BJ Penn is better than GSP p4p

Well on one hand BJ hasn't lost at LW since Pulver, who was a legitimate world class fighter at the time; basically once he became the current BJ he has beat all comers, he absolutely destroyed Gomi.

On the other hand GSP has had a more talented crop of contenders to beat; Hughes, Fitch, and Alves are slightly better fighters than Florian and Stevenson; Sherk is certainly as good as GSP's challengers though.

So BJ has the fact that he has no bad losses at LW, he has no Matt Serra, no losses period once he became the #1 in the world, also tied in with that is that he has been #1 for far longer. GSP has the fact that the WW division is almost entirely centered in the UFC, so he has beaten a more talented group of fighters as a whole, although BJ did beat Gomi in Hawaii, which is really big given what Gomi did later.

They seem to have two entirely different ways of doing it, BJ the artist and GSP the machine, but they both look of a completly different class than the rest of their division; hard to call one more impressive than the other in terms of the eyeball test.

There's a lot of arguments either way; I think the main difference is GSP's loss and the relative saturation of WW talent in the UFC compared to the more spread out LW talent; I think it was always plainly obvious that BJ was the best LW in the world, but there's some talent out there.

They are certainly very close; both the absolute certain choice for the best in their weight class.

 

Like I said, Hughes is stronger than Penn and he couldn’t go anything with Penn on the ground. Perhaps GSP is stronger than Hughes, but is he THAT MUCH stronger that he can go right through Penn’s guard based only on that strength? Of course not. GSP is more SKILLED and that’s what he used to pass Penn’s guard. You can’t just power out of someone’s guard and if you watch the fight you can see GSP using the same technique over and over.

Okay, so you’re not going to give GSP any credit. Thanks for just coming out and saying it.

Yeah, after TWENTY MINUTES. Don’t make it sound like he waltzed right up and subbed him.

…and when did Penn finish off Fitch and Alves?

Excuses. LOL @ “Penn was lethargic”.

 

this thread should not be at the top.

its so stupid I am not going to leave an opinion.

 

I'm not sure who is greater between Penn and GSP. GSP has been KTFO at his prime weight by a guy like Serra - that has never happened to Penn at his best weight. People automatically say GSP is better because he beat Penn convincingly second time out, but GSP is the bigger man. I think someone like Vitor Belfort would be too big, too strong, too explosive for GSP to handle (if GSP would ever actually move up and have a go at 185), but that doesn't mean Belfort is greater p4p. Penn went up and challenged the consensus no.1 at 170 (GSP), and was pulled out. Can you imagine what would happen if GSP did likewise and went up to challenge the consensus no.1 at 185? I think in the US you call it homicide.

 

Uh, this fight could easily happen and probably will once GSP runs out of contenders to beat at 170. I kind of wish he'd fight some contenders at 185 first before being handed a shot at Silva, but that's not usually how it works. In that fight I'd pick Silva based on how well he uses his range, but speed is one of Silva's biggest advantages over other 185 lbers and he wouldn't have such an advantage over GSP.

 

I think GSP is an amazing fighter, and I have a tiny shred of doubt about Silva being unbeatable at 185 (does Silva have a great chin?), but the size difference makes this a non-starter. Silva didn't look much smaller than a huge light-heavyweight like Forrest, whereas GSP was clearly smaller than the biggest welterweight, Alves. This fight would be very one-sided, Silva horrible KO.

Belfort has a much better chance of beating Silva because Belfort has the speed to catch Silva cleanly with a punch, and the power to maybe make it count. In saying that though, it's a small chance. I expect Silva to remain undefeated as long as he stays in the ufc, he is incredible.

 

have you seen this man hurt?, the few times he gets hit flush he'll smile and then give you a couple of kicks to the head. Just ask Franklin

 

I think him, Machida and Fedor are top 3 least hit fighters. Fedor usually too busy dishing out to call him defensive though. I think it's safe to say that Silva can easily dominate GSP standing up.

 

I'm not saying he has a weak chin at all, I'm just saying I haven't seen him taking bombs the way I have seen guys like Henderson take them. I am going to make a thread on this actually, as I'd like to know what people think about Anderson's chin. I am a boxing obsessive, but I'm not an MMA expert at all (far from it), so I like to read the opinions of more knowledgable mma fans. :good