At UFC 80, "The Prodigy" BJ Penn became the UFC Lightweight Champion for the first time in his career and did it in a dominant fashion. Considered by many one of the top 5 pound for pound fighters in the world, who will be able to beat BJ for the championship? I will write about every top fighters in that weight class fighting in the UFC right now and see what their chances are against BJ Penn.
Rich Clementi:Clementi has been on a roll lately winning his last 4 fights in the UFC against some top competition. It's no question that Rich Clementi is slowly getting up the ladder and getting closer to a title shot but will he be able to make it to the top and eventually challenge BJ for the title? I don't think so and even if he does, Clementi doesn't have what it takes to beat Penn, his stand-up is OK and his submissions are good but Penn is better in every area and would beat Rich any day of the week.
Nate Diaz:Diaz is undefeated in the UFC but he's still a newcomer and as far as a title shot, I don't think that will happen right now. Nate has had good fights but he still hasn't done anything to prove us he could be the best the division has to offer. With more experience, a Diaz vs Penn fight could be interesting but then again that fight will not happen before a couple of years.
Kenny Florian:With only one loss in the UFC since the Ultimate Fighter 1 show, Kenny Florian has established himself as one of the top fighters in the lightweight division. With his UFC 87 fight coming up, it could possibly put Florian in title contention but could Kenny Florian really be a challenge for BJ Penn? Penn has much better hands and would KO Florian if the fights stays standing and on the ground well it would be interesting to see who would have the upper hand but I would put my money on BJ.
Tyson Griffin:Tyson Griffin is another UFC fighter who has only one loss in his UFC fights. Griffin has established himself as a tough fighter but also a fighter who is unable to finish fights. Four of his five UFC fights went the distance and against a fighter like BJ Penn, you need to put pressure and finish the fight. Griffin is still making his way up the ladder and a title shot is not yet in his plans and if he gets there and Penn is still champion... BJ will beat Griffin because he is a overall much better fighter.
Sean Sherk:Well, before their UFC 84 fight, I thought "The Muscle Shark" would be one of a very few guys able to beat BJ Penn for the lightweight title. Now, it's clear that Penn is the better fighter, completely dominating the stand-up fight against Sean Sherk. On the ground, Sherk would be dominated even more. A rematch? completely useless BJ Penn showed he was a better fighter and a rematch would only solidify that.
Joe Lauzon:Joe Lauzon is a dark horse in the lightweight division, he's a young, aggressive and very talented kid. Joe has improved with every fight, even in his last one, he ended up losing to Kenny Florian. I think it's a matter of time until Lauzon gets a title shot and maybe even becomes champion but right now he's still unexperienced compared to BJ and anyways, BJ and Joe are very good friends and BJ is Joe's trainer so maybe Joe won't be interested in a title shot till BJ is champ out of respect for his trainer.
Joe Stevenson:Watch UFC 80: Rapid Fire and it's clear why Stevenson is no match for BJ Penn... nuff said.
Roger Huerta:Huerta is a very good, undefeated fighter. With his UFC 87 fight against Kenny Florian, he could become the no 1 contender and challenge for the title but I still think Roger Huerta is untested. He defeated alot of unknown fighters, the only known fighter he fought was Clay Guida who, I consider good but not great and Roger Huerta barely came out of the fight with a victory. Roger still has a hard time defending the takedowns and that's crucial against BJ Penn who would KILL Huerta on the ground. Roger Huerta is good, but is he ready for BJ Penn... NO.
So this is it, what I'm trying to prove here is that BJ Penn has no competition in the lightweight division for his title. Nobody in that weightclass is a threat for "The Prodigy", so unless some new kid, very talented shows up, BJ will be champion for a long time. BJ may even become a welterweight and fight there because he has no challenge in lightweight, and after his fight with Sherk, BJ said he wanted GSP, so maybe Penn will move up to 170 after all.
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