The Experts Agree: B.J. Penn Rules

by Kid Nate on May 8, 2008 5:12 PM EDT in News Comment 11 comments

I came across two posts today singing B.J.'s praises. Marc Staehling of Total MMA gives Penn this glowing writeup for his demolition of Joe Stevenson:

Hardcore MMA followers know what B.J. Penn is capable of. When he is mentally focused, and in-shape he is arguably the best pound for pound combatant the sport has ever seen.

At UFC 80 in January, fans around the world were given the pleasure of seeing the real "Prodigy" in action. B.J. ripped through the very tough Joe Stevenson like a buzzsaw, dropping him in the opening seconds with an uppercut, and then dominating him on the ground and standing for the entire fight. Penn's top-game looked phenomenal as he remained in an advantageous position throughout the bout.

This B.J. Penn looks to be on a completely different level then pretty much anyone in the weight class in the world. It'll be interesting to see how the Sherk fight goes down, and where B.J. goes from there.

And the guys at FightMetric bring their usual quantitative eye to B.J.'s fight with Lyoto Machida:

What's probably most impressive is how well Penn did against not just any larger opponent, but a top-tier 205-pounder. Machida took the unanimous decision and is still undefeated two years later.

The FightMetric report on the fight between Penn and Machida shows just how well Penn did. For starters, Penn got cracked by several huge shots in the clinch...and was completely unfazed. Though wild with his stand-up striking, he landed more HiPer Strikes than Machida.

Using the ten-point must system, FightMetric gives the fight to Penn 29-28. Overall, the effectiveness scores favor Machida 185-183, which is within FightMetric's margin of error. That means Penn effectively got a draw against one of the top five light heavyweights in the world. And when you think about it, that's pretty ridiculous.

HT to BE reader Smoogy for the gif.

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Re: The Experts Agree: B.J. Penn Rules

Glad to know mathematics backs up my love affair.

by Luke Thomas on May 8, 2008 5:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: The Experts Agree: B.J. Penn Rules

Lyoto was slower and fatter than he is now, but thats moot I suppose. The bout was officially at 218lbs, Penn weighed in at about 183 if I recall correctly, and Lyoto was listed at the max.

I agree it was a close fight, not as close as Lyoto vs. Sam Greco, which truly could've gone either way

GIF TIME!

by smoogy on May 8, 2008 5:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: The Experts Agree: B.J. Penn Rules

BJ came in at 193, not 183. It wasn't close.

by godzillad on May 8, 2008 6:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: The Experts Agree: B.J. Penn Rules

Whoops that one is kinda fucked, and not resized right, maybe someone can edit it out

Do-over:

by smoogy on May 8, 2008 5:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: The Experts Agree: B.J. Penn Rules

Its cute how you guys still hope that BJ Penn will take things seriously now. Almost like you're waiting for the Old Vitor.

Sherk TKO Rnd 5

by godzillad on May 8, 2008 5:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: The Experts Agree: B.J. Penn Rules

You mean like how he didn't take Jens Pulver or Joe Stevenson seriously? Yeah, those guys sure made BJ look bad.

BJ by domination.

by Popetastic on May 8, 2008 6:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: The Experts Agree: B.J. Penn Rules

BJ's determination has always been in question for me. I was half expecting him to walk away from the Lightweight belt right after winning it, haha. Still, I think he will beat Sherk. Like he said, he's got just enough cardio to put Sherk away.

by pud333 on May 8, 2008 6:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: The Experts Agree: B.J. Penn Rules

There's only one way to settle all this questioning of BJ: have Sherk fight Machida.

What?

-- Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ

by jemaleddin on May 8, 2008 8:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: The Experts Agree: B.J. Penn Rules

I don't like BJ or Sherk, but if I had to choose the lesser of two evils I would pick BJ. Sherk will lose by DQ after going on a roid rage and KO'ing the ref.

by Jburg on May 8, 2008 10:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: The Experts Agree: B.J. Penn Rules

That's ridiculous. Sean Sherk doesn't KO anyone.

by Brett Jones on May 9, 2008 8:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: The Experts Agree: B.J. Penn Rules

The BJ Penn / Luke Thomas love affair is in full swing. It must be the fresh spring air. I think BJ seems much to confident for this fight, similar to his second fight with Matt Hughes. We all know how that ended. I find the guy is a fantastic talent, works his tail off for a couple fights, then realizes how far ahead of everyone he is, then he coasts.