BJ already well under WW limit; Hughes to have probably ~15 lb size advantage Saturday

http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/11/14/bj-penn-to-be-at-major-size-disadvantage-vs-matt-hughes-for-ufc/

Quote :

During Saturday night's UFC 122 broadcast, Penn told Joe Rogan that he'd be several pounds under the welterweight divisional limit, saying he currently weighed 165 pounds. Welterweight fighters in non-title fights can weigh as much as 171 pounds.

Hughes usually maintains a body weight of 185 pounds, and through dieting and weight-cutting, makes it to 170 for weigh-ins. After rehydrating, by fight night, he will likely be between 175-180 pounds, giving him as much as a 15-pound edge in size over Penn.

It will be Penn's first fight in the division since UFC 94 in January 2009. Prior to that fight, Penn played coy, refusing to divulge what his weight would be in an attempt to confuse opponent Georges St. Pierre about whether he'd focus on size or speed.

This time, for a fight that will settle their nearly seven-year-old trilogy, Penn willingly gave up the information, noting that with less than a week to go, Hughes would not have enough time to change his camp and bring in lighter sparring partners.

Penn (15-7-1) is badly in need of a win after dropping two straight decisions to current lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.

Meanwhile, Hughes (45-7) is the winner of three fights in a row.

The two first fought in January 2004, with Penn winning via rear naked choke before Hughes evened the score in September 2006, earning a victory via third-round TKO.

I'm glad BJ is staying in lighter shape for this. I was worried he'd bulk up fast and be heavy and soft.

Always good to see that for BJ's sake. Nobody wants to see him come into that fight with a belly of any kind.

is he still working with Marinovich?

Please BJ come in at your best, that's all we ask of you

Yeah, give us the best BJ you possibly could

This news could be a negative for any other fighter. Hopefully he has found what he considers his peak body size instead of conditioning to a specified weight.

BJ also doesnt need to bulk up too much when it's clear he's heading back to LW

captain organic wrote:

is he still working with Marinovich?

Yes and no. He claims he's still working with them but he hasn't shown any workouts with them on his blogs. I think he is just using their exercises but not really training with them. And I don't like it. The two fights were he was training with them he was a beast, he was at his best, he didn't train with them for either of the fights vs Frankie.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

BJ also doesnt need to bulk up too much when it's clear he's heading back to LW

Yep, he's def got to go back to 155 and reclaim that belt!

MMAEYES wrote:

captain organic wrote:

is he still working with Marinovich?

Yes and no. He claims he's still working with them but he hasn't shown any workouts with them on his blogs. I think he is just using their exercises but not really training with them. And I don't like it. The two fights were he was training with them he was a beast, he was at his best, he didn't train with them for either of the fights vs Frankie.

That makes sense. I didn't think he had been either. He was clearly physically a different fighter for those two fights. You could see it in his musculature.

You know it Wolf. Just look at the explosiveness of BJ in those two fights, that is what was bringing BJ to the next level. BJ needs to get that back.

You have to wonder at some point if BJ Penn's physical prime may be past. Maybe he lost too much in training. Or maybe he's slowed down just a tad physically but significantly mentally insofar as his desire to train and put the effort in. We had a major discussion on here after the second Edgar fight about this. If he only has the desire to put in half the work, but after turning 30 and 10 years in the fight game needs to put in double to stay in shape, that ends up being a major net loss.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

You have to wonder at some point if BJ Penn's physical prime may be past. Maybe he lost too much in training. Or maybe he's slowed down just a tad physically but significantly mentally insofar as his desire to train and put the effort in. We had a major discussion on here after the second Edgar fight about this. If he only has the desire to put in half the work, but after turning 30 and 10 years in the fight game needs to put in double to stay in shape, that ends up being a major net loss.

Yep I agree. I hate to admit it but BJ just doesn't like being pushed while at the same time needs to be pushed to be the best. Maybe he could be the best before without getting pushed but those days are over if indeed they ever existed. The sad fact is BJ is gonna be one of those "what if" stories no matter what because of his work ethic. Even though he has accomplished so much

BJ weighs in at 170

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/

LA wrote:

BJ weighs in at 170

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/

"That scale is heavy, this morning I woke up at 165.8."

You do lose weight at night, not 4 lbs, but maybe that scale was more accurate.

BJ will be alot better as a WW who doesn't have to cut weight. Last time he was up around 180lbs as a WW and had to cut. He needs all the strength he can against Matt, and even cutting a few lbs might take some of the fight out of him the next day. I want BJ to be fresh and to relax the day before the fight.

LA wrote:

You do lose weight at night, not 4 lbs, but maybe that scale was more accurate.

also pre-meal compared to post meal and fluids and what not

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

BJ will be alot better as a WW who doesn't have to cut weight. Last time he was up around 180lbs as a WW and had to cut. He needs all the strength he can against Matt, and even cutting a few lbs might take some of the fight out of him the next day. I want BJ to be fresh and to relax the day before the fight.

I thought this too, he might be real fresh for this fight without any cut.

LA wrote:

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

BJ will be alot better as a WW who doesn't have to cut weight. Last time he was up around 180lbs as a WW and had to cut. He needs all the strength he can against Matt, and even cutting a few lbs might take some of the fight out of him the next day. I want BJ to be fresh and to relax the day before the fight.

I thought this too, he might be real fresh for this fight without any cut.

Yeah but I want him to weigh in at 171lbs with no cut. That could be huge for BJ IMO. 165lbs isn't gonna cut it against Hughes.

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

LA wrote:

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

BJ will be alot better as a WW who doesn't have to cut weight. Last time he was up around 180lbs as a WW and had to cut. He needs all the strength he can against Matt, and even cutting a few lbs might take some of the fight out of him the next day. I want BJ to be fresh and to relax the day before the fight.

I thought this too, he might be real fresh for this fight without any cut.

Yeah but I want him to weigh in at 171lbs with no cut. That could be huge for BJ IMO. 165lbs isn't gonna cut it against Hughes.

BJ is right, no unnecessary weight. Whatever he feels best at. Doesn't matter if that is 161lbs. The better he feels, the better his chances. He will never over power Hughes anyways.