...Is BJ Penn an all time great or is he just a fighter who never had the heart and soul to live up to his potential? Taken from MMA Mania...
Talented yes, overrated, also yes. I think after last night it's hard to say that Penn is one of the greatest of all time, dude just doesn't have the intangibles.
Tough question for me to answer after I watched his last fight. I dont think he's overrated, but I dont believe he's an elite fighter at this point in his career anymore. His heart isn't in the game. I mean the man destroyed top contenders Kenny Flo and Sanchez like nothing. He submitted Matt Hughes in his prime. Matt is a legend in itself. He's fought Lyota Machida the current light heavy weight champ and loss to him by decision. He's never been KO'ed or submitted. However, these last two fights he looked like a shell of himself. Should he be considered one of the greats in MMA. I think so. He is quite an accomplished fighter and only the 2nd to win in multiple weight divisions in the UFC. Should he be considered the TOP fighters in the world today. At this point, I wouldnt even rank him in the TOP 10. He has the tools and talent, but his heart is just not in the sport right now. He needs to take time off and really consider if this sport is still for him. Right now, it doesnt seem to be.
Beating Ken Flo in a big match is not a big accomplishment. The guy is a big time choker and gets his ass beat every time he's in a big time fight. Just ask Dana ;]
Honestly, I hope Penn either takes a good break from the sport to find his heart or retires. He also needs a new place to train, a new team. His corner was fucking pathetic against Edgar. "Fuck his speed" "He took something from you, go take it back" "Fuck this cock sucker man. Go fuck him up" There was no urgency, no coaching, nothing from his corner last night. It was a damn shame.
Problem with Penn is he does most of his training in his own GYM. When your the best fighter and coach at your GYM how can you improve your game? BJ's an incredible fighter, but he needs to get outside of his comfort zone and train somewhere else. Fortunately, he still has time. Will his pride get the best of him? Probably. That is unfortunate, because he has so many island boys like myself who are proud to see anyone from the islands do big things in professional MMA... I hope he takes a good look at those video tapes, and realizes he looked the same in both fights. Nothing changed. Take a chance BJ! Go to Xtreme Couture. Check out Greg Jackson. Suck it up and make yourself an even better fighter by allowing others to help you get better!!!!
Yeah, he definitely needs to branch out. In all honesty, he looked worse last night in comparison to their 1st fight. I agree about branching out and going to Xtreme Couture, Jackson's camp, fucking shit...I'm sure if he could swallow his pride, GSP would welcome him up in Toronto. Maybe do some training with the Nog brothers? I dunno...anything...just branch out and salvage your career. And Trench, I'm sorry bro, but the .gif has got to stay in my sig for awhile. That slam and the look on BJ's face was just shocking.
I don't think he's overrated. But as Trench already mentioned, he just doesn't seem to have that fire in his eyes anymore.
Nah, the sig is fine bro... I was lost for words when i saw the slam myself. Only guy ever to do something like that to BJ was GSP. Edgar was on point the entire fight. He meant what he said, and he beat BJ twice! He's earned my respect. Still Im not a big fan of Edgar. No offense to the Edgar fans. I dont know the exact number, but 7-8 fights by decision? Not exactly a exciting fighter.. Just saying... No excuses.
Not overrated but consistently unprepared. Needs to abandon his shitty trainers and sparring partners and find a camp that will stand up to him and be honest with him, not to mention better guys to train with. As mentioned before his corner was woeful the other night, he showed up seemingly without a game plan (again), and didn't have the cardio to hang with Edgar for the full fight.
Frankie just doesn't have that much power to finish people. He isn't a Jon Fitch or a Gray Maynard where he's just going to lay on top of you. I find Frankie exciting, maybe its because he seems small even for the LW division. He peppers you with shots, is always bouncing around, will take you down, and is in and out before you can get a combo off.
