I think theres no doubt that B.J. Penn is still the best at 155 pounds. Hes most likely the best fighter in the world. I dont ignore the UFC, Aoki commented. I respect the UFC because its a very high level organization -- a high summit in the sport. The UFC lightweight king also figures into Aokis hopes for the as-yet uncertain future. Personally, the most decisive fight in the world, the culmination, the pinnacle for me is B.J. Penn, Aoki said on the eve of arguably his greatest victory. Please do not misunderstand -- I really need this to be clearly expressed in the media: Shinya Aoki will not go to the UFC. I just want to fight B.J. Penn. This is my selfish wish. I know that everyone says they want Penn, but I think Im the number one Japanese fighter to be saying this.
BJ is certainly the clear favorite. But what happens if it goes to the mat? Id rather see a pure BJJ match between the two to see who`s Jujitsu is better :yep
Aoki is a freak on the ground. He's like a magician that pulls **** out of nowhere. Penns Jitz looks more basic and less flashy compared to Aoki's but Penn's a much, much better striker and he'd probably keep the fight standing and destroy Aoki. Aoki says that he wont go to the UFC though so he may aswell STFU. You can't fight BJ Penn unless you fight for the UFC! And even if he did fight in the UFC they wouldn't toelrate that butt shuffle for very long.
That butt scoot was great! Anyway its the UFC`s fault not Aoki`s. If they wanted to make great matchups they`d work with other orgs. The problem is Dana.
The butt scoot pisses me off so much. I was getting angry just watching it. At that point I wanted Eddie Alvarez to stamp on Aoki's face, old school Pride style. But back to the point, I think BJ can more than handle himself on the ground against Aoki. I don't event think it would get to the ground, BJ has great takedown defence. And we've all seen what happens to Aoki when he stands and fights.
I think Penn has amazing dexterity and is striking is good but it doesn't put me in awe with it's brillance where as his floor work does.
Penn is still a better pure BJJ expert than Aoki, just a bit more subtle and less flashy. Not to mention he's a much more rounded fighter, which is why he doesn't need to rely on his ground game the way Aoki does, hence the reason he doesn't get quite as much credit for it. He has more ways to beat you. Aoki also got subbed by Marcelo Garcia (an actual similar sized opponent, unlike Roger) in under 2 minutes at ADCC a couple of years back. Garcia is better than Penn as well, but it shows you the difference between the best of MMA and the best of the rest (for the most part).
Thinking about it I dont really want them in MMA cause to me its almost a waste of Penns time im very confident he destroys him hes gotta bigger fish to fry IMO Florian at Lightweight and possible fights at Welterweight like 3rd fights with GSP,Hughes then theres Alves of course assuming BJ wins at the end of the month. Now id really like if these 2 Aoki and Penn had a grappling match.
