Getting really tired of the way this forum reacts to any old fighter suffering a bad loss to a younger, fresher lion. The stock reaction every time seems to be to belittle the older fighter's career accomplishments, via the standard ignorant and reductive logic that everything that has gone before is so horribly inferior to everything that's happening right now.
The current example is that it appears to be very trendy to say that Penn's lightweight reign was not very good and that he wasn't facing top fighters.
Excuse me for calling bullshit, most probably on people who only know the names of the guys he beat and don't know much about them as fighters or their careers.
So after Penn won the title by putting the Beatdown of the Year on Joe Stevenson (on a 4-fight winning streak including finishes of Melvin Guillard and Yves Edwards), BJ defended the title against:
1.Sean Sherk
- At the time, Sherk was on a 3-fight winning streak including victories over Nick Diaz and Kenny Florian
- The only two men to EVER defeat Sherk in THIRTY-SEVEN fights before he faced BJ were the two greatest WELTERWEIGHTS of all-time in Georges St Pierre and Matt Hughes
- His record was 34-2-1 and he was undefeated at 155
- He was the UFC lightweight champion, before losing it for failing a drug test that applied to his first title defence, which he won
- Penn became only the second man after GSP to stop Sherk. Sherk was never stopped again
2.Kenny Florian
- At the time, Florian was on a 6-fight winning streak including victories over Roger Huerta, Joe Stevenson, Joe Lauzon and Din Thomas
- Florian had only lost 1 lightweight fight before; a decision defeat to Sean Sherk for the UFC title
- Florian rebounded after the loss to BJ by going on to finish both Takanori Gomi and Clay Guida
- Florian was never finished again by anyone after fighting BJ, even though he later faced Jose Aldo and Gray Maynard
3.Diego Sanchez
- At the time, Sanchez was on a 4-fight winning streak including victories over Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson
- Had achieved earlier wins over the likes of Nick Diaz, Karo Parisyan, Kenny Florian and Joe Riggs, and after the Penn fight he'd go on to win over Martin Kampmann and Takanori Gomi
- Sanchez was undefeated at lightweight
- His record was 21-2 when he got the title shot; the only losses were at welterweight, a split decision to a prime version of Jon Fitch (one of the best ww's of all-time), and a decision to a peak Josh Koscheck, one of the best ww's of his era
- Had never been stopped before he faced Penn
- Has never been stopped since he faced Penn
I think the noob fans among us will look at the names on BJ's lightweight record, and (so stupidly) compare it to the resume of Jon Jones, then wonder "how come Jon has beaten all these ex-champions and BJ hasn't?"... er, because 205 was pass the parcel before Jones came round, that division has more ex-champs than a Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Penn DID thrash two ex UFC champions in his weight class (Sherk & Pulver), but there were no others in existence for him to beat up (although he did beat up the Pride champion Takanori Gomi earlier in his career).
The facts are that Sherk was a champion and had only lost to the 2 best ww's ever, Sanchez had only ever lost decisions to 2 of the best ww's of the era, and Florian was on a 6-fight tear and was never finished again, not even by Aldo.
BJ Penn beat some excellent fighters at 155. If he hadn't have been around, Sanchez or Florian or Sherk would have been champion and would have been considered an excellent one until the fresher generation of Henderson and Pettis and Edgar and Maynard arrived on the scene.
The current example is that it appears to be very trendy to say that Penn's lightweight reign was not very good and that he wasn't facing top fighters.
Excuse me for calling bullshit, most probably on people who only know the names of the guys he beat and don't know much about them as fighters or their careers.
So after Penn won the title by putting the Beatdown of the Year on Joe Stevenson (on a 4-fight winning streak including finishes of Melvin Guillard and Yves Edwards), BJ defended the title against:
1.Sean Sherk
- At the time, Sherk was on a 3-fight winning streak including victories over Nick Diaz and Kenny Florian
- The only two men to EVER defeat Sherk in THIRTY-SEVEN fights before he faced BJ were the two greatest WELTERWEIGHTS of all-time in Georges St Pierre and Matt Hughes
- His record was 34-2-1 and he was undefeated at 155
- He was the UFC lightweight champion, before losing it for failing a drug test that applied to his first title defence, which he won
- Penn became only the second man after GSP to stop Sherk. Sherk was never stopped again
2.Kenny Florian
- At the time, Florian was on a 6-fight winning streak including victories over Roger Huerta, Joe Stevenson, Joe Lauzon and Din Thomas
- Florian had only lost 1 lightweight fight before; a decision defeat to Sean Sherk for the UFC title
- Florian rebounded after the loss to BJ by going on to finish both Takanori Gomi and Clay Guida
- Florian was never finished again by anyone after fighting BJ, even though he later faced Jose Aldo and Gray Maynard
3.Diego Sanchez
- At the time, Sanchez was on a 4-fight winning streak including victories over Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson
- Had achieved earlier wins over the likes of Nick Diaz, Karo Parisyan, Kenny Florian and Joe Riggs, and after the Penn fight he'd go on to win over Martin Kampmann and Takanori Gomi
- Sanchez was undefeated at lightweight
- His record was 21-2 when he got the title shot; the only losses were at welterweight, a split decision to a prime version of Jon Fitch (one of the best ww's of all-time), and a decision to a peak Josh Koscheck, one of the best ww's of his era
- Had never been stopped before he faced Penn
- Has never been stopped since he faced Penn
I think the noob fans among us will look at the names on BJ's lightweight record, and (so stupidly) compare it to the resume of Jon Jones, then wonder "how come Jon has beaten all these ex-champions and BJ hasn't?"... er, because 205 was pass the parcel before Jones came round, that division has more ex-champs than a Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Penn DID thrash two ex UFC champions in his weight class (Sherk & Pulver), but there were no others in existence for him to beat up (although he did beat up the Pride champion Takanori Gomi earlier in his career).
The facts are that Sherk was a champion and had only lost to the 2 best ww's ever, Sanchez had only ever lost decisions to 2 of the best ww's of the era, and Florian was on a 6-fight tear and was never finished again, not even by Aldo.
BJ Penn beat some excellent fighters at 155. If he hadn't have been around, Sanchez or Florian or Sherk would have been champion and would have been considered an excellent one until the fresher generation of Henderson and Pettis and Edgar and Maynard arrived on the scene.