BJ Penn and 12 Fights We'd Love to See Him in

BJ Penn is one the best mixed martial artists of all-time.

He's been competing against some of the best fighters in the world for years and has captured UFC championships in two separate weight classes.

Indeed, Penn has accomplished pretty much all that a fighter can hope to accomplish and yet, out of a love for the sport, he still competes.

However, BJ has been going through a rough patch in his career, going 1-2-1 in his past four fights. He has mentioned on more than one occasion the possibility of him retiring soon.

I'm sure we can all agree that we'd like to see Penn competing in the UFC for many years to come, but the reality is that might not happen.

Here's some fights it would be good to see BJ take before retiring...

Jon Fitch

Alright, maybe we don't all want to see this one, but there are a lot of us out there interested in a Jon Fitch rematch.

The first fight was actually quite entertaining, if you're into the whole grappling thing and it was certainly very competitive.

Fitch and Penn are too of the best welterweights in the world right now, but we don't know who is better because their first fight ended inconclusively.

Put them in the cage again and let's get a definitive answer to who the better fighter is.

Josh Koscheck

BJ Penn has said on multiple occasions that he is interested in a third match with current welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.

The last time the two fighters met, GSP trounced Penn, as Penn had no answer for St-Pierre's superior grappling.

If Penn wants another shot at the champ, he has to prove that the result will be different this time.

What better way to prove that than by fighting Josh Koscheck, who probably has the second best wrestling in the division.

When Koscheck fought GSP at UFC 124, he lost decisively, but the wrestling portions of the fight were pretty even.

If BJ can stop Josh's takedowns, he has a good chance of stopping George's.

Jim Miller

Why do I want to see Jim Miller fight BJ Penn?

The same reason I want to see Jim Miller fight anyone; it means I'll get to see Miller fight.

Jim is one of the fastest rising stars in the lightweight division and he's never in a boring fight.

Honestly, I don't think it's going to be long before we see Penn go back to the lightweight division and Miller makes sense for his first fight back in that weight class.

He's a tough opponent for BJ, but not too tough. A good starter fight to get him back in his 155 lbs. grove.

The fight is also a great opportunity for Miller, who has beat a lot of good fighters at lightweight, but hasn't beaten an elite opponent yet.

Clay Guida

Clay Guida provides Penn with essentially the same thing that Jim Miller would: A good first fight back at welterweight.

Stylistically, Clay presents many of the same problems that Frankie Edgar gave Penn. Guida sets a furious pace, has good head movement and a solid wrestling base.

A fight with Guida would really help to gauge how much of a force BJ can still be at lightweight.

It also presents Clay with an opportunity to catapult himself to the front of the line for a title shot.

Gilbert Melendez

Gilbert Melendez is the Strikeforce lightweight champion and considered by many to be one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world today.

My problem with that is, Melendez hasn't really faced enough of the top lightweights in the world to be considered as good as people think he is.

The guy's a great fighter, but I want to see him take out some better fights before I consider him a top ten pound for pound mixed martial artist.

Where is it that a fighter can find a lot of the best fighters in their weight class?

The UFC, naturally, and with Zuffa having purchased Strikeforce, it might not be long before we could see Melendez crossover to the UFC.

Penn would be an excellent first fight for Gilbert and would prove, once and for all, if Melendez deserves to be talked about as a top tier fighter.

Chris Lytle

This fight doesn't make too much sense in terms of rankings.

Penn is close to the top of the welterweight division and Chris Lytle is coming off a loss to relatively unknown fighter Brian Ebersole.

However, this is an interesting match because both fighters are notoriously difficult to finish.

Neither man has ever been submitted and they've each been technically knocked out twice. Lytle has lost by TKO's due to doctor stoppage and a cut. Penn has lost by corner stoppage and was TKO'd by Matt Hughes, but he wasn't getting hurt, he just couldn't improve his position.

This would be an awesome fight and I suspect that the two fighters would stand and bang, attempting to hand each other their first legitimate knockout loss.

Gray Maynard

I have always wished that Frankie Edgar's first title shot would have gone to Gray Maynard instead.

It's not I don't like Frankie, I just think that Maynard vs Penn is a much more interesting match up.

Edgar's style of boxing is very in-and-out, which is effective, but not the most entertaining thing in the world. I think if BJ and Gray fought they would do more standing and trading.

The grappling aspect of the fight would also be very interesting.

There's a good chance Maynard would want to take the fight to the ground. Usually, when he gets a fight to the ground, it's a little bit boring for the casual fans; Maynard doesn't have the most active ground game.

However, Penn has a very active and crafty guard. We wouldn't see BJ just laying under Gray, he would constantly be working for submissions and might catch one, given that Maynard has never faced anyone with jiu-jitsu as good as Penn's.

Nick Diaz

Penn and Nick Diaz are actually pretty similar fighters.

They both are known for their boxing and jiu-jitsu and they both have struggled against high level grapplers.

BJ isn't a guy who likes being disrespected and Nick tends to taunt his opponents when he fights.

This fight has all the elements it needs to be one of the best ever, but the main reason I would like to see it happen is to see how Penn would react to Diaz' taunts.

Eddie Alvarez

Eddie Alvarez is Bellator's lightweight champion and has the same problem as Gilbert Melendez.

Alvarez seems like he could be one of the greatest lightweights on the planet, but he needs to face some tougher competition before we can be sure.

Eddie took a step in the right direction by defeating former UFC lightweight contender Roger Huerta at Bellator 33.

Alvarez won by TKO (doctor stoppage), which is impressive because no one in the UFC was able to finish Roger.

It seems likely that Eddie has what it takes to compete with the UFC's best, but a fight with Penn would give us a definite answer to that.

Nate Marquardt

This fight isn't likely to ever happen, as Dana White has gone on record saying that Nate Marquardt will never again compete in the UFC.

But don't lose all hope!

Nate was released from the UFC because his testosterone levels were too high before his fight with Rick Story and it wasn't the first time Marquardt had shown suspicious testosterone levels.

Penn has made his opinions about PED abusing fighters very clear —he doesn't like them— and he and Marquardt have been exchanging words via Twitter.

Not one to talk trash without backing it up, Penn offered to fight Nate in off-screen in a gym, with the winner getting to keep a tape of the fight. BJ's only condition was that Nate submit drug tests before they fought.

It's unlikely that this exhibition bout will take place, but it would be a hell of a fight. It's always fun to watch a motivated BJ fight.

Carlos Condit

This is the only fight on this list that we are guaranteed to see (barring injury); Carlos Condit vs BJ Penn has been slated for UFC 137.

The fight is no doubt to determine who will receive the next shot at the welterweight belt.

As far as the fight goes, it has the potential to be incredibly exciting.

Carlos and BJ are both very dynamic fighters and rarely win by decision.

It's hard to tell what either fighter's game plan will be at this point, but I don't think that it matters. I can't envision this fight happening any way that wouldn't be awesome to watch.

Jose Aldo

Let's be honest, BJ could make 145 lbs.

When he fights at welterweight, he actually looks a little bit chubby and he definitely doesn't look ripped at lightweight.

It might be a tough cut for him, but Penn could make featherweight and it actually makes a ton of sense for him to fight there.

The featherweight division is kind of weak right now and needs some bigger name's to help introduce it to the UFC fans. Penn could provide that service.

BJ has also lost twice to both the UFC's lightweight and welterweight champions, so if he wants to be a champion again, his best shot might be at 145lbs.

Defeating Jose Aldo would for the featherweight champion would also make Penn the first ever fighter to win UFC belts in three weight classes.

It makes absolute sense for BJ to drop to featherweight and that's before even considering the fact that BJ Penn vs Jose Aldo would probably be one of the most legendary scraps in MMA history.