BJ Penn: What will his MMA legacy be?
Will BJ Penn be remembered as one of (Mixed Martial Arts) MMA’s all time greats? Heading into his second meeting…
Will BJ Penn be remembered as one of (Mixed Martial Arts) MMA’s all time greats?
Heading into his second meeting with Frankie Edgar at UFC 118, fans and critics anticipated a more focused, more aggressive B.J. Penn to step into the cage. They believed this fight would be a perfect storm of Edgar fighting a strategic battle on a night that Penn looked off, and that B.J. Penn, the man widely considered the greatest lightweight of all-time, would show the skills that earned him that distinction in the first place.
Nothing changed.
Penn did not look like the fighter who dominated Diego Sanchez. Glossed over and searching for answers, Penn was once again beaten to the punch, taken down, and dominated en route to his second consecutive loss to the new ruler of the UFC lightweight division: Frankie Edgar.
After years of being recognized as one of the greatest fighters in UFC and MMA, B.J. Penn’s legacy as a fighter is being called into question. While it is impossible to question his gifts, the results on Penn’s resumes are now being put under the microscope, with a notion that was once universally accepted being examined in a new light. Once unchallenged as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters the sport has ever seen, many are wondering if The Prodigy has become a case study in what could have been.
BJ Penn has always earned a free pass for his shortcomings.
Where other fighters are chided for offering excuses and explanations of losses, Penn’s list of ailment, accusations, and reasons for losing have been accepted. In the past, when he said he was unfocused and would be better next time he stepped into the octagon, people believed him. That well has all but dried up following his second-straight defeat to Edgar. BJ Penn’s training, team, and overall achievements are coming under intense scrutiny, and understandably so.
While some fighters work every day to validate being heralded as one of the sport’s best, BJ Penn has been content to accept praise and continue doing business as usual in Hilo, surrounded by coaches and trainers who agreed with the assessments of their fighter while never asking him to back up the assessment in his training or fights.
Penn is undeniably one of the most naturally-talented men to step into the cage and the UFC.
He’s one of the best boxers in the sport. His Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is legitimately the stuff of legends. And his flexibility, balance, and all-around skills are the envy of fighters who work twice as hard for twice as long. His nickname is truly fitting, but The Prodigy could have been even better.