FACEBOOK TWITTER RSS APP PODCAST Opinion & Analysis : Reader Reax READER REAX: First batch of reader responses to question of the week: Should B.J. Penn move to Welterweight? Which fights intrigue you most?

Mar 16, 2010 - 4:44:20 PM

We asked readers this week to send us in their responses to the following question: Should B.J. Penn move to Welterweight? Which fights intrigue you most? Below is the first batch of responses sent in. To have your thoughts on this question published, send in responses to MMATorchEditor@gmail.com.

Nick Bartmanowicz: I think that if B.J. Penn beats Frankie Edgar, and let's be honest Edgar getting that shot is bulls*** and he is going to get beat badly, the fights that most intrigue me with Penn at welterweight are any of the top fighters really. Edgar is a good lightweight, don't get me wrong, but he doesn't have knockout power and his boxing is worse than B.J.'s.

Penn is a completely different fighter then he was in the last fight with Georges St. Pierre. Everything that he needed help with he has now, so if he goes back up I think his first fight should be against Anthony Johnson or Thiago Alves, because they are the biggest in the division and I want to see how he does against someone that big.

If he beats them give him Jon Fitch just because I think that would be a good fight that B.J. would win. If he beats them in a good enough fashion Josh Koscheck would be interesting standing and on the ground and I don't know who would win that one. If he beats all of them I them I honestly think he should get GSP again, though I think he needs to gain weight for GSP and it will be a much different bout then their last one. But I still don't think B.J. could ever beat GSP, simply because GSP's fight style matches up well with anyone in UFC.

Nathan D Black: If B.J. Penn were to move up a weight class and abandon his Lightweight Title, I could see Kenny Florian being the next Lightweight Champion. Though I like Frankie Edgar and think he is a great fighter, I don't think he's at that level just just yet. I think we'll see that when he faces Penn. The same with Gray Maynard, I don't feel he's quite there yet.
My number one pick, if he were to stay at lightweight, is Diego Sanchez. Next to Penn, I think he is (was) at the very top of the division. He certianly has the heart and skills to hold that Title.

Han Hoehn: I think BJ should move to Welterweight. There’s no one left for him at lightweight in the UFC, and he risks losing via “lucky punch” to lesser opponents if he stays.

At welterweight I’d like to see him fight a beast like Anthony "Rumble" Johnson or Thiago Alves for an exciting fight, someone that won’t be afraid of his standup and have good takedown defense. Jon Fitch would be a good match up from a technical stand point as well.

[B.J. Penn art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

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