B.J. Penn is long removed from his glory days, but his greatness hasnât been forgotten.
Joe Rogan spoke about Penn on a recent podcast, first discussing how improvements in fitness brought out the best in the former two-division UFC champion, and then putting forth the suggestion that a prime Penn could give any lightweight a run for their moneyâincluding the great Khabib Nurmagomedov.
âWhen B.J. Penn was in his prime, he was training with Marv Marinovich, and Marv Marinovich had very unorthodox training methods where it was all plyometrics, explosive drills, sprints, box jumps, all this crazy stuff, and he believedâI hope Iâm not quoting him incorrectlyâbut he believed fight training was of secondary importance when youâre in camp and really what was important is to just have a f*cking insane gas tank,â Rogan said. âB.J. Penn knows how to fight, heâs a world champion, heâs not going to forget how to fight. But you can could get him training this way where you have this gas tank thatâs just insane and when B.J. Penn was training with him, he was unstoppable.
âI always say thisâpeople talk about Khabib being the greatest lightweight of all time and maybe he is, itâs very possible he isâbut I would put the B.J. Penn that fought Joe âDaddyâ Stevenson, the B.J. Penn that fought Sean Sherk, the B.J. Penn that was in that peak when he was training [with Marinovich], I would put him against anybody. When he fought Diego Sanchez, he couldnât be stopped, and if you got him to the ground, his f*cking submission game was insane. He was insane off of his back. He would take your back, you were dead. He would knock you out standing up. His kickboxing was elite.â
Nurmagomedov has become a popular answer for âWho is the best fighter ever to compete at 155 pounds?â and for good reason. He retired in 2020 with a 29-0 record, three lightweight title defenses, and wins over a laundry list of stars and future UFC Hall of Famers. His dominant wrestling frequently led to lopsided results in his favor and his decision to hang up the gloves five years ago left fans wanting to see him continue to beat the best.
Pennâs 16-14-2 record doesnât reflect the force of nature he was in his prime, when he put on spectacular performances at welterweight and lightweight that made him a fan favorite during the UFCâs rise in the 2000s. His feuds with Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes are two of the most famous in MMA history, and though he became champion in two divisions, it was at lightweight where he was most feared.
So how does Rogan think Nurmagomedov would have approached a dream fight with Penn?
âTake him down, for sure,â Rogan said. âHeâd probably fight him the same way Georges St-Pierre did. But the difference in size between B.J. Penn and Georges St-Pierre is pretty significant. B.J. Penn is really a 155-pound guy, who actually later in his career fought 145. Later, when he was kind of at the end of his career. But Georges is way bigger. Georges was a big 170, big muscular 170 with great wrestling, nasty ground-and-pound, and a black belt in jiu-jitsu himself, and also a really good striker. ⌠There was also accusations of greasing because Georges was very slippery in that fight. If you were a grappler and the other person canât get a hold of him, especially if youâre a guy like B.J. who fights so well off of his back.
âB.J.âs legs were like arms where he could be sitting there without using his hands and he could put his feet in the lotus position, so completely crossed and lock his legs in the lotus position without using his hands at all. Crazy flexibility and dexterity. So if you were trapped in his guard, you were f*cked.â
Prime BJ was the 155 goat
Charles Oliveira smokes him
I havenât really kept up with Modern MMA that much post Couture/FedorâŚI know Conor, Jones, Khabib, and DC and have watched some of their stuff on the YouTube, but not really familiar with any of the other BIG STARS if there were/are any as they seem to have short careers just donât have that Conor/Jones/Belfort kind of mystique that gets fans excited
but what I recall of BJ Penn, I would not disagree that if/when he was well trained and ready to show-up, that he could be a competitive contender against anyone
At his peak, there were very few people who had any chance at all against BJ Penn. granted, heâs had a steep slide due to age, training issues, motivation, and I suspect mental health issues, but at his peak, he was as close to unbeatable a fighter as Iâve ever seen. In addition, he had absolutely zero fear or apprehension about fighting anyone. Heâd show up and fight a guy in his own living room if the guy said he could beat BJ.
I love BJ Penn as much as the next fan but khabib would maul him to death. Itâs a nightmare matchup for Penn. look at what GSP did to prime Penn in their second fight. Khabib would take him down every single round and batter him up⌠badly
Anyone remember the video of BJ standing in a pool and jumping out onto the pool deck without any hands? That type of athleticism is incredibly rare.
BJ definitely wouldâve butt fucked Conor, Iâm not sure he beats kabib. Maybe 2 out of 10 he pulls off a crazy submission.
Khabib lost to Gleason Tibau
GSP fought at 170 and at 185. Khabib was phenomenal, but he was also a 155 lb guy. Itâs possible that heâd negate BJâs ground game with wrestling. Itâs also entirely possible that BJ would catch him in something crazy and either tap him or choke him out. Would have been an incredible fight to see. Sucks that theyâre different generations.
Khabib is damn near a WW though letâs be honest
GSP was the better wrestler but Khabibâs grappling is on another level. Itâs a nightmare matchup for Bj unfortunately
Khabib ragdolls him.
I think it was on the Embedded episode. That shit was mind blowing.
Khabib wins.
Khabib has something like 3 top 5 wins, heâs not even in the conversation