BJ Penn's Fanatics Are Back

The BJ Penn fanatics are back.

After Georges St. Pierre decimated BJ back at UFC 94, I thought that maybe the BJ Penn fans would quiet down a bit. Georges St.Pierre had finally proven that he was the better fighter.

Yet only hours after the fight, it was clear that the Pennophiles had only just begun. Months of Greasegate controversy followed, despite little to no evidence of intentional greasing. The cult of the Prodigy simply could not admit that the chosen one had lost.

After an embarrassing few months that included wild accusations, much complaining, and even testimony from BJ's mom, nothing was proven.

And now, as UFC 101 approaches, the Penn fans are back and talking trash again, saying that Kenny Florian doesn't stand a chance against BJ Penn.

This isn't the first time they've said this kind of thing.

Before UFC 94, BJ Penn's fans were saying there was no way that GSP could win, other than by a poor judge's decision. This was despite GSP having an equal number of submission wins as Penn, and more wins via knockout or technical knockout.

Back then, the Penn fans insisted that nobody could beat a focused and motivated BJ Penn. Incidentally, when BJ walked into the Octagon to fight GSP, it appeared that he was not fully prepared.

BJ Penn had previously stated that he was going to step into the Octagon at 9% body fat. At UFC 94, BJ Penn was clearly not in that good shape.

But this was not the first time that had happened either.

Back in 2002, Penn lost a decision against Jens Pulver in a fight in which he was heavily favored.

After that loss, Penn stated that he had found new motivation from that loss, and would come back stronger. Yet only two fights later, he barely did enough to eek out a decision against Matt Serra, and then was taken to a draw in his rematch against Caol Uno.

Penn was supposed to crush both of those opponents, yet somehow did not.

Penn did rebound with some strong performances, but when he came back to the UFC to fight GSP in their first fight at UFC 58, Penn gassed noticeably, which probably was a major factor in his decision loss.

But despite this loss, BJ still seemed to have motivation problems. Six months later against Matt Hughes, BJ gassed yet again in the third round. Penn's fans will say that was a result of broken ribs, but at this point, does that matter?

The truth of the matter is that in some of BJ's biggest fights, when he has needed to dig down deep, he's reached, and found nothing.

Going into this fight against Kenny Florian, BJ Penn is rightly considered the favorite. He's the more talented fighter. But without getting into the technical details of the bout, I think it is safe to say that BJ's fans are once again underestimating his opponent.

Kenny Florian is a better fighter than both Jens Pulver, and Caol Uno, and both of those fighters were able to take Penn to the limit.

Furthermore, while BJ Penn's fans say that BJ is more motivated than ever, we will see come fight night.

BJ should have had plenty of motivation against Pulver, Uno, Hughes, and GSP, yet has managed to come up short multiple times.

However, should BJ Penn smash Kenny Florian as he could, given his massive talent, we'll never hear the end of it. The BJ Penn fans will once again be saying that BJ is better than ever, and that he's the greatest fighter of all time.

It will be only a matter of time before they're shouting out for another rematch against GSP, and once again, BJ will be looking to leave the UFC lightweight division.

As much as I'd love to see GSP put BJ Penn in his place once again, I hope that Penn gets beaten by Florian. The UFC lightweight division deserves a champion who truly values the title, and respects it enough to defend it properly.

BJ Penn is not that champion.