BJ should continue to fight at 145

That crazy strategy should retire not BJ.

Kill the tip toe boxing stance.

Kill the feet on hips guard.

Kill the flat on the back defensive butterfly guard.

35 is not old. He's in amazing shape. He didn't lose because his body is breaking down. He lost the way he did because of that strange strategy. The whole world was confused.

He should stay at 145, and fight a couple of mid level guys to get his confidence back and I truly believe, with the correct/proper training camps, he can still beat some of the best at 145.

And of course I would recommend an offensive clinching guard when on his back. Not one arm bar, Oma plata, Gogo plata, or triangle attempt by BJ. Vitor went after Jones off his back, Pettis went after Benson, Anderson went after Chael, even Tito went after Machida off his back, there's no reason BJ can't attack off his back.

Just my opinion, I've never done MMA so what do I know, I could be way off. These are just my thoughts, thank you for taking the time to read this :-)

Yeah, I'd really like to hear his explanation of that strategy.

he didn't even try any subs on his back, or even working to stand. odd

edgar's hands were on the mat a bunch. even if he doesn't work rg he should still take an overhook and work with that. tie edgar up at the very least.

He lost his heart after the fight. No way he couldve gotten down to 145 if he lost it before the fight

BJ needs to get the Marinovich's back in his camp. He needs guys that don't let him quit when he wants. Guys that will push him. Watch every fight he's lost since Machida. When the momentum of the fight goes to the other guy, instead of fighting to get it back, he gives up and fights like he doesn't want to be there. I believe that's because he's surrounded himself with yes men that let him quit. But watch how insane he looked when the Marinovich's ran the camp. He looked invincible. Unless he gets rid of the yes men, he's going to keep losing like this. And after losing 4 in a row, and failing miserably at his chance of redemption, I doubt the UFC will even sign him for another fight.

that was the worst posible fight for bj. He allways suffer from cardio and nobody has more than frankie

Has BJ ever submitted anyone from his back in MMA? I'm not as big a fan of his guardwork in general. And seeing him lose fights from attacks inside the guard ...

Yeah, I would love to see BJ fighting like his old self. The only thing he did right for this fight was make weight.

Yeah, I'm pretty heartbroken. That dude is the reason I'm in this. We all know he's better than his last showing. #saveBJ #BJKNOWSRG

Yeah WTF was that. Not the killer BJ I expected.

110% spot on Eddie, dude has mad flexibility and he plays that bs guard. My 1st day white belts don't play that foot on the hips guard. He needs to box like he did at 155 and attack of his back like he did against the lubed up gsp, crackhead and crocs all day

BJ is my all time fave fighter but he has never landed a sub off his back the only time he ever attacked was against Hughes the second time so it's no surprise he wasn't effective from his back as his guard has always been used to get back to his feet. BJ's game is about getting on top, control, passing, forcing the back take and rnc. He is somewhat unorthodox but it is still meat and potatoes bjj, he has even said he only has 5 moves and just forces them down your throat until you choke.

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Originally Posted by Eddie Bravo

That crazy strategy should retire not BJ.

Kill the tip toe boxing stance.

Kill the feet on hips guard.

Kill the flat on the back defensive butterfly guard.

35 is not old. He's in amazing shape. He didn't lose because his body is breaking down. He lost the way he did because of that strange strategy. The whole world was confused.

He should stay at 145, and fight a couple of mid level guys to get his confidence back and I truly believe, with the correct/proper training camps, he can still beat some of the best at 145.

And of course I would recommend an offensive clinching guard when on his back. Not one arm bar, Oma plata, Gogo plata, or triangle attempt by BJ. Vitor went after Jones off his back, Pettis went after Benson, Anderson went after Chael, even Tito went after Machida off his back, there's no reason BJ can't attack off his back.

Just my opinion, I've never done MMA so what do I know, I could be way off. These are just my thoughts, thank you for taking the time to read this :-)

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I have to fully agree with this. I am pretty sure we said the exact same thing in different words. This was my facebook status right after the fight and a few posts after:

"Can someone please tell me how someone with dexterity, record, and ability like BJ Penn could fight like a beginner in the cage? I seriously just do not understand what he was thinking getting in the cage if he wasnt AT LEAST planning to TRY..

The omaplata was there. The armbar was there. He didnt try for 1 submission. He didn't try one sweep, not one thing apart from an open guard and poor head control...

Striking wise in my opinion he didn't throw one kick. He didn't throw one punch with a single shred of conviction. Why ask for a fight and hype it if you don't plan to fight?

If you are not ready for Frankie Edgar I UNDERSTAND. No shame in that. Get a few back under your belt. But he didnt belong in there tonight. It was sad."

"I fully respect Bj Penn retiring. He needed too. I just wish we got to see one head kick, one punch of old. One omaplata from his early days. Maybe a submission attempt even. It was absolutely terrible to see BJ Penn come back and be a target for a last fight."

"That's the crazy part. He asked for that fight!! He has been saying he wanted it. Then he lost that desire before they even started. I think BJ Penn with a real coaching team that wasn't a bunch of "yes men" would have given him a great comeback. A team like Jackson's MMA could make him a champ again. His coaching team is awful. I would be screaming at him to activate that guard. His reguard is amazing. go for it!"

He may not have finished off his back, but he also had a guard nobody but GSP would go into. It was death. And if he got on top you were DONE! RNC Finish most of the time. He omaplata'd Din tomas to death, he used his bjj to dismantle Kenny Florian, Stevenson and a lot of other top level guys. He has always been a rediculous bjj guy who later decided to try and be a striker against much bigger opponents. I agree with actually proper coaching he could STILL make a run, just not with the team he has now.

Jens Pulver said it best in a recent interview.
"I wanna see BJ on top just once. Him on top is the deadliest BJ there is"

Again, an omaplata maybe wouldn't get him his first finish from the bottom in the UFC. But we all know the sub makes for a great sweep to top position when used right.

Hearing the corners talk to the fighters before the 3rd round was sad...

While Frankie got superb advice on how to possibly get into BJ's half guard and attack from there, BJ's corner were all "Go out there and win round 3! Win Big! Doesn't matter what happens in round 4, win round 3! You can win this!" - basically, the kind of stuff I (i.e. someone with zero MMA experience, and possibly the worst person to have in your corner) would say if I was trying to coach an MMA legend.

BJ needs to fire jason perrilo. whoever advised him it was a good idea to stand so upright against a wrestler like frankie to defend takedowns? jason parillo said in interwiew with karyn bryant that he "coached him over the phone from CA" wtf was he even doing in his corner, he wasnt even there for the training camp and had no technical advice to offer. It was very sad to watch

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Originally Posted by David Rosado

BJ needs to get the Marinovich's back in his camp. He needs guys that don't let him quit when he wants. Guys that will push him.

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This.

It seems like BJ's gift for BJJ, fighting, etc is also his curse; sometimes it just seems like there is zero motivation and Frankie Edgar said something so true recently that he (Frankie) is always motivated for a fight, the idea of the fight motivates him but BJ seems to need something extra, the fight alone isn't enough for us to see the mythical 'Motivated BJ Penn'

Plus i think it helps is BJ dislikes the person.

The Fightland article by Jack Slack about the BJ /Edgar fight is pretty damn spot on. And nope, he has never submitted anybody off his back...

http://fightland.vice.com/blog/jack-...he-ring-lights

Randy was 47 in his last fight, BJ has 12 more years, he still has time to refine and I agree that he could really kill off his back.

Yeah, the age thing is really a non-issue in this case, Edgar is only 3 years younger.

We have maybe seen brief glimpses of BJ's world class ground game on occasion but I always expect more from him. Feet in hips and butterfly hooks don't constitute a guard if you are not active with them.

It sounds ridiculous but the guy is one of the best ever and has done so much but I still feel like he under-achieved.

Saying that he will always have a place in my heart for smashing Matt Hughes.

The old adage that "Hard work beats talent,when talent doesn't work hard" seems like it's always gonna haunt BJ. I wish I was anywhere near as talented as Mr Penn,hell I'd even settle for being a substantial fraction as talented as he is. But for all his heart,he doesn't seem to have the drive and desire

6 weeks with Eddie and he'd be a demon off his back.

The guy is a world champion BJJ and has crazy flexibility. His boxing is sick - commended by Freddie Roach.

BJ Penn has been my favourite fighter forever. I like his personality and I love watching him.


To summarise, I think you're completely right Eddie.

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Originally Posted by Joe Firth

6 weeks with Eddie and he'd be a demon off his back.

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You should extend the offer, Master Eddie.

You see Edgar put his hand on the mat and your thinking gosh....

Get rid of that cornerman!!!! That guy is the worst coach in the history of MMA.

BJ was one of the best fighters in world, i know it sounds like a movie thing, but after the title losing, he lost his "eye's of the tiger" i mean , trained , got a good workout got excellent technique (to me he used to be the best fighter talking about technique, he was calm, control the rhythm of the fight, great boxing, great grappling) , but he don't have the spirit , the hunger , he needs some motivation, some one who show that he can do it ! he still a champ , its hard to work with the psychological; But still BJ is excellent and i'll always be a fan !!

First off, BJ shouldn't have ever taken Frankie as his first fight back. He needed a mid level guy like Marcus Brimage or someone like that to fight.

Aside from that, everything Eddie said is spot on. Attack off the back, or at least attempt to sweep. BJ's old boxing style was fine against guys his size or smaller, he only suffered when he went up and fought guys bigger that him. Bring that back and he'd be fine at 145.

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Originally Posted by Bruno C. Ordanini

BJ was one of the best fighters in world, i know it sounds like a movie thing, but after the title losing, he lost his "eye's of the tiger" i mean , trained , got a good workout got excellent technique (to me he used to be the best fighter talking about technique, he was calm, control the rhythm of the fight, great boxing, great grappling) , but he don't have the spirit , the hunger , he needs some motivation, some one who show that he can do it ! he still a champ , its hard to work with the psychological; But still BJ is excellent and i'll always be a fan !!

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The "Eye of the tiger" thing is absolutely 100% real. Stallone watched a lot of boxing when he wrote those movies and more specifically really got into the story behind the scenes. Even the "Rocky" story itself was based on a real fighter who went the distance with Muhammad Ali and shocked everyone. Almost all of the Rocky movies represent some real facet of the fighting experience.

GSP knows he doesn't have it right now which is why he is not coming back. Anderson Silva doesn't think he has it in him to finish his contract. I have seen other fighters lose it and when they have it you can tell. A loss can either give it back to you like GSP with Matt Serra, or it can crush you like Sanchez after BJ Penn. Sanchez is still a shadow of who he was before that fight and that was forever ago. Randy Couture lost it because of the timing of his divorce but then got it back and shocked the world with another title.

BJ could get it back. But the question is always going to be does he WANT it back?

Another point I intended to mention but forgot is that fighters who want to come back often have to re-invent themselves. Again like in Rocky when the "Eye of the tiger" issue came up he had to learn a completely new style. So the suggestion that he needs to change his game plan is also spot on. Randy had to change to stay in the game too.