UFC 123 Results: BJ Penn KOs Matt Hughes, but Is It Prodigy's Best Finish Ever?

When BJ Penn stopped Matt Hughes at UFC 123 with a series of punches in only 21 seconds, the Hawaiian added to an already considerable list of highlight-reel finishes.

Of his 16 career victories, only three have gone to a decision and most of the 13 that didn't were SportsCenter material if the UFC played that game.

That is to say, there's a whole lotta "wow" packed into the Prodigy's 24-fight resume.

Of course, the obvious question pursuant to a 21-second knockout of a UFC Hall of Famer is: Was this the best stoppage of Penn's career?

It's as subjective as a question gets, but what follows is an attempt to place the lightning-quick throttling of the former welterweight champion in proper perspective vis-a-vis BJ's other career stoppages.

Enjoy (either the list or ripping it to shreds).

No. 13—Second Round TKO of Paul Creighton at UFC 37

Paul Creighton was in well over his head in this 2002 bout at UFC 37: High Impact. In fact, the experience convinced him to quit the sport altogether as it was Creighton's first and only loss in three contests, but it was also his last.

Not much to report here.

Just your standard early Baby J domination until an unanswered onslaught of punches from the full mount persuades the referee to call it off.

Fun fact—that sounds like Frank Mir doing the color commentary for the event.

No. 12—First Round TKO of Joey Gilbert at UFC 31

Remarkable if only because it's the Prodigy's first professional mixed martial arts fight, his debut at UFC 31: Locked and Loaded in 2001.

That and Penn finished the bout with three seconds left in the round after taking Gilbert's back and smashing the sides of his victim's noggin without mercy.

But Joey was cannon fodder with a lifetime mark of 2-3, so not much of a challenge for a future Hall of Famer.

No. 11—First-Round Submission of Duane Ludwig at K-1 MMA Romanex

Duane "Bang" Ludwig had three ways out of this fight in 2004—either via blackness at the end of the Hilo Kid's fists, blackness courtesy of a BJ arm triangle choke, or submission.

He chose option No. 3.

And I can't say as I blame him.

Ludwig is actually a current compadre of Baby J's in the UFC and is treading water with decent success, but he's still a minor stepping stone for someone the caliber of Penn.

No. 10—Second-Round Submission of Jens Pulver at the Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale

The was sweet redemption in 2007 for Penn because Jens "Little Evil" Pulver had denied the Hilo Kid his first shot at UFC gold.

In 2002, Pulver grabbed a majority decision over BJ at UFC 35: Throwdown to retain the belt and remain the only Lightweight Champion the organization had ever known at that point.

The clash was billed as another chance for Little Evil to shock the world, but in practice, it wasn't much of a challenge for the Prodigy as he, ahem, pulverized Jens (thank you, thank you).

He toyed with his Octagon mate a bit because of all the smack that had flown between the two, both on the reality-television show as coaches and off it. But the second-round stoppage via rear-naked choke was a formality from the moment the cage doors closed.

No. 9—Third-Round Submission of Takanori Gomi at Rumble on the Rock 4

This is a curious little nugget from 2003 that featured Penn taking a break from the UFC to take part in a promotion in which his brother was involved.

The Fireball Kid is no slouch, but he's very much like the Prodigy—insane amount of natural talent, but doesn't always come into the scrap with total focus or in tip-top shape.

Consequently, it's tough to know how much to make of the third-round finish via rear-naked choke.

Judged on name alone, it deserves higher placement. But the actual stoppage wasn't all that incredible and the entire thing feels a bit like a sideshow, so at No. 9 it stays.

No. 8—Fourth Round Submission of Kenny Florian at UFC 101

UFC 101: Declaration in 2009 saw one of the best performances of BJ Penn's resume against a truly perilous and primed contender in Kenny Florian.

Ken-Flo was at the absolute peak of his career, riding a six-fight win streak that included stoppages of Din Thomas, Joe Lauzon, Joe Stevenson and a unanimous decision over Roger Huerta.

Meanwhile, the Prodigy was coming off his second loss to UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre.

Given the context, BJ seemed ripe for the picking, and Florian had his basket ready.

Instead, the Hilo Kid had his way with Ken-Flo and hinted that his run of dominance at lightweight wasn't quite done.

If the submission had been more impressive than a mentally broken opponent giving up his neck as a way out of a futile fight, this sucker would be higher.

No. 7—Second Round Submission of Joe Stevenson at UFC 80

This tussle from 2008 gets bonus points because of the red stuff leaking all over the cage and because it marked Penn's long-awaited coronation at the UFC Lightweight Champion.

But, again, it wasn't much of a mountain to climb in order to reach the ultimate summit.

Joe "Daddy" Stevenson put up a game fight at UFC 80: Rapid Fire as he always does, but he was severely outgunned. As he often is.

Baby J wasted no time in establishing control of the contest, using the first round to set the pace and rhythm of the action. He floored Stevenson early and cut him badly with a gruesome elbow.

The resultant gash caused the ending to be spelled in Joe's blood on the canvas before it actually arrived via rear-naked choke in the second.

No. 6—First-Round KO of Din Thomas at UFC 32

UFC 32: Showdown in the Meadowlands was only Penn's second professional fight and it came against a very polished, well-respected antagonist in Din Thomas.

At the time in 2001, Dinyero was a rising star in the organization with only one loss to Caol Uno in 13 pro bouts.

Granted, it was Thomas' UFC debut, but he was still considered to be the more dangerous contender given his well-rounded skill set.

Less than three minutes and a devastating knee later, and the Prodigy's legend had begun.

No. 5—First-Round Submission of Matt Hughes at UFC 46

This 2004 meeting is the one that started all the nonsense between Penn and Matt Hughes. Well, that's probably not accurate as the animosity between the two almost assuredly goes back to deeper roots, but you get the idea.

This was the first bout in the triumvirate and it saw Baby J score what was a huge upset at the time since Hughes was the UFC Welterweight Champion at the time.

The Prodigy had moved up from lightweight to take on the growing legend from Illinois and, since it was only the ninth professional fight of the Hawaiian's career, not many people knew enough about him to give him a chance.

Penn overwhelmed the champ almost from the get-go and needed less than five minutes to take Hughes' back and sink in the fatal choke.

Oddly, this is the only video I can't find, but it's worth a look if you can find it.

No. 4—Third-Round TKO of Sean Sherk at UFC 84

I'm not sure there was a ton of it between Penn and Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk at UFC 84: Ill Will, but the ending sure belied any warm fuzzy feelings between the Hilo Kid and the Muscle Shark in 2008.

After spending about 15 minutes splattering Sherk's blood all over the canvas and largely having his way with the smaller, more muscular adversary, BJ rocked the former lightweight champion with a left-right-left combo that sent Sherk reeling into the fence.

From there, the Prodigy measured up a vicious flying knee that crumpled his prey and followed it up with some deadly accurate short shots to a defenseless Sherk.

Though Sean was temporarily saved by the horn, he was in no shape to continue and the contest was called.

No. 3—Fifth-Round TKO of Diego Sanchez at UFC 107

Warning: That video is NOT for the feint of heart.

The Prodigy's evisceration of Diego "The Nightmare" Sanchez in 2009 during the main event of UFC 107 was one of the goriest fights I've ever seen. Frankly, I hope it's the bloodiest bout I ever do see because I'm not certain I could stomach much more.

The beginning of the end was the kick you see at about the 20 second mark of the highlight and you can see the carnage it did within nanoseconds of it landing. In truth, the Nightmare was having just that from the opening horn.

Penn staggered him several times in the opening stanza and continued to pick him apart until the ref finally took mercy upon Sanchez in the fifth.

No. 2—First-Round KO of Matt Hughes at UFC 123

Yeah, yeah, the latest entry on the list came at the expense of a 37-year-old Matt Hughes, not quite the Hall of Famer in his prime.

But it was still in the rubber match of an epic trilogy, it was still a scrap that both men desperately wanted and it still only took 21 seconds.

Many people, myself included, expected BJ Penn to win on Saturday because of the age discrepancy and the fact that only a lack of conditioning cost the former lightweight champ his rematch against Hughes. But few, if any, expected the contest to end so abruptly and so soon.

If Matty were closer to his best vintage, this would be an easy call for No. 1.

No. 1—First-Round KO of Caol Uno at UFC 34

Consider this—BJ Penn's knockout of Matt Hughes took almost twice as long as his KO of Caol Uno at UFC 34: High Voltage in 2001.

Dear me.

This decimation is not only the Prodigy's greatest finish ever, but it's also one of the best stoppages in the history of the sport. The latest wave of fans might not appreciate that Uno Shoten was one of the most highly regarded warriors at 155 pounds and BJ ran straight through him, almost literally.

The whole thing, including a wild-ass jumping side kick from Uno, took 11 seconds.

And I'd bet Caol Uno only remember half of them.

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