BJ turned down fight with Gil, will return at 170

"I tried to do [Melendez vs. Penn], but it was at the time when BJ was like, 'Yeah, I'm not fighting for a while,'" UFC President White told MMAjunkie.com.

"He wants to come back," White said of Penn.

"I'm done with telling him where to go as far as weight goes. The guy's handled himself in both weight divisions, and if he wants to come back at 170 – plus you get to an age where cutting down to 155 just doesn't make sense anymore."

"(Penn will return) whenever he's ready. That's up to him. Whenever he's ready. I don't ever push guys. Guys know when they're ready. Guys know when they want to come back.

"This isn't a sport where you can just say, 'I know your head isn't in it right now, but get back over here and fight.' This isn't that kind of sport. Guys let me know when they're ready to fight."

"Gilbert Melendez is a Strikeforce fighter. He's been great in dealing with it. He wants to come over here, and he wants to challenge himself against the best, and I know a lot of other people want to see it, too, but he's in that Strikeforce deal.

"The thing that sucks for Gilbert and that's disappointing is that I was 100 percent fired up and gung ho to go over there and work on Strikeforce. The whole thing fell apart. I know he's bummed out about, and other people are, too, but it is what it is. It just didn't work out."

http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/news/400666/Dana-White-BJ-Penn-declined-Melendez-return-likely-at-170/

BJ is just looking out. He didnt want to ruin Gil before he came to the UFC.

Gil would trash BJ at this point dude.

Who do we want to see BJ face at WW ?

I say give him Hardy, his trash talking will bring out the motivated BJ Penn.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Gil would trash BJ at this point dude.

negworthy

get the fuck outta here with that "at this point" shit. BJ just needs to flip the switch and go amps to 11 on these motherfuckers.

KingsOwn19 wrote:

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Gil would trash BJ at this point dude.

negworthy

get the fuck outta here with that "at this point" shit. BJ just needs to flip the switch and go amps to 11 on these motherfuckers.

You are meaning to say that BJ is immune to the aging all other fighters who have been competing at that level for 10+ years are subject to? He is still athletically and technically superior as he always was? His losses are all mental?


BJ Penn at his best possible in 2012 could still lose fights to numerous fighters in his weight class across three MMA promotions. The depth and technique in this division have caught up with him. I am not saying Penn still couldn't contend for and win the UFC title, but I am saying his time as supremely dominant as Jones, GSP and Anderson Silva is over. He doesn't have either the technique or physical advantages to be in that category. He has also lost the mental edge over his opponents and his aura of invincibility.

Melendez has too much speed and technique. His footwork, speed and power give him a stand up advantage and his counter wrestling and BJJ would more than likely nullify BJ's ground game. Thompson and Noons if they fought to their former potentials could also give him tough fights but he'd submit either. Healy looks real good lately but at this point I am not ready to say Pat fucking Healy could legitimately contend with Penn, though in reality he might be able to simply because he is huge and fights ugly fights that at WW at least are the type Penn hates.

Alvarez and Chandler could beat him possibly. Hawn is the only other fighter in Bellator worthy of the conversation but Penn would probably finish him. Any other Bellator LW fighter Penn would destroy without a real training camp.

In the UFC, Penn would lose to : Cerrone, Bendo, Pettis and Edgar and possibly lose to Dunham, Diaz and Maynard.

The only LW's ranked around the top ten I would take him as a clear favorite over are Aoki, Miller and Guida. Maynard and Alvarez have big enough weaknesses that those fights would be hard to take decisively for either fighter.

Cerrone?

...yeah

I don't care if he lost to Nate in his 5th fight of the year to the Diaz mind-fuck. Penn can't run that game. Cowboy's got that shit.

Cerrone is still the WEC guy that i don't buy as elite. I've even come around on Anthony Pettis who i think is or will be an elite now, but i still don't buy Cerrone. I remember how everybody wrote off Nate against this guy..except moi. He does not have the goods to compete with the best guys and i know that because he never beat anybody on level. BJ beats him...even if he's unmotivated and out of shape.

Penn out of shape and unmotivated could lose to the others you mentioned except for Gray Maynard. Penn would easily dispatch of Maynard. A headhunter who depends on takedowns and stagant top contol never suceeded vs. BJ at LW. Not even an unmotivated out of shape BJ.

Maynard is a pretty crisp boxer. Unmotivated BJ loses a decision maybe. I used to think Maynard was gonna be the number 1 LW, but I need to see more out of him after the Edgar fights where he choked after the first round.


Cowboy is the same WEC fighter in that he is exciting and highly skilled. All the WEC guys were legit coming in and you just want to see that because you don't want to be wrong about that. Face it. Eat the crow.

I never wrote Nate off in that fight either.

KingsOwn19 wrote:

Cerrone is still the WEC guy that i don't buy as elite. I've even come around on Anthony Pettis who i think is or will be an elite now, but i still don't buy Cerrone. I remember how everybody wrote off Nate against this guy..except moi. He does not have the goods to compete with the best guys and i know that because he never beat anybody on level. BJ beats him...even if he's unmotivated and out of shape.

Penn out of shape and unmotivated could lose to the others you mentioned except for Gray Maynard. Penn would easily dispatch of Maynard. A headhunter who depends on takedowns and stagant top contol never suceeded vs. BJ at LW. Not even an unmotivated out of shape BJ.

the diaz/cerrone fight won me a sig bet.

neg me if you want (and you will) but BJ's time has passed, he's a relic. he's probably only coming back because he misses having his arse kissed by his entourage and he's a non factor at lightweight or welterweight. i'm sure dana can put him in some entertaining fights and extract some more revenue from his name but penn is getting beaten up again if he goes in with a contender at LW or WW.

Penn vs Koscheck if Koscheck loses this.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Maynard is a pretty crisp boxer. Unmotivated BJ loses a decision maybe. I used to think Maynard was gonna be the number 1 LW, but I need to see more out of him after the Edgar fights where he choked after the first round.


Cowboy is the same WEC fighter in that he is exciting and highly skilled. All the WEC guys were legit coming in and you just want to see that because you don't want to be wrong about that. Face it. Eat the crow.

I never wrote Nate off in that fight either.

i ate the crow and said i was wrong about the WEC guys. That was before Bendo won the belt and i even came around on Showtime before the Schmo Lauzon KO. I was wrong as in i expected all of them including Henderson and Pettis to be average middle of the pack guys and atleast Henderson proved me wrong, and i expect more to come from Pettis. Cerrone..i still think is average. The Roy Nelson of LW..wins a lot of bouts and is exciting and talented enough to keep people talking..but he's not elite and it shows when you see all the semi big fights he had been in have resulted in L's.

The Roy Nelson of LW?

Wolfgangsta wrote:

The Roy Nelson of LW?

status wise...not physically or sylistically.

just watch. Cerrone train won't toot as loud as it was heading into the Diaz fight ever again..but who knows..these days all you need is a win and people are all "another contender in the stacked LW division"

I pick gil to beat bj today.