Who should BJ Penn fight next?

[The HOFF]

I have zero interest in seeing BJ Penn fight Gray Maynard or Frankie Edgar. Neither fighter presents any challenge. Both are wrestlers who wouldn't be able to take him down. Edgar has boxing but it isn't as good as Penn's. Maynard may not even beat Nate Diaz. And actually I think Diaz would make for a more exciting fight with Penn and more of a challenge.

Obviously Aoki and Alvarez will not be making it to the UFC any time soon. So the most intriguing match ups I see for Penn are from the WEC. One question is why is there a lightweight division in the WEC. All they are doing is taking away talent from the UFC's division. They should fold that division into the UFC just like they did with 170 through 205.

Donald Cerrone although he has lost two in a row, would be the best challenge at 155 from the WEC. There are 3 fighters that would make a good match up from the 145 division. Jose Aldo, Mike Brown, and Urijah Faber. I would much rather see any of these match ups rather than Maynard or Edgar.

[clarkd32]

jon fitch at 170 would be interesting i think

[illmatick]

fitch is a joke of a fighter, he has maximized his potential and will always be a mediocre striker

tyson griffen and frankie edgar would both be a lot tougher matchups than faber and brown, honestly the only two people with a chance are aldo and gsp , lets pray maynard doesn't get a shot, I definitely see that as the easiest fight for penn

[brooks85]

I would love to see GSP right away and then aldo after he cleans out wec. In between that, the usual suspects at WW I suppose. As much as I want to see a revamped penn against GSP, GSP will still have a 6'' reach advatange.

[RobbReport]

Penn vs GSP III will be so good. BJ is a smart dude and won't lose in the same fashion again. I'm not a fan of BJ's attitude all the time, like GSP better all around, probably my favorite fighter, but Penn is smart and seems like he has a new drive and focus with his kid motivating him.

[terpkeg]

Edgar's standup has looked so much better last two times out, but he has very slim chance of out striking Penn. That said, I would still rather see that fight over Maynard. But how do you justify giving Edgar the shot when Maynard won their fight?

[brooks85]

tangled web, only way to stretch it out is for bj to move up to WW right away. I think the best fight and last I want too see at LW would be BJ/nate diaz, the standup war would be awesome and we dont have to worry about either guy going for tds. I also like edgars matchup. BJ is in his prime, hopefully UFC worries less about the contender ladder and more about matchups.

If BJ moved to WW immediately silva and dana could start him off just like any other other "contender" (which he isn't) and have him fight 3 or 4 guys before GSP. GSP in the meantime could start to dabble at MW and also fend off the few WW challengers left. Aldo could also clean out WEC and get some ufc wins under his belt at LW. With this route UFC can put together a bunch of great cards in throughout '10 too makeup for a less than stellar ending to a great year of mma in 2009(the injury plague continues.)

I think dan hardy would be an entertaining fight at WW, more so than fitch or kos. Like diaz, we could get a great standup battle and not worry about tds.

[stefan084]

diaz/Bj comment

nate diaz striking is horrible--he pitty pats his long ass arms at you just to be an annoyance. I'm fairly confident BJ would wade through that and make his face look worse than Deigo's. Diaz is good at submissions though

[brooks85]

I laugh if you think diaz has bad striking. And, of course, BJ would beat Diaz. I said the fight would be entertaining.

[RobbReport]

Hardy will be a good test for GSP next, it will keep him focused on ever-improving. If GSP wins, Hardy vs Penn would be great.

[knownone]

I don't know why people are so high on Aldo; BJ would kill him.

[knownone]

I'd like to see Dana white pursue Eddie Alvarez he is one of the very few people I can see standing up with BJ.

[brooks85]

That would be an awesome fight

[southmadejd]

It would be an awesome fight, IF BJ let him keep it standing. If BJ takes him down he could sub him anytime he wanted to.

[GoldRush7]

BJ vs Machida II !!

[hillardoh]

your moms