BJ Penn looks at his opponent Nick Diaz during the start of the welterweight bout at UFC 137 at the Mandalay Bay Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Diaz would win by unanimous decision. (Credit Imago)
Khabib Nurmagomedov recently named BJ Penn as the second greatest lightweight of all time
BJ Penn recently revealed why Khabib Nurmagomedov never moved up a weight class to fight Welterweight champ Kamaru Usman.
Khabib conquered it all in the lightweight division. Following a win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, the Russian hung up his gloves with a clean record of 29-0.
He is considered by many to be the greatest lightweight fighter of all time.
In a recent post shared by UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn on Instagram, the Hawaiian stated why ‘The Eagle’ never fought Usman for the welterweight title.
Penn felt that Khabib did not have the proficiency in jiujitsu that would enable him to compete at the highest level.
He also subtly pointed out – how he was able to brave the challenges and multiple belts due to his excellence in jiujitsu.
“Since Khabib has been saying he is the greatest lightweight of all time and I am number 2 best lightweight many people have been asking me why didn’t Khabib fight Usman for the 170 pound belt or compete for 170 belt like I did many times… in my humble opinion it is because he is not proficient and confident in jiujitsu I believe the reason behind Khabib not fighting Usman is because he does not know jiujitsu like I did and he is not comfortable fighting off his back against someone who is bigger and stronger than him like I did many many times in my career.”
Penn continued:
“Khabib says jiujitsu is easy and he is the best grappler ever but he did not fight bigger opponents in higher weight classes because his style is not prepared for this …and that’s what jiujitsu was created for.. for the little man to defend himself from the big man! That is martial arts, that is self defense !!
In a recent media interaction with RT Sport a couple of weeks ago, Khabib picked BJ Penn as the second greatest lightweight of all time.
During his career, BJ Penn went on to win belts across the lightweight and the welterweight division.
Khabib said:
“I think the impersonation of the lightweight division was BJ Penn for a long time. I can explain… Despite many defeats (towards the end of his career), he won the lightweight title, defended it and also moved up to welterweight and won the belt there. Then he had lost to one of the best fighters ever, George St-Pierre. So for me, BJ Penn, I think we can put him there.” [via BJPenn.com]
Penn retired from the sport in 2019 with a record of 16 wins, 14 losses and 2 draws.
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