Roughly three years ago, and shortly before the first of back-to-back fights with Frankie Edgar, few would dare to argue that any lightweight on the planet could trump the skills of B.J. Penn.
Sporting an 11-1-1 career record in the division, with six wins coming via KO and four by submission, “The Prodigy” hadn’t suffered a loss at 155 pounds since getting nipped by Jens Pulver at UFC 35.
But it took just two straight upset losses to Edgar at UFC 112 and UFC 118 for Penn to foolishly decide to bump back up to 170 pounds.
Following a win over Matt Hughes at UFC 123 and a draw with Jon Fitch at UFC 127, the undersized Penn got mauled in succession against Nick Diaz and Rory MacDonald at UFC 137 and UFC on Fox 5, respectively.
The consecutive losses left Penn, one of two fighters in UFC history to wear belts in two divisions (Randy Couture being the other), contemplating retirement. It also forced the 34-year-old Hawaiian to do some significant soul-searching, especially in regard to his proper fighting weight.
In the time since, speculation has arisen that The Prodigy will soon make his return to the UFC’s lightweight division—claims that have yet to be substantiated.
However, if he does decide to come back at 155, here’s a look at how he’d fare against today’s top 10 UFC lightweights.