White asked what fighter failed to realize potential
UFC president asked what fighter FAILED to meet his/her potential
How great is UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn?
He is one of just two fighters to win a UFC title in two divisions (Randy Couture is the other). And he is so great that when UFC president Dana White was asked to name what fighter had the best talent but the worst motivation, he named Penn.
There is a reason that “Motivated BJ Penn” is a meme.
“Oh jeez, that’s a loaded question,” said White, smiling. “That’s a loaded question. Listen, there’s guys and girls that probably don’t reach their potential, because they don’t … BJ Penn.
“BJ Penn probably should have been one of the best ever, to ever live, to ever do it, you know? But, BJ was so talented, you know. I just … I don’t know. I think BJ, in his own words, would go back and do things differently if he could.”
At the close, White summed up Penn accurately with a single word – “Awesome.”
Penn has discussed his legacy previously, and seems at peace with it.
“Everybody has questioned my heart, questioned my training ethics, this and that,” he said. “But I never did something as cowardly as to take any sports-enhancement drug. … That’s one thing no one can ever say about me, you know? That I was a coward and took sports-enhancement drugs, because I was afraid I was going to get my ass kicked in front of millions of people. So anybody out there who said I never had no heart, at least I wasn’t a coward.”
“You can’t make everyone happy no matter what. All I can do is live my life and try to be successful and please myself. I have my own morals I live by. Someone once said, ‘I don’t know the key to success but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.’ I agree with that. I live my life my way. I try to do the right thing, but I know there are going to be people who aren’t happy with what I do or say no matter what, so I’m not going to worry about it.”