BJ Penn Talks Permanent Move To Welterweight

He’s been there before. He’s been successful (see UFC 46), and not so successful (see UFC 94). Now it looks like he’s heading back.

↵Former UFC welterweight champion and current UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn talked to IGN.com about his possible move back up to welterweight should he get by Frankie Edgar at UFC 112.

↵↵“Yeah, I think there is a possibility of that. I don’t in no way want to look past Frankie Edgar, he’s a good fighter. You never know what could happen. But if I go back to welterweight, maybe I’ll try to give it a run, maybe fight a couple of fights there, we’ll see how it goes.

↵I might try to do it permanent. We’ll see, I just don’t want to rush anything, just take my time and go out there and do my best.

↵I think I could do good against some of the top welterweights. Yeah, pretty big guys, but you gotta live some times, you gotta step up sometime, huh?”

↵↵Quite frankly, I don’t see him being too successful against top guys like Thiago Alves, Jon Fitch, or even someone like Anthony Johnson.

↵And this isn’t directed at B.J. alone, but I’ve never really understood why fighters feel the need to move up to a weight class where they have an inherit disadvantage. Yes, the guys at the top of their respective divisions in the UFC right now seem invincible.

↵But, they’re not.

↵Every one of them has lost before (I’m including Machida’s gift from the judging gods at UFC 104 against Shogun as a loss here), and everyone of them will most likely lose again.

↵Instead of having fighters try to cement their legacy as an all-time great in this sport by trying to prove their mythical pound-for-pound status, I’d much rather be able to continue to appreciate their greatness in the weight class where they belong.

↵That’s where their legend will be defined.