BJ Penn gives his theory on why Khabib Nurmagomedov never went up to welterweight like he did.
Former undefeated, undisputed UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov recently gave his props to his fellow ex-titleholder B.J. Penn. “The Eagle” named “The Prodigy” as his second-best 155-pound fighter of all-time, which isn’t exactly a bad distinction.
Penn, however, is disputing that. In a recent Instagram post, the 42-year-old Hawaiian also gave his theory on why Khabib never jumped to welterweight like he did.
As Penn stated in a recent Instagram post:
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.
I fought at 170 185 and heavyweight and every fight I had to fight from my back and survive and come back and fight harder if I was to get a victory.
It’s because of my jiujitsu black belt experience and fighting in my weight and absolute division for years that always prepared me for this…Gracie jiujitsu and Brazilian jiu-jitsu alone is not enough to be UFC champion but to choose one system BJJ is still the greatest self defense system in the world especially for the little man to fight the big man.
It was just part of the game…
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 !!
Nurmagomedov stated in the past that his refusal to fight at 170 pounds is simply because it’s not his natural weight. And for his part, Usman already said that a bout with his fellow Dominance MMA fighter is not something he would ever pursue.