Joe Rogan believes BJ Penn faces the toughest test of his lightweight career when he takes on the hungry Kenny Florian at UFC 101 on Saturday.
Titleholder Penn is returning to his more natural weight of 155lbs, having been dominated by Georges St Pierre at UFC 94 when he made the jump up to challenge for [...]
Joe Rogan believes BJ Penn faces the toughest test of his lightweight career when he takes on the hungry Kenny Florian at UFC 101 on Saturday.
Titleholder Penn is returning to his more natural weight of 155lbs, having been dominated by Georges St Pierre at UFC 94 when he made the jump up to challenge for the welterweight crown.
The lightweight division is where Penn has done his best work inside the Octagon, having enjoyed one-sided victories over Jens Pulver, Joe Stevenson and Sean Sherk in the last two years.
“For BJ Penn this is very important,” Rogan said. “He is coming off the devastating loss to Georges St Pierre where he was really owned in that fight.
“Georges controlled almost every aspect of the fight. He took him down at will, passed his guard, beat him up on the ground: it was really pretty much a one-sided affair.
“BJ belongs at 155lbs, that is the optimum weight class for him. That is where he is the lightweight king, that is where he has had his best fights.
“What is important to him now is to come back to lightweight and re-establish himself as the king of this division. To do that he is going to have to get past a very hungry, very talented and very determined Kenny Florian.”
Florian has chalked up six-straight victories since April 2007, when he was beaten by Sherk as they fought for the then-vacant lightweight title.
While other lightweight contenders have fallen by the wayside, Florian has remained patient, finally earning his title chance after a first-round submission victory over Stevenson at UFC 91, a victory that came quick off the back of another impressive win over the much-vaunted Roger Huerta just three months earlier.
“For Kenny Florian this is a tremendous opportunity,” says Rogan. “First of all, Kenny has improved dramatically from the first time we saw him in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
“If you watch the early fights that Kenny had, right when he came out of the Ultimate Fighter, he was basically a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu guy with limited striking.
“He had a couple of elbows and kicks but nowhere near the technical ability that he has standing up now.
“All the work he has done with Mark DellaGrotte in Boston has really made a tremendous difference in his fighting style.
“The Joe Stevenson fight, Kenny just destroyed him; just attacked him, smashed him, got him to the ground and strangled him – and did it all very quickly.
“BJ Penn had a much harder time with Joe Stevenson than Kenny Florian did. Does that mean that Kenny Florian is going to be able to do that to BJ Penn? No, but it does mean that Kenny is a legitimate, dangerous contender for the lightweight title. In my opinion, the most dangerous guy to go against BJ.
“It is a real tough fight for BJ and a real tough fight for Kenny Florian. I think this is probably going to be BJ’s toughest test in defending his lightweight crown, and certainly the toughest fight of Kenny Florian’s career.”
So what do you Penn fans think ? No doubt Florian is going to be a dangerous opponent but I reckon this will be a terrific bout. So, whom are you placing your money on ?
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