MMA: Top 10 Finishes of BJ Penn's Career

There few fighters who can say that they dominated their division, and even fewer who have beaten the best of the best in two weight classes.

BJ Penn is one of those guys.

A former UFC Welterweight and Lightweight champion, "the Prodigy" has been a mainstay of the sport since blasting onto the scene in 2001.  A true living legend of MMA, Penn is set to face Carlos Condit at UFC 137,

As he looks to make another run at the welterweight title, let's take a look back at some of Penn's best finishes. 

A champion who is not content with going to a decision, here are Penn's top 10 most exciting finishes. 

10. UFC 32: KO Din Thomas in First Round

In Penn's second fight in the UFC, he took on Din Thomas at UFC 32.

Despite being taken down early, Penn controlled Thomas in his guard before standing back up.

With just a little over two minutes left in the round, Penn caught Thomas with a quick knee to the face before following up with punches.

It was Penn's first true KO of his career and his second finish in as many professional fights.

9. UFC 101: Submits Kenny Florian, Defends Title

For the entire match, Penn was in control.

Despite Kenny Florian's persistance in trying to take the fight to the ground, Penn avoided each take down and did not take any damage in the clinch.

For four rounds, Penn dominated the fight in the stand-up department, pacing himself but exploding at certain opportunities.

In the fourth round, Penn surprised Florian with a huge takedown, landing in half guard.

From there, Penn struck the Bostonian fighter with huge elbows, taking mount, and eventually his back.

It wasn't too long before he sunk in the rear naked choke, defending his title against arguably one of the best lightweights of the time.

This finish showed that Penn could make even the best of challengers look like rookies.

8. UFC 84: Flying Knee and Strikes TKO Sean Sherk

After regaining his lightweight title at UFC 80, Penn came into his first title defense against Sean Sherk a more technical fighter.

For three rounds, Penn battered Sherk's face with strikes, specifically his jab, keeping the former top contender at bay the entire fight.  

With seconds left in the third round, Penn noticed that he had rocked Sherk a bit and decided to go on the offensive.

Throwing a jab, uppercut, straight combination, Penn forced Sherk to the cage before throwing a huge flying knee that virtually knocked his opponent out.  

After a few more shots to the face, the referee clearly saw that Sherk could no longer defend himself and called an end to the bout.

This vicious technical knockout is one of the best finishes of Penn's career.

7. The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale: Chokes out Jens Pulver in Lightweight Return

Coming off of two straight losses to Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes, Penn again tried to reivigorate his career by changing weight classes, this time by going back to 155.

Taking on rival and opposing TUF coach Jens Pulver, Penn looked to put a mark on the lightweight division by defeating Pulver in the second round via rear naked choke.

Penn controlled the entire fight and slammed Pulver to the mat twice before the eventual submission.

This finish over the first ever UFC Lightweight champion was a major milestone in Penn's illustrious career. 

6. UFC 34: Quick 11-Second KO of Caol Uno

In just his third fight in the UFC, Penn was starting to be touted as one of the best fighters of the promotion.

Taking on Caol Uno in 2001, Penn made quick work of his opponent, knocking out Uno in just 11 seconds.

This was one of Penn's fastest finishes cemented him as one of the best lightweights in the division.

It was also Penn's third consecutive finish in his first three UFC fights.

5. Rumble on the Rock 4: Chokes out Takanori Gomi

In 2003, Penn faced Japanese star Takanori Gomi in his home state of Hawaii.

The fight was a back and forth battle with Penn controlling the fight on the mats in the first round, but Gomi taking the advantage in the second.

In the third frame, Gomi attempted to finish Penn with a guillotine choke, dragging Penn on top of him. Penn was able to slip out and quickly looked to advance his position, eventually taking Gomi's back.

Pounding the future Pride champion with elbows and punches to the head, Penn battered Gomi before sinking the rear naked choke.

This finish showed that Penn could battle through some adversity and come back in brutal fashion to put an end to his opponent's night.

4. UFC 123: 21-Second KO of Matt Hughes

After losing to Frankie Edgar in two consecutive lightweight title matches, fans thought that Penn was done in the sport.

Boy were they wrong.

Coming into UFC 123 with a chip on his shoulder, Penn wasted no time proving his detractors wrong, showing that he is fully committed to the sport.

In just 21 seconds, "the Prodigy" rocked Matt Hughes with a straight right, flattening the former welterweight champion and barraging him with strikes after the initial blow.

After the referee stopped the fight, Penn ran around the ring in excitement, trying to get rid of all the pent up anger and energy that still resided in him.

This impressive KO win showed the world that Penn still has a lot of fight left in him 

3. UFC 107: Massacres Diego Sanchez in Fifth-Round TKO Win

In BJ Penn's last successful lightweight title defense at UFC 107, he outclassed challenger Diego Sanchez is brutal fashion.

For the entire fight, Penn had the better of Sanchez on the feet, dropping "the Dream" in the first round with a right hand.  Penn stuffed each of Sanchez's 27 takedown attempts throughout the five round affair.

But it was in the middle of the last round where the blood started to pour.

Penn landed a huge head kick that cut Sanchez's forehead wide open.  Following it up with a flurry of strikes, referee Herb Dean mercifully called an end to the action.

After the fight, UFC President Dana White said that Sanchez was "as busted up as I've ever seen a guy".

His lip was split wide open, his forehead sported a wide cut, and his eye was swollen shut.

This was one of Penn's most brutal wins and showed just how devastating his striking really is.

2. UFC 46: Submits Hughes, Wins Welterweight Title

After a failed run at the lightweight crown, Penn looked to change divisions to become a champion.

In his first fight at welterweight at UFC 46, Penn took on Matt Hughes for the first time for the UFC Welterweight belt.

At the time, Hughes had defended his title five times and cleaned out the division.  A huge underdog, Penn caused a huge upset by submitting Hughes with seconds left in the first round via a triangle armbar.

In just his first fight at 170, Penn was able to become champion and showed fans why he is a "Prodigy" in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

1. UFC 80: Wins Lightweight Title by Beating Down Joe Stevenson

Having returned to the lightweight division in his previous bout with Jens Pulver, Penn was given the opportunity to fight for the title at UFC 80 against Joe Stevenson.

Not wasting this chance, Penn gave Stevenson one of the biggest beatdowns in UFC history.

In the first round, Penn controlled the fight from the top position, advancing to mount and back on a couple of occasions, while decimating Stevenson with ground-and-pound strikes.

But it was with seconds left in the first round that the blood started gushing, after Penn landed a huge elbow on his Stevenson's forehead.

Penn reopened the cut in the second round and pounced on Stevenson after rocking him with an uppercut.

Taking the fight to the mat, Penn quickly took mount and hammered him with strikes until Stevenson rolled, exposing his back.

From there, Penn sunk in a tight rear naked choke on his bloodied opponent, forcing Stevenson to tap.

This bloody finish not only won Penn Beatdown of the Year from Sherdog and Submission of the Night, but it also gave him his second title in two separate weight classes.

The finish is definitely his most devastating one to date and showed Penn's full range as a fighter, proving that he is one of the best champions to ever grace the Octagon.