After losing his title to Frankie Edgar, and the subsequent rematch, BJ Penn is left asking what is next. What weight class should he fight in, should he change fight camps, and what should he do if he cannot beat the champion in either weight class that he can reasonably make? Once looking indestructible and referred to as the greatest lightweight ever, BJ Penn now looks like a lost fighter. I myself, several times, referred to BJ Penn as the most dominant lightweight of all time on MMABadAss.com, and am now questioning Penn’s place in MMA.
Where should Penn go from here? He certainly would not fare well at welterweight, not with all the accomplished wrestlers in that division who are both bigger and stronger than Frankie Edgar. He may not even be able to make a run at the title in the welterweight division, and if he can, he has already lost to GSP twice. In Penn’s first campaign against GSP he looked like the more dominant fighter who gassed at the end of the fight. In his second fight against GSP, Penn looked like a lost fighter; he had no answers for what GSP brought into the cage that night. Penn clearly is not physically strong enough to compete at the welterweight division, and I also think that his wrestling needs improvement, so the welterweight division is not the place to be for an undersized fighter who has trouble with wrestlers.
If BJ were to stay at lightweight, does he now become the proverbial gate keeper, now that Kenny Florian has been knocked down a peg. Penn has all but beat the top competition in the lightweight division, except for Edgar and Gray Maynard. Penn could do nothing to the much quicker and more motivated Edgar, who again, just like GSP, fared better against Penn in their second meeting. I would hate to see Penn just work his way back to a title fight, only to lose to Edgar again, I don’t even think Dana White would put that fight together, unless there was truly no one left. However, with a new champion the line to get a crack at the title is much longer and BJ needs to find where he fits in, and it’s probably at the end of the line.
After two loses in a row, and three since January of 2009, is it time for BJ to switch camps? Joe Rogan pointed it out at UFC 118, instead of technical advice like Edgar’s camp was giving, BJ received motivation in the form of curse words and derogatory remarks aimed at Edgar. Not exactly what you would expect from the camp of one of the best fighters in history. BJ himself took shots at Edgar’s camp, but who exactly does BJ have on the world class level training with him full time? I don’t exactly think BJ’s handlers did anything to help him win that fight. BJ looked like he made no improvements or that he didn’t even try and change or even come up with a game plan against Edgar. I think if BJ had tried and grappled with Frankie from round one, we would have seen a much different fight. Instead it looked as if BJ was just waiting for a KO opportunity. Waiting for an opportunity that may never come, is not a good game plan. BJ also gassed again, to me that means no one in his camp is motivating him to get into better shape. Being the best fighter in the world is something that you have to work at constantly, and it doesn’t look as if BJ is willing to do that right now, and that is why he isn’t the champion anymore.
7 Comments for What’s next for BJ Penn?
NEW FIGHTLAUNCH.COM ARTICLE UP! | mmabadass.com | September 2, 2010 at 11:03 PM
danutspc | September 2, 2010 at 11:21 PM
Great article Ass, I think Bj becomes 3rd in the lightweight division. I think Gray Maynard will beat frankie in their up coming fight with a 5 rd dec. I can’t see Bj beating Gray unless he makes some big changes in his camps and how he trains. So yes Ass I agree it’s time for a change with all this top level fighters in lightweight division. I think he is young and talented enough that he could pull it off and become champ again. You never know it might of lost his fire.
danutspc | September 2, 2010 at 11:27 PM
I think he should fight at lightweight and fight Clay Guida in an exciting fight he wins.
Dragon | September 2, 2010 at 11:44 PM
One of his trainers or brothers or whatever said it best in the Countdown interview before the fight. His statement proves why BJ Penn may go down as one of the best LW ever, but we will never know how dominating he could have been because of his work ethic, or lack thereof. Penn’s brother said, “A motivated BJ Penn is the best fighter in the world,” with the keyword being “motivated.” If you believe you deserve the moniker of best pound for pound fighter in the world, then you need to be motivated to fight everyone from the lowest guy on the totem pole to the champ. Period! Some may point to Silva and say that he doesn’t do that. I would argue that he is most definitely “motivated” but he is “unchallenged” in certain fights, hence his lack luster performances. BJ can’t act the same as Anderson because BJ has lost in the UFC before, in fact, somewhat often in the past 2-3 years. Silva has not. BJ, I’m not going to say you are overrated because I think that is a little premature, but dude, get your act together and start fighting like the CHAMPION you once were.
Dizzle | September 3, 2010 at 1:32 AM
I don’t think he’s any worse off than he was before, his ego is a bit shattered, but other than that he’s still one of the best fighters… he just didn’t have the answer for Frankie. He needs another win over anyone and then get back into the swing of things, let Frankie lose the belt to the next guy he faces and then have BJ fight that guy for the belt back lol
The First Eric | September 3, 2010 at 12:43 PM
I think BJ will be remembered as an underachiever. Everyone believes (or believed) that he was the best and could not be challenged at lightweight. And he was dominant for a period of time. But he has shown that he is not willing to do what it takes to reach his full potential. No disrespect to Edgar, who impressed me in the first fight and even more in the second fight, but I still believe that Penn would be a favorite if he came in conditioned and with the right game plan. I fear that BJ may be going the way of Chuck Liddel, that the sport is passing him by as new talent with a new mindset comes in and he is not willing or able to do what it takes to adapt to the sport.
JeRmSDMF | September 3, 2010 at 7:56 PM
BJ Penn doesn’t look like he wants to be there anymore. He talks like he’ll destroy all, but he has a laziness in the cage like no other. It seems like if he hits a guy with everything and they don’t crumble, he gives up. I know he had to take Edgar lightly in that first fight, but completely giving up in the second fight just showed what BJ is really about. Him jumping off waterfalls and what not doesn’t impress me. I think he is back to that slacking off style like before the second GSP fight. BJ isn’t coming back anytime soon. I see him getting humbled by a a couple solid fighters, maybe Guida, Gomi, or even Kenflo, before he starts to see he needs to pick it up again. I just think by then I’d be to late. I like BJ, but the guy wants his fights gift wrapped, instead of really taking it. He needs to lay off the counter fighting, and start pushing some fuckin action, but I doubt we’ll ever see that outta Penn. Throw in the towel on him, he’s done.
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