Would the Lightweight Division Be Better Off Without BJ Penn?

Lately, talk has intensified about the possibility of BJ Penn moving up in weight (again) to fight at 170 pounds, with BJ’s end goal being to defeat his now-arch enemy, Georges St. Pierre.

Now, this leads to an interesting question.  Well, two, actually- first, how can anyone consider a guy like Georges St. Pierre to be an arch enemy?  I mean, being enemies with St. Pierre is a one-sided relationship if there ever was one, right?

No, but the real question is, would Penn taking off for the welterweight division actually be good for the lightweight division?  As always, when I think of a question like this, I immediately feel forced to examine it from all angles, including those that may be absolutely preposterous.  Let’s think about the drawbacks, first.

The UFC Loses a Dominant Champion

Many tend to think that, somehow, a dominant champion erodes interest in competition.  My beliefs could not be farther from the truth.  One only has to look at the amount of interest in professional boxing during the days of Muhammad Ali or even Mike Tyson in his younger days versus where it is now to see that dominance attracts interest, too.

Particularly when that dominance is attached to a personality as polarizing as BJ Penn’s.  It seems that Penn is one of those fighters that is hard to not feel something about, which always translates to ticket sales, buyrates and water cooler talk.  Without Penn, where are the marketable lightweights?  Could you honestly see a UFC being headlined by Tyson Griffin vs. Frankie Edgar?  Nothing against either fighter, but neither has been marketed in order to be a headliner at this point, and their names just do not yet carry the weight of Penn’s.  It’s not even close.

Penn’s Reputation Could Take a Tumble

You can talk all you want about Penn’s dominance within his most natural weight class.  The fact is that whether it’s right or wrong, a fighter will be judged by most viewers on all of his or her fights, whether or not they are in the most appropriate weight class for their body.  Sure, Penn may have been giving up quite a bit of size and strength in his loss against St. Pierre, and St. Pierre is among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but it’s hard for a fighter to get dominated like that and not have the fan’s perception of him change.

Another trip into the welterweight division could quite possibly end in failure again, whether it would be against one of the division’s many beasts such as Jon Fitch or Thiago Alves, or against the man himself, St. Pierre.  Any of those results would likely lead to Penn going back to the lightweight division, and the natural thought among fans would be that he was doing so with his tail between his legs.  Lightweights already struggle to get the recognition that fighters of greater weights get, how bad would it look for the man who has ruled the division with an iron fist to get jobbed out and sent back down yet again?

We’re not all about the negatives here, folks.  Here are some positives to a possible move by Penn to the welterweight division:

The Lightweight Division Becomes the Wild West

Right now, the lightweight division is struggling to produce fighters who can really give a good challenge to Penn.  Though this may seem to be a contradictory point to my earlier statement that dominant champions are good for the sport, hear me out.

While dominant champions are great, they must appear to be challenged at times, or fans will just assume they are fighting a bunch of bums…whether that is fair or not.

Look, I know that Diego Sanchez is a fantastic fighter, and that’s why Penn’s dominance of him was one of the most impressive things I have seen in the last several years in this sport.  However, when you are looking at popular opinion, things can often be quite different.  To the so-called “average fan”, maybe Sanchez just “sucks”?  Perhaps Penn isn’t that great, and his competition just isn’t that good?  After all, Penn wasn’t able to compete with St. Pierre, and he simply dominated a guy who moved to lightweight because he couldn’t get to the top at welterweight, either…right?

Like I said, I don’t agree with that summary, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a whole lot of fans out there who believe it whole-heartedly.  These would be the same fans that the UFC wants to spend money on their pay-per-views, of course.

Without Penn, the lightweight division is anyone’s for the taking.  We’re talking title fights that are possible fight of the year candidates, challengers with even odds to whomever the champion is, all of that good stuff.  And yes, dominant champions are good for the sport, but with every other division having one already, the UFC could do to have one division with a bit of craziness to it.  Plus, if someone was able to dominate in Penn’s absence, that would at least arouse interest in a title defense against the returning former champion, if things don’t work out for him at welterweight.

More Interesting Matchups at Welterweight, Too

Last but not least, Penn moving up to welterweight could help out that division, as well.  When talking about this possibility, too many people merely think of the supposedly-inevitable Penn-St. Pierre rematch and not of any other potential fights.  However, Dana White himself has said that Penn will have to win some fights at welterweight before he would be given another shot at his nemesis.  And that is where things get fun.

Think of Penn’s potential fights at lightweight.  Gray Maynard.  Tyson Griffin.  Down the line, maybe Clay Guida.  Rematches with Kenny Florian or Takanori Gomi.  Now, imagine Penn’s potential fights at welterweight.  You have all three of AKA’s welterweights, two of which (Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck) would make for fascinating fights.  Who wouldn’t want to see Penn fight Thiago Alves?  Definitely better options, and fights that I would love to see.

If you ask me which weight class is better for Penn’s career, I would definitely say lightweight.  I have no idea why fighters are seemingly uninterested in staying in their native weight classes, dominating anyone who steps up to face them, and building a legacy that will endure as the sport grows.  Maybe that’s why I’m not a fighter.  I just don’t see how another trip to welterweight helps Penn, unless he’s simply bored, as he was so often earlier in his career.

However, Penn leaving the lightweight division for the forseeable future would be great for the fans, as they would get better matchups in the short term.  Furthermore, some of the lightweights who have been bumping into the glass ceiling under Penn’s reign would have a chance to distinguish themselves.  Personally, I wouldn’t mind watching Penn continue to dominate his division at all.  Of course, I know I don’t speak for everyone.

So, BJ: if you want to leave, go right ahead.  I’m sure that there are a few guys currently fighting in the UFC’s lightweight division who wouldn’t mind seeing you go one bit.

E-Mail Jon Hartley

Tags: AKA, BJ Penn, Dana White, Frankie Edgar, Georges St. Pierre, Gray Maynard, Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Kenny Florian, Takanori Gomi, Thiago Alves, Tyson Griffin, UFC