A legendary figure in the world of mixed martial arts, BJ Penn has seen and done it all.
One of the pioneer’s of the lightweight division, Penn made the jump to welterweight in 2004 when he took on then pound-for-pound great Matt Hughes, who had already defended the 170-pound title five times.
Penn deftly defeated Hughes with a first round rear-naked choke, clinching his first championship belt in the process. Since then, he has tangled with the likes of Georges St-Pierre on two separate occasions and, most recently, wrapped up a “Fight of the Night” performance against current top contender Nick Diaz, who bested the Hawaiian by decision.
Since then, “The Prodigy” has been on the sidelines licking his wounds and contemplating retirement, though he has been candid enough to apply his analysis on the impromptu blockbuster match pitting the Canadian against the brash Stockton fighter, which is said to take place this February.
The two welterweight standouts are currently rumored for UFC 143, which takes place February 4 on Super Bowl weekend.
“I think it’s going to be very, very tough for Nick Diaz to defend Georges St-Pierre’s takedowns and if Georges St-Pierre wants to turn this into a takedown type fight, I think he’s definitely going to have an advantage,” said Penn, who spoke with ‘The Voice’ Michael Schiavello this weekend for Inside MMA.
Though St-Pierre began his professional career as a mixed martial artist thanks to the strength of his Kyokushin Karate background, he has since become one of the more successful wrestlers in the sport, having taken down some of the best, including high caliber NCAA opposition in Matt Hughes, Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck.
“George St-Pierre’s wrestling is his strongest thing and Nick Diaz’ wrestling is probably his weakest thing, jiu-jitsu and boxing being Diaz’ best,” continued Penn.
“Anything can happen, though, you never know what’s going to happen. People get broken mentally in fights, people break. If Nick Diaz can make GSP break somehow, the fight is his, but other than that, I think it’s going to be a long night.”
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