Contrary to what our short-term memory wants us to believe, BJ Penn will still go down as the most dominant UFC lightweight champion ever.
We shouldn’t remember him as the guy who fled his native division after dropping back-to-back losses to Frankie Edgar. We shouldn’t remember him as the guy who was woefully outboxed by a bigger and stronger Nick Diaz.
We shouldn’t remember him as the guy who was dramatically undersized against a younger, faster Rory MacDonald. We shouldn’t remember him as the guy who came out of retirement after a two-year absence to face Edgar at 145 pounds.
We might have to try hard, but hopefully we won’t remember that questionably stiff and overly upright striking stance he had in his last outing.
We have plenty of reasons to still consider him one of the best lightweights to ever compete inside of the Octagon. Continue reading to see the top five.