo and Rodrigo Gracie at 185lbs, and lasted longer against Lyoto Machida than Rich Franklin did, in an open weight bout.
Guys I’m not here to sway your opionion on BJ Penn, I get it some people don’t like him, I’m good with that… I however have a rather hard time with people saying he isn’t shhh cuz The Greatness put a whooping on him… I have always stated that BJ Penn @ 155 is a tougher competitor than the 170lbs version of him… Never the less I thank you for understanding my points of view of Penn yet as Justin has pointed out that the man is 9~1~1 @ the weight of 155lbs he has beaten some of the best (during their dominant reign) remember that Gomi fellow from Japan who was the greatest thing in 2003 and Penn owned him in the standup and ground eventually getting that sick assss choke on him, just out of pitty it seemed…. IMO there is no reason to discredit what the man has done in the world of MMA due to a loss to The Greatness GSP…..
o this would be a wonderful forum topic if any member would be so inclined to start it……..
Really he beat mediocre opponents? So Matt Hughes was a medicore fighter? and not the new h.i.t squad Hughes. im talking Miletich welterweight champ matt hughes who looked unbeateable. Since you seem to forget Hughes was on a 13 fight win streak had defended that belt 5 straight times (which is a UFC record). BJ took the fight on short notice and moved up a weight class to take Hughes on and not only did he win the belt he dominated Hughes and choked him out in the 1st round. Lets also not forget Hughes would go on to beat GSP after losing to B.
Hes beaten Takanori Gomi who at the time was arguably thee best lightweight in the world at the time and in that war BJ finished him via choke yet again.
Or maybe owning Sherk wasnt impressive enough? you know the same sean sherk that beat Kenny Florian for the LW title, despite the bad cut Kenflo opened up on him. lets not forget that his 3 losses came to GSP, Matt Hughes, and BJ Penn.
see those are the statements that show how ludicrous you GSP fan boys are and take away all credibility. you wanna talk about people getting over greasegate, you GSP fans need to get over it. whenever BJ’s name is brought up you guys go unhinged and talk about what a poor sport and blah blah blah. ive read more about that fight in these comments then i have about BJ Vs. Kenflo, you guys are the ones that need to let it go. none of you have been able to come up with a real reason BJ would ever lose. BJ doesnt have issues with cuts, Kenflo admits that BJ has better BJJ, Kenflo’s standup isnt even in the same league as BJ’s (ask Caul Uno, while Kenny has never ended only 1 fight in his career via TKO that was Jason Giroux…ever heard of him? neither have I) so tell me with all that said why (besides the fact that you watched a huge GSP beat BJ) do you think Kenny is gonna end this fight early…let alone win? dont worry i know no one will have a intelligent reason to support your predictions.
Sean Seark
cardio-excellent
heart-huge
neck-huge
jiu jitzu- ok? we NEVER see it
striking- decent
grappling- great
overall…do the math dude, he’s alright he’s not top notch.
Thats besides my point, which was that the dudes BJ has beaten aren’t “amazing” for him to have a “legacy”, or be considered one of the best p4p’drs ever. Not even close dude. And if he loses to florian, when he’s in his “prime”, will he still be considered the best lw?
Best LW ever? well that is hard to say if he does lose to Kenny… Um I dunno due to the great LW’s coming up, but only one of his losses have come at that weight, and thats pretty damn good plus he “got that loss back” from Jens to boot… I don’t think that this fight with Kenny is the end all be all for Penn’s career but ya never know with Penn, win lose or draw he could retire again ya know..
o and if he does lose to Kenny, then he will no longer be the #1 LW in the world ,per my rankings.. which are totally my opionion and such, hell someone has got to do them i dunno whatever..
ok ok, gomi is a great notch on your belt but come on, besides the jiu jitzu world, we’re talking about mma and bj’s resume. I dont care how long he lasted with machida in an open weight fight, he still lost. And yes he beat matt hughes, but that’s just one other great fighter besides gomi.
Ok well here you go Jazz,
BJ Penn 13~5~1
Notable wins include: Din Thomas, Caol Uno, Matt Serra, Gomi, Matt Hughes, Bang Ludwig, Rodrigo Gracie, Renzo Gracie, Jens Pulver, Joe Stevenson, Sean Sherk…
Notable losses include: The Greatness GSP (2x), Matt Hughes, Lyoto Machida, Jens Pulver…
The combined record of the opponents BJ Penn has faced is 286~82~8 (2NC)
*note rematches with fighters don’t count as far as the combined record goes ie GSP wasn’t counted twice
Thats the math take from it what you would like, as you can see the notable wins are all fighters you reconize (I assume) there are 5 well known x~champs of major orgs on that list thats pretty good imo, not starting an argument just putting stats outthere my friend
BJ Penn has had lots of success not only in MMA but Martial Arts period. He’s(In my opinion) never been the P4P best fighter ever. He’s the best 155 guy for sure(or maybe just until Ken-flo beats him), at this point of his carrer Penn needs to keep defending his title to really built a legacy worth talking about. Penn, even though i don’t like him can make a huge statement in his fight against Kenny Florian. If Penn defeats Florian decisively it’ll be a big F*ck you to his critics(myself being one of them). Penn is still young. Kenny Florian is at the top of his game and i believe he will test Pann’s desire to stay the Champ and Penn’s pride to be the best. So i’m just trying to say that he can still be remebered as a great champion if he turns his attention towards the right goals.
FR702
You know you’re right, you’ve got your opinion and you’re backing bj with all of these great stats and i can dig that dude.
i honestly think imho that din thomas, caol uno, joe daddy and sherk aren’t good enough fighters to create a legacy on. the gracies, well i mean he is the only or first (forgot) amreican to win the bjj championship, but dude that’s just jitz. Sam stout is a 2 time pan american cham p but in the mma world “he’s just a pretty face” (in jack nicholson’s voice).
we can go on and on with this bj argument dude, but in the end we have our thoughts on b.
Jazz, hey man you’re correct we all have our opionions on everything (its a great thing being a individual
) I completely get where people come from when questioning BJ Penn, seriously I get it… I personally became a Penn fan after the 11 second Ko of Uno, it was the first wow moment from me towards Penn.. And you’re correct I am a fan of his but let me say that, I don’t believe I’m one of those sherpup fan boys that give all knowledgable Penn fans (or fans otherwise) a bad rep.. I can see your side and I realize that you see mine, there is nothing wrong with intellegently disagreing…. The great debate lives on with no real casualties nicely done by all, e~hugs all around…. No what shall be the next topic to debate??? 
lol hugzzz accepted
I’m not looking to argue about BJ’s legacy anymore, but I want to argue with one of your points, just to set the facts straight. You keep discounting the Gracie wins as “just jitz” but they were actually MMA fights, not BJJ only (whether they basically end up being that way or not is another story).
To me Penn didn’t look that impressive when he beat “Daddy”. I’m hoping that Florian absolutely kills Bj shut his mouth for the last time if he loses he should seriously think about hanging them up, and there will be no Gsp/Penn3 It would be the same result anyway.
Love a good debate fr702. GOod times in the mma world! Well have more to talk about when the penn vs florian and “the greatness” vs alves fights come along.
Great points fr, but I will point out why I dont like bj. im sure some people feel the same way as me. I dont like him because he is cocky, makes excuses, and most of all does not train to his potential. he is an amazingly gifted athlete, but he has noone to push him. he is just wasting his god-given talent. thats what i dislike about penn. if I had his talent I would be training everyday. it is an honor and a blessing to fight in possibly the biggest stage in the world in mma,(the ufc), and bj just takes time off and wastes his talent. with his flexibility in his legs, he should be the best in the world. but he doesnt push himself and it shows in his cardio. I have no talent in jj thats why I gave up on mma. I couldnt hang with the guys at my bjj school I was training at in san antonio. It irritates me to my core that bj is not being pushed to be the best. look at gsp and silva, and fedor. (not to mention numerous other top guys) they all are getting pushed by their respective camps and are not allowed to not give 100% in their training. there is a short window of time for a career, and if you do not use that time wisely, you will never get it back.
In regards to Fedor getting pushed, you should go back and look at some of the post fight stuff from his last fight. He barely trained for Arlovski.
Thx for the cheers gents much appreciated…. Plus I would like to tell the anti~Penn folks that I thank you guys for not turning this into a hate thread (towards other posters) for whatever reason this perhaps is the only place I’ve read where people used logic in thier postings… Good times forsure, we can countinue this or if someone makes a forum topic on this cool, if not it will undoubtablly spark up again here soon cheers guys….
o and Hamster thx for accepting the e~hug
For the peopl ewho think that Kenflo isn’t on BJ’s level.. just think about what five months of training with GSP will do for him..
BJ is going to come into the fight not in a good state of mind.. that’s a given.. it will be too much pressure for him.. and under pressure is not when BJ preforms well.
Kenflo is stoic and dosn’t falter under pressure, in fact he shines under it. Too much hype for BJ and Florian has GS in his corner..
I just hope BJ FINALLY QUITS MMA after this. **** your rubber gaurd, **** your jabs, **** your crying ass mouth.