Let's set the record straight: B.J. Penn can't hang in the welterweight division.
B.J. Penn is one of the most dominant fighters to ever step foot in the octagon, he's dismantled the likes of Jens Pulver, Joe Stevenson, Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez all decisively and all consecutively.
He's been called the greatest lightweight ever by current champ Frankie Edgar and even called the best in the world by current pound for pound king Anderson Silva.
All of this was in the lightweight division though.
B.J. has made his career at lightweight and despite being the only fighter other than Randy Couture to hold a UFC title in two divisions, his lightweight title run has been his strongest.
Truth be told, his fights up at welterweight have been met with mixed results. He most recently was unable to take the title from Georges St. Pierre, scored a knockout over a past his prime Matt Hughes and escaped with a draw against perennial contender Jon Fitch in his last three stints in the welterweight division.
Now that his rematch with Jon Fitch has been scrapped due to an injury to Fitch's shoulder, "The Prodigy" is now without an opponent and the road back to GSP doesn't look any less bumpy.
In all honesty, Jon Fitch was easy to score a draw against. Fitch is a bare bones, grind it out winner, but his fights don't win over fans and now apparently judges either.
So for Penn to avoid a loss is not unbelievable.
Against other competition in the division, he might not be so lucky. He has said he feels more comfortable at welterweight, not having to cut as much weight as he did at lightweight, but guys at welterweight are significantly larger.
So with Anthony "Rumble" Johnson saying he would fight Penn, B.J.'s size disadvantage would be huge.
Fighters like Johnson, Dan Hardy, and Thiago Alves can already compete at middleweight and in Johnson's case light heavyweight, so imagine the strength and size difference he would be up against.
We all know about his talent, boxing and BJJ but his chances of winning the title again up there are pretty slim and he definitely isn't going any higher, so why not go back down?
So I know everyone would say why would be go back down to a division which has gotten even deeper with the recent WEC merger?
Why not?
There are so many possibilities for him down there that would be way better match ups. Everyone talks about how Frankie Edgar is B.J.'s kryptonite, but let's play Penn's lack of motivation card.
A motivated B.J. Penn goes psycho and knocks out Matt Hughes in the first round. When B.J. lost to Edgar, the division was much like the welterweight division is now, just waiting for new talent.
Now you have guys like Donald Cerrone, Clay Guida, Anthony Pettis, Ben Henderson, George Sotiropoulos, Evan Dunham, Melvin Guillard and not to mention Gray Maynard all in the mix and things get pretty interesting.
Throw in a long awaited rematch with Takanori Gomi and you have a nice O.G. slug fest for die hard fans to think about.
A motivated B.J. is more than a handful for all these guys and could honestly walk through a lot of them, save for Maynard.
So, why not let Penn go back down, throw him some interesting fights to wet his appetite and turn him back into a deadly contender for a belt—where he's capable of winning rather than leave him in a division filled with guys who may not be as talented but are just way too big for him.
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Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/653860-ufc-lightweight-division-why-you-need-bj-penn-back
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