UFC 127 Fight Card: Will B.J. Penn Be the Next Legend To Officially Fall?

There are only two fighters to have held UFC titles in two separate weight classes.

The first to reach the milestone was Randy Couture when he bested Tito Ortiz at UFC 44 for the light heavyweight title after coming down from heavyweight, where he had been a two-time champion.

The only man to match the accomplishment of Couture is one half of the main event this Saturday at UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia: B.J. Penn.

Penn's first championship came in his welterweight debut when he upset Matt Hughes at UFC 46—just four months after Couture's victory over Ortiz.

Penn never defended the title and left the UFC over contract disputes. But, returned two years later and eventually moved back to lightweight to win his second title.

After two years of convincing the rest of the world that he was bar none the best lightweight of all time, Penn dropped consecutive upset losses to current champ Frankie Edgar last year and his future immediately came into question.

Was this simply a bad stylistic matchup for Penn? Or was this another legend of the yester-era reaching the end of his prime?

After all, the days appear to be numbered for many of Penn's compatriots from the previous decade, if not completely gone.

Former UFC light heavyweight champ Chuck Liddell has officially thrown his last haymaker in the octagon after going 1-5 following his title reign.

The sport seems to have finally caught up to the great Fedor Emelianenko after a decade of dominance, losing his last two outings.

One of Penn's biggest rivals in Matt Hughes looks to be one loss away from certain retirement after losing to Penn in the conclusion of their trilogy.

So, maybe it is time for Penn to be acknowledging that the end of the road may not be too far off. If he is to lose to Jon Fitch this Saturday, which the odds are predicting him to do, Penn will be a discouraging 1-3 in his last four bouts.

Not exactly legendary numbers. Or are they?

Penn and Couture have long had more in common than being the only members of the two-division UFC champion club—it should be noted that Dan Henderson had two titles simultaneously in Pride, so they probably let him hang out, as well.

Like Couture, Penn has always been considered one of the best fighters in the game, despite never putting together a noteworthy win-streak.

Couture is currently on a three-fight win-streak for the first time since 2001. And two of those were more novelty opponents that nobody fathomed having a legitimate chance of winning.

In a span of ten years, this is the first time that Couture has put together more than two wins in a row! If you were simply looking at his record, you would have no way to know if this guy ever had a prime.

And, much of the same can be said for Penn.

From 2005 to 2006, Couture compiled a record of 1-2, with both losses coming in devastating fashion at the hands of Chuck Liddell.

In those same years, Penn compiled a record of 1-3, capping it off with a third round TKO loss to Matt Hughes.

Yet, immediately after those dry spells, both would go on to claim and defend UFC gold. Couture the heavyweight title for a third time, and Penn the lightweight title that had eluded him early in his career.

And, though Penn would defend that title a record three times, those wins were interrupted by another shot at the welterweight title against Georges St. Pierre, in which Penn took the most punishment of any fight in his career.

So, is the point that Penn and Couture have always been inconsistent and overrated? Not at all. At least, I don't see that as the case.

The point is that both Penn and Couture have always looked for the hardest challenges throughout their career. And anytime their greatness was doubted, they looked for the stiffest immediate test they could find.

When Couture lost to Liddell for the second time and was forced to give up on regaining his light heavyweight title, he moved to heavyweight and won the championship there. And after defending his title against the top contender in Gabriel Gonzaga, he fought tooth and nail to get a shot at the best heavyweight in the world, Fedor Emelianenko.

When the Emelianenko fight could not be made, he settled on Brock Lesnar, who outweighed Couture by at least 60 pounds.

Now that Penn has lost his lightweight title, he has moved up to welterweight and targeted the last guy anyone else in that division wants to fight in Jon Fitch. And, from what I hear, there are many top contenders that refuse to face Fitch.

Losses happen when you continually test your limits.

Penn could have sat on his lightweight title in 2009 and continued to make defenses against less challenging contenders, but he needed to move up to welterweight and challenge arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world in St. Pierre.

He lost that fight. Should he be criticized for it?

No. He should be commended.

And whether he wins or loses this Saturday against the second best welterweight in the world in Fitch, he should be commended for taking on a challenge that few give him a chance to win.

Let us not forget, a few losses did not signal the end for Penn at any other time in his career. Nor did it for Couture, who is now scheduled to take on a very daunting task in Lyoto Machida in April.

The legacy of these fighters may not be their consistency at winning. Their legacy is their consistency at being willing.

If Penn does lose this Saturday, expect him to ask for a rematch.

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