Penn Looks at 170

There’s a legitimate, compelling possibility that B.J. Penn will go down as one of a handful of fighters that completely dominated his weight division contemporaries, and without exception. (Jens Pulver beat him decisively in 2002: Penn later avenged the loss.) He knows it, and the UFC knows it, which is why Penn is now floating the idea of moving up to welterweight. And it would be because he has nothing left to prove at 155 lbs.

Except that he does. The UFC, while having a monopoly on 80% of the world’s relevant talent, is still short a few capable athletes. That deficit is most apparent in the lightweight division, where Eddie Alvarez, Shinya Aoki, Gilbert Melendez, Josh Thomson, and Tatsuya Kawajiri all occupy rings or cages outside of Las Vegas. Aoki and Alvarez are numbers two and three, respectively, in Sherdog’s lightweight rankings. To shuffle Penn up a class while talking heads claim he’s “beaten everybody” is disingenuous.

There’s no realistic solution. Penn may have the financial freedom and the fighter’s mentality to jump ship, but the UFC’s carefully-worded contracts would probably find new and horrible ways to make his life a living legal hell for the effort. If the UFC continues to have virtually no interest in co-promotion, the result could be a career four or five victories short of a benchmark.