In a recent interview with the Three Amigos Podcast, Greg Jackson weighed in on B.J. Penn’s comeback and work ethic since coming out of retirement.
Within a month’s time, B.J. Penn has announced his return to Octagon action, begun training at Jackson-Wink MMA, and most recently became the target of some very serious allegations from the former editor of his website that range from sexual assault to drug addiction. While no concrete proof has been presented to date, there has been no shortage of character analysis from fans and media pundits, alike.
Just a few days before the poop hit the proverbial fan, the Three Amigos Podcast conducted an interview with his new coach, Greg Jackson, who discussed the transplanted Hawaiian’s progress and work ethic. Here’s what he had to say (questions included):
TAP: What are some of the things you’ve seen out of BJ Penn since he joined your camp that suggests to you he can still compete at a high-level? Do you feel that featherweight is the ideal division for him to return at?
“I think 145 is where he needs to be. We have a very high level strength & conditioning [staff] that monitor all kinds of craziness that’s way over my little head. Looking at his numbers, athletically, he certainly can compete. What we need to do with BJ is fundamentally change a lot of the things that he’s been comfortable doing for awhile, and then just getting him loving it again, just getting him motivated.
When Alistair Overeem came to our camp, I must’ve gotten 30 calls that said ‘Overeem will break up your team, he’s a bad guy, he’s all this stuff.’ We found that he’s the biggest team player we’ve got. He loves everybody, they go play Ultimate Frisbee together, he’s always playing that FIFA soccer video game and talking mess to the guys. He’s a super-team player, he’s been the exact opposite of what everybody told me. People told me this was BJ! They’ve said ‘He’s lazy, you can’t get him to work out,’ I can’t keep BJ out of the gym! I’ll give him the schedule and he’ll show up early and I’m like ‘Okay, but we’re not working for a little while.’ He’s like, ‘I can do another round!’
He’s so hungry right now and he’s so excited about the martial arts that I believe in his comeback 100% or I wouldn’t have said yes to it. I think that he can do it, but it’s just so fun to see him so excited again and learning and happy and not having a lot of worries outside of just training himself. It’s really exciting to see, so I’m really a happy guy that I get to be a part of that process, with him re-finding the martial arts, finding himself, and making these cool changes. Hopefully we’ll do extremely well.”
TAP: What’s your Number 1 focal point with guys like BJ that have had quite a bit of time off?
“We gotta get him comfortable, you know what I mean? The first battle is always a morale battle. You gotta get him comfortable and in a place where he wants to be there or where he wants to learn and grow. Just getting him comfortable, getting him understanding the situation, and laying out the plans so he can see what we’re going to do, because fighting — and me and BJ talk about this all the time — has nothing to do with fighting.
That’s the exciting part that you’re nervous about. Fighting has to do with in-between your training, you have to go home and basically stare at a wall. Can you do that? Can you go home and wait for your next training thing, and maybe play a video game, but you’re not home and you’re in this uncomfortable environment? That’s really what you sign up for, especially somebody at BJ’s level, the ability to do that, because he doesn’t have to do it. He doesn’t need the money — he’s already a two-time champion in different weight classes — he’s a legend, he doesn’t have to do anything.
What makes him dangerous right now is that he wants to do it. There’s a big difference between having to do something and wanting to do something. Just keeping that focus between the training, getting back in the swing of things and being sore and being tired — we’re at a very high altitude here in Albuquerque. Everybody’s sparring you and there’s all these young, amazing fighters on the way up. It’s a tough process, and I really admire BJ for sucking it up and like he always used to say, ‘Just scrappin’.’ He’s just getting in there and doing it.”
You can check out more from this great interview here or via the embedded player below. Greg’s interview starts at the 1:31:15 mark of the audio. Remember, if you’re looking for us on SoundCloud or iTunes, we’re under the MMA Nation name. Follow our Twitter accounts: Stephie Haynes, Three Amigos Podcast, Iain Kidd and Mookie Alexander or our Facebook fan page, Three Amigos Podcast. or via the embedded player below.