BJ Penn Looking Past Huerta/Florian?

BJ Penn has two losses that he wants to avenge, the Matt Hughes loss and the Georges St. Pierre loss, with GPS taking the priority.  GSP is on the top of his list because right now is the best fighter in his weightclass and is still improving.  He is training in Brazil with Gracie Barra to roll with their black belts and improve his jiu jitsu.  He is also working on his stand up by boxing at the acclaimed Academia Nobre Arte.  Hughes, still once considered by some as the greatest WW of all time, on the other hand is coming off a demolition from the aforementioned Pierre and was contemplating retiring from the game.  The GSP fight is a thorn in BJ’s side.  The match was pretty close and some say it had a questionable decision with the old Penn undertraining and unfocused.  The new Penn now wants to be considered the best in the world.  He, along with GSP, is considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and to solidify his position there above GSP would be to take him out of that picture while he is at the top.  In the UFC 84 post fight press conference, he admitted he didn't train as hard as he should have for their first fight and openly talked about wanting that match next.

So is BJ looking past his next title defense? 

Yes, he clearly is.  It was a problem he had earlier in his career, looking past opponents for upcoming fights.  He looked past GSP the first time and look where it got him.  Would that be a problem now? I don’t know, but it’s not the best idea for Penn.  He said it would be hard for him to get excited for his next fight against Huerta/Florian when the GSP fight is on the horizon.  Both Huerta and Florian are up and coming and have yet to make a huge name for themselves but are great fighters.  Either has a chance to beat BJ if his mind is not on the match and not focused on his immediate opponent.  Sean Sherk was looked at as an unbeatable beast before the positive test, and he is still considered the best challenge the lightweight division had to offer BJ.  When Penn beat him in a dominant fashion, it left a question of who could stop this new BJ Penn.  Although both Huerta and Florian are hungry for that title shot and would make an exciting match for BJ fans,  but BJ is still seen as head and shoulders above the entire division.  BJ wants to move on with his legacy after considering the LW division conquered.

But a Penn/Florian or a Penn/Huerta fight is still a dangerous fight for BJ.  Both are intelligent fighters, tough to finish and both are very tenacious.  A Penn loss to Florian/Huerta would be damaging to the UFC.  He is one of their biggest names and by losing it would seem like he is reverting back to his old self, talented but lazy, causing a drop in his popularity.  With Florian or Huerta as a title holder , while both able champions, would not be as great for the UFC when BJ Penn could be the greatest lightweight champion of all time.  It is in the UFC's best interest to keep BJ on the top of his game. 

For the UFC to keep BJ's interest in his second title defense against the winner of Huerta/Florian, one and/or both (the UFC and the winner) have to do everything they can to make the fight mean something to BJ.  They can promise him GSP if he successfully defends his title three times, or give him more money, or bring in Aoki or JZ.  Huerta/Florian can say he's fat, lazy, no dedication, cocky, that they will destroy him, be the first to KO him, that they will lick his blood, and spit it back at him, he has cooties, he is balding and that’s why he saves his head... anything to get him to fight.  The UFC HAS to get him to buy their plan of cleaning out the LW division.  It would bring in and keep more fans.  Love him or hate him, BJ always brings in viewers to fights. 

But from a marketing standpoint, A BJ Penn/GSP match in Honolulu, Hawaii would be HUGE!  MMA is immensely popular in Hawaii, it is not just the UFC.  The ICON and Elite XC shows always do well.  It seems like almost everyone trains, but everyone likes to fight.  They even have their own magazine dedicated to local fighters and events.  They might even make it a highschool sport (they made surfing a HS sport so why the hell not?).  For a Hawaiian to be headlining a show in his home state against another one of the biggest names and champion in the UFC would be a guaranteed sellout.  The current UFC attendance record would be easily shattered if the event was held at Aloha Stadium (current record of 21390 @ UFC 83).  The number of PPV buys would also be enormous just from the Penn GSP draw even with a weak undercard (even with Machida fight on this card, people will watch!).  It can be the biggest grudge matches of all time. 

-Davey

ps. I like Machida a lot but I had to make that little joke :-P