"The greatest of all f***in time" - B.J. Penn goes off on modern lightweights, calls himself the GOAT
B.J. Penn took to Instagram to call himself the greatest fighter of all time. The former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion was the second fighter to win titles in multiple weight classes in the UFC.
He wrote:
"Most people don’t know shit about boxing, most people don’t know s**t about jiujitsu, most people don’t know s**t about MMA!!!! BJ Penn in his fighting prime at 25 years old! The only 170 and 155 pound UFC champion ever in the UFC.. I win the UFC belt against the greatest UFC welterweight champion with 5 defenses… the lightweight champs today don’t have the balls to even try but I don’t blame them, even if you win against a fighter that good and that big you are going to the hospital... Never ever took PED’s to fight any m**********r ever and you all saw the juiced up animals I been in the cage with, because I never did steroids it is just a fact that nobody ever did it better! Not one time, not some time, greatest of all f***** time."
'The Prodigy' argued that he was clean his whole fighting career and didn't take any performance-enhancing substances. B.J. Penn was also a pioneer in bringing lower divisions to mainstream attention during the early days of the UFC.
Undoubtedly regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time, Penn defeated the likes of Matt Hughes, Kenny Florian, Jens Pulver, Renzo Gracie, Matt Serra, and Diego Sanchez in his prime.
However, the Hawaiian has been criticized for continuing to fight well past his prime. From 2011 to 2019, he went on a seven-fight losing streak in the UFC.
Still not officially retired from MMA, B.J. Penn continues to train regularly, as seen in his social media posts.
UFC president Dana White was in awe of B.J. Penn during his prime
Dana White commended B.J. Penn for being the first crossover pay-per-view star for the UFC. Interestingly, White has also mentioned Chuck Liddell in the same breath.
B.J. Penn's argument about being the GOAT can be disputed. Despite Dana White claiming that Penn 'built the 155-lbs division,' lightweight has seen a rise in elite fighters since the Hawaiian's downfall.
The star-studded division comprised Khabib Nurmagomedov, one of the most dominant champions in UFC history. The Russian retired from MMA with an undefeated 29-0 record.
#OnThisDay in History |September 13|
2008: 13 years ago:
Khabib Nurmagomedov made his MMA debut.
He went on to win the lightweight title in the @ufc and defend it twice before retiring last year.
Total record: 29-0-0
#OnThisDay #History #Khabib #UFC #MMA #Russia #Dagestan https://t.co/0MwepEe7bI
The lightweight roster also comprises Irish megastar Conor McGregor. Former interim champions Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson also actively compete in the division. The weight class is currently ruled by Charles Oliveira.