MMA Coverage » B.J. Penn http://mmacoverage.com Complete Mixed Martial Arts News Coverage Fri, 10 Sep 2010 06:17:54 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 MMA Top 10 Lightweights: Edgar Is the Best, Maynard on His Heels http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/31/mma-top-10-lightweights-edgar-is-the-best-maynard-on-his-heels/ http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/31/mma-top-10-lightweights-edgar-is-the-best-maynard-on-his-heels/#comments Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:45:47 +0000 Michael David Smith http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/31/mma-top-10-lightweights-edgar-is-the-best-maynard-on-his-heels/ Filed under: , , , ,

No one can doubt Frankie Edgar anymore.

After Edgar beat B.J. Penn by unanimous decision in April, a lot of people believed that the fight was a fluke, that the judges erred, and that Penn was still the best lightweight in mixed martial arts. But now that Edgar has defeated Penn once again at UFC 118, there's no room for debate: Edgar is the undisputed champion.

Except that Edgar has one loss on his record, and that one loss is to Gray Maynard, who has been anointed the next challenger to Edgar's title. Maynard could make a case that he deserves to be considered the top fighter in the division, but unless he makes that case again in the cage, I'm sticking with Edgar at No. 1. The rest of the rankings are below.]]> http://mmacoverage.com/mma-top-10-lightweights-edgar-is-the-best-maynard-on-his-heels.html/feed/ 0 B.J. Penn Can Make a Comeback, but Does He Want To? http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/31/b-j-penn-can-make-a-comeback-but-does-he-want-to/ http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/31/b-j-penn-can-make-a-comeback-but-does-he-want-to/#comments Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:45:43 +0000 Ben Fowlkes http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/31/b-j-penn-can-make-a-comeback-but-does-he-want-to/ Filed under:

I don't know what's more troubling about B.J. Penn's most recent loss -- the fact that he posted a video to his website that sounded oddly like a precursor to a farewell the day after his defeat at UFC 118, or the fact that he hasn't been able to get too fired up about either of his losses to Frankie Edgar.

If it were anybody else, a little post-fight melancholy would be perfectly understandable. You lose your belt via narrow decision, then lose the immediate rematch by getting shut out five rounds to none, you're bound to be a little bummed.

But this is B.J. Penn we're talking about. He's been known to dabble in a conspiracy theory or two after a defeat, or turn his ire on the next unfortunate soul to get in the cage with him. He's the guy who Dana White once said would show up to your house every morning looking to fight if you somehow owned a win over him.

Now he gets beaten up and pushed around by a smaller, quicker fighter, and he can't even work up enough fire in the belly to demand a completely unreasonable third fight. What gives?]]> http://mmacoverage.com/b-j-penn-can-make-a-comeback-but-does-he-want-to.html/feed/ 0 The MMA Wrap-Up: Post-UFC 118 Edition http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/30/the-mma-wrap-up-post-ufc-118-edition/ http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/30/the-mma-wrap-up-post-ufc-118-edition/#comments Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:16:27 +0000 Ben Fowlkes http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/30/the-mma-wrap-up-post-ufc-118-edition/ Filed under:

After an interesting night of fights in Boston, the MMA Wrap-Up returns to break down UFC 118 and ask, in its own whimsical style, will MMA fans finally recognize Frankie Edgar as the world's best lightweight after his domination of B.J. Penn?

You'd think that would be an easy question, since Edgar just won his second straight fight over the top-ranked 155-pounder. But if we've learned anything from message boards and comment sections, it's that nothing is ever that simple when dealing when Penn and his passionate fans.

Join me for that conversation, as well as a few obligatory shots at James Toney, in this week's post-UFC 118 MMA Wrap-Up.]]> http://mmacoverage.com/the-mma-wrap-up-post-ufc-118-edition.html/feed/ 0 Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC 118 http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/30/falling-action-best-and-worst-of-ufc-118/ http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/30/falling-action-best-and-worst-of-ufc-118/#comments Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:16:26 +0000 Ben Fowlkes http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/30/falling-action-best-and-worst-of-ufc-118/ Filed under:

The UFC's grand James Toney experiment is over, according to Dana White. Whether it was a success or not depends on the hypothesis you started with, but unless you happen to be Toney or one of his hype men, chances are you saw this coming.

But while this fight was undoubtedly a sideshow attraction from the very beginning, it did have some benefits. For one, it got some attention from the types of fans and media who might not otherwise have cared about this card. It seems a little doubtful that they all became instant converts upon seeing Gray Maynard lay on top of Kenny Florian, but who knows.

The important thing is that the opportunity to have a famous boxer compete on MMA's biggest stage finally presented itself, then refused to stop presenting itself, then mumbled some absurd, semi-coherent threats at everyone within earshot, and then the UFC finally made it happen. Now that we've done it, let's not do it again until we find someone willing to put in the work and take it seriously.

Now on to the big winners, losers, and everything in between from UFC 118.]]> http://mmacoverage.com/falling-action-best-and-worst-of-ufc-118.html/feed/ 0 UFC 118: Frankie Edgar Beats B.J. Penn http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/29/ufc-118-frankie-edgar-beats-b-j-penn/ http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/29/ufc-118-frankie-edgar-beats-b-j-penn/#comments Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:03:08 +0000 Michael David Smith http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/29/ufc-118-frankie-edgar-beats-b-j-penn/ Filed under: ,

When Frankie Edgar beat B.J. Penn in April to win the UFC lightweight title, many fans thought it was a fluke. But Edgar did it again on Saturday at UFC 118, winning another unanimous decision and showing without a doubt that he's the best lightweight in mixed martial arts.

This time around it wasn't even close, with Edgar winning all five rounds on all three judges' cards.

"I want to thank B.J.," Edgar said afterward. "He brought the best out of me.".

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