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BJ Penn = me sad.

johnnloki

Drag Racing Champion
Bj Penn was an unstoppable force. A Brazilian Jujitsu blackbelt with an uncanny flexibility and indomitable spirit. Child to wealthy parents, he didn't need to fight for a living. He didn't need to fight. It was in him.

He started practicing BJJ late in his teens, and earned his black belt quicker than had been done, or has been done since. He was competitive in the sport, and won tournament after tournament, eventually even eclipsing the first family of BJJ, defeating Gracies in competition. The guy entered and won Judo tournaments at a black belt level with zero actual Judo experience. He truly was the prodigy.

The internet was abuzz with whispers of this phenom, and the potential for him to enter the sport of MMA. Sure enough, enter he did, and he tore through "experienced" competition in the 155 lbs and under division. Every new challenge was the one who would put a stop to him, until they faced him. BJ was a force of nature, a balance of learned grappling skill and raw striking talent not seen to that point, knocking challenger out. His 4th fight was for gold. He was undeniable.

He wilted. He lost a decision to Jens Pulver, and then Jens promptly left the organization on that high note due to contract dispute over money. The UFC put on a tourney to see who would wear the relinquished title, in the finals Penn fought Caol Uno, a fighter he had previously starched, to a draw. The UFC shuttered the division, lacking the clear figurehead that they hoped would help lead that class.

Meanwhile, BJs family opened their own MMA promotion, and paid a fair chunk of change to lure Japanese Pride Fighting sensation Takanori Gomi to compete against their boy. Gomi fought at 160 lbs, and at that small of a weight class, the assumption was 5lbs would be a large difference. Bj annihilated Gomi.

A couple of months later, BJ staged a comeback fight, against 170 lb monster Matt Hughes. It is hard to express just how big Hughes was, both in physical size at 170, but also his dominance at that weight. Hughes was an expert weight cutter, who when young would often times weigh in around 185-190 on fight night. He crushed his opposition with relative ease. A member of Pat Militich's crew, he trained with Jeremy Horn, Rich Franklin, Jens Pulver, Pat, Sylvia.... Militich Fighting Systems was simply the dominant club for creating martial arts talent.

Matt was going to easily demonstrate that size combined with drilling and skill and a wrestler's work ethic made far too much of a difference. Then BJ beat the shit out of him, and quickly choked him out, taking the 170lb gold in the process. BJ then pulled the same move as Jens: "I'm your champ now, so pay me like you need and respect me." Didn't happen quickly enough, so he relinquished the belt and took off to Japan where he fought all the way up at heavyweight, adding a pile of fat just so he could match up with Lyoto Machida, another all time great, significantly larger than Penn. BJ wanted the toughest challenges he could get. A Martial Artist in the truest sense.

Bj eventually came back to the UFC, fought some memorable matches at 170 (including a losses to Matt Hughes and GSP), then returned to 155, where he had a "greatest of all time" run at that weight. Completely unmatched and unstoppable. Then he went up in weight again to fight probably the best GSP that's ever been for the 170 title, and lost. Then eventually he fought a guy who just had his number, the answer to the prodigy. Twice. Then he went up in weight, had a kid, lost his spark, and hasn't won any professional fight since November of 2010, where he starched Matt Hughes in the rubber match, knocking him into forced retirement the next day in under a minute. Not all bad news, Matt got a job for life with zuffa brass.

Now, BJ has had some fights over the years without a win, and 9 years of losing in MMA is pretty tough, given that 9 years is accepted to be the standard non chemically assisted career duration in fight sports.

He recently had a fight scheduled, his retirement fight, according to Dana White. Win/lose/draw, BJ was not coming back after this.

Then this happened
https://youtu.be/lmAKB5G81Lw

A week later this happened in retaliation
https://youtu.be/aENGofHqLOw

And Dana says the following
https://www.mmanytt.com/latest-news/ufc-boss-ends-bj-penns-ufc-career-thats-it-thats-a-wrap/

Bj is out, due to personal demons. Oh, BTW, when the new company bought the ufc, they fired Matt, and so Hughes also tried to kill himself by parking his truck on a railroad track, but he lived, and then repeatedly beat his wife, due to all the traumatic brain injuries he has now suffered.

Getting old sucks for all of us, but especially for athletes, and most especially for fighters.

Sort of depressing to watch superheroes fall.

Uplifting stories of triumph against all odds are great and all, but eventual reality is a cruel bitch sometimes.

BJ Penn makes me sad.

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johnnloki

Drag Racing Champion
Ah screw him. Never did like him. BJ Penn was a prick and a cocky little bastard.

Hey there now, he had some right to be cocky- ever see someone who doesn't work out but still be athletic enough to do this?



Then here's the Heavyweight warrior mode Beejay



Penn vs a very game Diego Sanchez, a pretty great 155 performance, but there were many many other 155-170 gifs to chose from



Penn's victory celebrations were epic. Chuck had the X. Tito the gravedigger... BJ licked his opponents blood from his hands.



And then..... here's me reminiscing about another man's glory days



lol. I was honestly a little depressed when I read about BJ's fall from grace last night, but I can't be serious for more than the hour that it took me to write the rambley whiny word vomit above.

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