Dec 18, 2009 - 12:49:50 PM By Frank Hyden, MMATorch Contributor
Note: I would have made this a longer blog, but I'm too busy celebrating that amazing Colts win last night. It almost didn't happen, but 14-0 is a tremendous feat. They only have the Jets and Bills left, here's hoping they do it, if for no other reason than to shut up the '72 Dolphins for good.
B.J. Penn is one of the best fighters in the world. He was already considered as such previously, but his beatdown of Diego Sanchez reconfirmed it. To me, the top 5 fighters in the world are BJ Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, Fedor Emelianenko, and Miguel Torres. I know Torres just lost, but this is MMA, everyone loses. Brian Bowles caught Torres with a surprise counter-punch that lead to his victory. I take nothing away from what Bowles did, he earned that win. If they fight again, it's more likely that Torres would win, but Bowles might pull the upset again. Regardless, I don't think Lyoto Machida has done enough to wedge out Torres on that list.
I think Lightweight is the best weight class for B.J. in the UFC. The reason I think that is BJ has to cut a lot more weight to make the 155 pound weight limit for that division. B.J.'s problem has always been his conditioning. However, in his last 2 fights, B.J. has shown much improved conditioning. I'm not really sure where UFC should go with B.J.'s next opponent. You could make a case for Frank Edgar getting the title shot. You could give the winner of the upcoming Gray Maynard vs. Nate Diaz fight the title shot. The problem is that I think B.J. would beat the hell out of any of those three. This is the same problem that the UFC is having with Anderson Silva. There's a lot of good Lightweights, but none stand out as being able to beat B.J. consistently. Sure, any one of them could beat B.J. on a given night, but it's more likely that B.J. will beat them down and then tap them out. Can anyone beat B.J., with the way he's fighting now?
Who would you all like to see BJ Penn fight next? Post in the Comments section below, or e-mail me at hydenfrank@gmail.com
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The only way I see BJ penn losing lightweight right now is if we have a
match like:
Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian vs. BJ Penn.
Godric
18 Dec 2009, 15:12
I agree wiv you on the top five fighters in mma right now but i would keep
my eye on Jose Aldo, i've seen all his professional fights n he looks like
he will join the mma elite, as for BJ i c no one currently in lightweight
that can beat him having said that mayb a 10 lb heavier aldo cud do
something
Jared
18 Dec 2009, 15:52
First off, totally agree about the Colts and '72 Dolphins. That's why I'm
rooting for Indy and New Orleans to go 18-0. Then someone would be
guaranteed to leave the Super Bowl undefeated. And it would be even sweeter
since it's in Miami. If they both beat the odds, they should seat the '72
Dolphins front row to watch their record come crumbling down.
Secondly, completely agree about BJ. I just don't see anyone challenging
him. I partially agree with you about Silva, yeah he's going to be favored
against anyone, but Marquardt and Belfort (and maybe eventually Maia) are
more of a challenge than Edgar or Maynard. Anderson has some interesting
matchups, I just don't find anyone that interesting for BJ.
matt6buckeye
18 Dec 2009, 16:13
I was telling a friend the other day that BJ has basically dominated the
four biggest names/interesting challenges in the division in his last four
fights at 155. He beat Joe Daddy to win the belt and then defended against
Sherk, Florian, and Sanchez. Is anyone really interested in seeing Penn do
the same against Gray Maynard? Frankie Edgar? Tyson Griffin? Not me. Now is
the time for Penn to give up the belt, take 7-8 months off to properly put
on the weight, and move up to 170. Having Marv Marinovich as your strength
and conditioning coach will help out in that regard.
His first fight at 170 could be Penn/Hughes III and could headline the
summer Hawaii show. Then give him one of the (next)big-3: Koscheck, Alves,
Fitch. If he wins those two fights then he's earned another crack at GSP.
Then that leaves the lightweight division to Sherk, Florian, Sanchez,
Stevenson, Maynard, Edgar, and Griffin to determine a new lightweight
champ. Add in one more fighter (Escudero, Lauzon, Diaz?) and how great
would an eight man tournament to crown a new lightweight champ fought
throughout 2010 be? Crown the new champ at the 2010 year end show. I know
the UFC hates tournaments, but this would never involve a fighter fighting
twice in one night. It would allow the public to follow it throughout an
entire year, making the winner the new "the guy" at 155.
Jared
18 Dec 2009, 16:50
matt6buckeye- I wouldn't dislike seeing what you've mentioned, but I
honestly don't see BJ challenging GSP. Their last fight didn't give me the
impression that a different game plan, or tweaking a few things (such as
getting up to 170 progressively) would make a difference. GSP dominated BJ.
BJ's takedown defense is ridiculous, however, GSP's takedown is more so.
I'm just not sure BJ can do much on the ground against GSP. I think Florian
would have a better shot against BJ than BJ would have against GSP.
Trend Tracker
18 Dec 2009, 22:58
Bj will always beat anyone the same size or smaller than him. GSP will kill
him if he goes up in weight again.
The Colts and the Saints will be at home watching San Diego and Minnesota
play in the Super Bowl.
Mark
19 Dec 2009, 13:48
Amazing colts win? over the middling jaguars? c'mon, you should have beaten
those guys by at least the same margin you beat the titans, who ran all
over jacksonville.
-M of Jacksonville (Dolphin's fan)
Frank Hyden
19 Dec 2009, 14:08
Trend Tracker, I hope you're not counting on Favre to lead the Vikes to the
SB. If Minnesota makes it, it'll be because of Peterson and that defense.
Favre is going to start throwing interceptions in the playoffs, and I think
that's going to cost them. Especially if Darren Sharper or the other Saints
get ahold of them.
Mark, let's give the Jags some credit. MJD is a really good runner and
David Garrard played a good game until the 4th.
Matt, a tournament sounds great to me. I'm definitely down for that.
Cole
19 Dec 2009, 14:47
Come on guys, talk about football at some other website. This is MMA
torch.
I don't think it's impossible for Penn to beat GSP if given another shot.
Granted it won't be easy, but the problem with him has been his
conditioning and it seems to me he's turned over a new leaf in that regard.
It will be one hell of a fight either way.
Also I considered Jose Aldo as well, but I think BJ will just be too big
for him. I mean BJ did have the Welterweight belt at one point. If he's big
enough to fight in a bigger weight class than he's too big for Aldo. It's
kinda like what White said about GSP and A Silva fighting against each
other. If Anderson is able to Kick ass at light heavyweight, he's too big
for GSP.
Jared
19 Dec 2009, 15:46
"If Anderson is able to Kick ass at light heavyweight, he's too big for
GSP."
I agree with this, and it's possible that this might apply to GSP-Penn as
well. If GSP does move up to MW, and dominates everyone there (assuming
Anderson moves up), then he's too big for BJ.
If the new BJ translated to 170, then he would probably put up a better
fight, but I still don't see him winning. GSP is bigger, and he shoots in
too fast for even Penn. I don't think Penn having better cardio will be
able to stop GSP from taking him down.
Cole
19 Dec 2009, 18:32
I can't argue with that. Has GSP ever fought at middleweight? If he starts
kicking ass there then I'll have to agree that BJ doesn't stand a chance.
It would still be a fun fight to watch though. Upsets happen.
Jared
19 Dec 2009, 23:45
I'm pretty sure GSP has never fought at Middleweight.
And yeah, BJ winning would be fun to watch (which is what I wanted to
happen). Not that I dislike GSP, I just like Penn better. And since GSP is
so dominant, Penn winning would shake things up. Outside of Penn knocking
off 3 Welterweight contenders, and then getting a rematch against GSP, GSP
moving up to Middleweight definitely provides the more interesting
matchups.
magster
05 Jan 2010, 15:44
Although I agree that BJ dominates the 155 and should move up to 170 I
wouldn't want to see him do it until he fights Frankie Edgar He has been
the underdog in almost everyone of his fights and comes back and beats big
names He deserves a chance
