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[killakem1]

- B.J. PENN ON A JOURNEY TO MASTER THIS SPORT- MMA WEEKLY - Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more

ROSEMEAD, Calif. – B.J. Penn (15-7-1) is, arguably, one of the greatest mixed martial artists ever to compete in the sport. The majority of his career has been spent inside the Octagon, where he’s won two world titles in two different divisions.

The Hawaiian fighter is no stranger to jumping weight classes, and, at this point in his career, he doesn’t intend on stopping.

“I think that’s the best thing for me, to dabble,” Penn told MMAWeekly.com at the recent UFC Gym grand opening in Los Angeles. “The best thing for me is to fight as many good fighters as there are out there. And there’s good fighters at 155 and there’s good fighters at 170.”

For now, the road Penn walks is that of welterweight. In that road is another former champion in Matt Hughes (45-7), whom he is scheduled to compete against at UFC 123 on Nov. 20 in Detroit.

The fight will be the third between the two UFC veterans and will decide who gets the edge in the saga, as they split the first two encounters.

A win for Penn would likely shoot him down a specific path, so the future of the two-time UFC champ may very well depend on how he does against Hughes.

“I just want to fight and be as active as I can,” said Penn. “If I start getting... a lot of wins in one of those directions, then maybe I will look for a title shot.”

Penn was last seen at UFC 118 dropping his second straight bout to the current UFC lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar. Just before their two bouts, Edgar was widely considered an underdog to Penn, but proved he can trade shots with “The Prodigy,” grabbing unanimous decisions in both contests.

Hughes is on a three-fight win streak and last competed at UFC 117, where he scored a submission win over jiu-jitsu expert Ricardo Almeida. The fight with Penn will be Hughes’ fourth consecutive contest against a seasoned jiu-jitsu practitioner and, arguably, his toughest opponent in that streak.

While Penn has accomplished a great deal throughout his nine-year career, he feels that he has some unfinished business to handle. Growth as a mixed martial artist is still in the 32-year-old’s focus going into his fight against Hughes.

“I want to master this sport. I’m not there yet and I’m still trying to figure it out,” Penn said.

UFC 123 is slated for The Palace of Auburn Hills. The event is headlined by a light heavyweight match-up between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida.

[Qball1974]

Sounds like the same old Penn to me hit or miss.

[Chute_Boxe44]

Same ol BJ mumbo jumbo. What I'm curious about though is, where does he go if he wins the fight? Who would they put in front of him next?? I guess it would have to be another welter weight, but I still find it strange depending on what happens and also in what fashion in happens in.

[Clark80]

Trying to think what happens after this fight just confuses me. I'm just looking forward to this rubber match - the rest can be figured out once this has played out.

War Penn

[Leucoethiops]

BJ Penn can capture LW gold again, but he really needs to change camps. His camp, his coaches, and his gameplanners are all fucking terrible.

[TheKidInside]

if BJ wins, he should get Nate Diaz!

[b1uef1ow]

Originally Posted by TheKidInside

if BJ wins, he should get Nate Diaz!

That sounds like a good bout, it'd sure be fun to watch. I think if he stays at WW if he wins and Serra wins I'd love to see BJvSerra 2... Not too sure that would happen since they are both buddies...

But yeah other bouts that would interest me is BJ vs:

Dong Hyun Kim
Karo Parisyan
Or even up and comer Johny Hendricks

[BBG]

“I want to master this sport. I’m not there yet and I’m still trying to figure it out,” Penn said.

BJ, You might want to start with looking at some film. Seriously. Not just watching the fight, but analyzing what you did, what you didnt, and how you can implement a strategy for guys who may just match your athleticism.

This isnt the old days. Its not like an arcade where the variables are few and you can master Galactica because you know the pattern. You need to be dynamic (changing on impulse) and be smooth in your transitions. You need to go back to the basics of FIGHTING.The first thing I learned from my grandfather was the quicker you weaken the abilities of your opponent, the quicker your probabilities of finishing the fight go up.
This is fighting 101. If you do not take the spark out of your opponents punches or kicks or rhythm or core...you are going to be fighting a linear battle until one of you cant.
Forget mastering MMA and start by developing a gameplan for a better training camp, better strategic game-plans that are opponent specific and get someone who knows how to analyze and document your opponents history.

Start with that and get back to winning fights the way you used to.

[Iron Triangle]

Originally Posted by b1uef1ow

That sounds like a good bout, it'd sure be fun to watch. I think if he stays at WW if he wins and Serra wins I'd love to see BJvSerra 2... Not too sure that would happen since they are both buddies...

But yeah other bouts that would interest me is BJ vs:

Dong Hyun Kim
Karo Parisyan
Or even up and comer Johny Hendricks

Their first fight wasn't that exciting. There two simialiar, fighting wise. Both have great boxing abilities and are wizards on the ground. On paper it seemed like a good match up. In reality they had too much respect for the other's abilities and were both very cautious.

I'd watch a rematch but would not get that excited over it (and I am a big Serra fan. His rematch against Lytle is one of the fights I'm looking forward to at 119).