Frankie Edgar Has the Answer to BJ Penn; Why Dominating Wins Aren't Everything in MMA

Tonight saw what could possibly be seen as the definitive end of an era in MMA, and that is the end of BJ Penn's dominance at Lightweight, which has spanned an on-again-off-again seven years or so. BJ has jumped organizations and weight classes in those seven years before settling into UFC's Lightweight division dispensing with former nemesis Jens Pulver and defeating Joe Stevenson in brutal fashion for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship. After a brief foray into the Welterweight division when he looked unstoppable, BJ was mentally and physically handled by champion Georges St. Pierre. He had a lot to prove, both to himself an the world, when he decided to defend his Lightweight championship again, and he did so in crushing displays of domination against worthy contenders Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez. His defeat of Sanchez was so crushing that it made Sanchez move back up in weight and forget about the Lightweight domination he planned.

So how does one explain BJ Penn, the greatest Lightweight in the brief history of Mixed Martial Arts getting defeated twice in a row by a fighter who for all intents and purposes could be fighting at Featherweight? We still work with very conventional wisdom when it comes to weight in MMA; if you aren't having luck at your current weight, you cut down a weight class. If you are too tired for that lower weight class, you bulk up to the one above. Frankie Edgar was told by many that he should consider moving down in weight before his astounding run in UFC's Lightweight division, and many predicted after Penn destroyed Edgar that would be where he moves to. The first bout was heavily contested, maybe it was bad judging and maybe takedowns are overrated by judges.

The second bout left nothing to question, as Edgar completely dominated Baby Jay Penn regardless of the possible excuses we hear in the coming months before Penn fights again. My cohort Jonathan Snowden argues that BJ Penn is overrated by many, making some valid arguments to that effect. I say that in modern MMA we are way too quick to write off fighters who show utter domination against great competition but when faced with a challenge end up on an often confusing end of the domination scale. It is enough to make your head spin if you attempt to figure out the logistics of this; if BJ Penn dominated Diego Sanchez, Kenny Florian, Sean Sherk, Joe Stevenson and was able to move up in weight and defeat a then-indestructible Matt Hughes, that means that Frankie Edgar is better than those fighters, right?

Simply stated, no. That is not how MMA works and a pitfall that many fans find themselves trapped in. Every fighter has styles that they simply cannot figure out. King Mo made this complaint after he defeated Gegard Mousasi in Strikeforce; why all of a sudden are people clamoring that Gegard Mousasi is not a great fighter, but if he defeated Mo he would be one of the best? When Shinya Aoki was dominated by Gilbert Melendez he was completely written off (as was most of Japan, sadly) and considered irrelevant. Many are right now doubting how legitimately good Anderson Silva is after Chael Sonnen used his wrestling to keep Silva on his back for the better part of 24 minutes. In the same Sonnen-related vein, many have written off top Middleweight Nate Marquardt for being outwrestled against Sonnen. 

Frankie Edgar knew how to hurt BJ Penn, and for once, a fighter who was smaller but was able to use that lack of size to his advantage in the way of speed. Edgar is a rare occasion where he is small for the weight class, but his sheer strength helps even things out, as his takedowns are lightning fast and strong. The "small" Edgar was even able to pick Penn up and slam him to the canvas. Edgar's speed was able to help him set up the takedowns and keep him away from Penn's educated hands, his wrestling and strength was able to take BJ down and keep him from gaining advantageous positions. To put it in simple terms, Frankie Edgar has the stylistic answer to the riddle of BJ Penn.

When it comes to Edgar's next challenge, Gray Maynard, it is the one man who has ever beaten him, and not only was he beaten, but nearly dominated by Maynard. This doesn't mean that Maynard could defeat Penn by default as much as it means at the time, Maynard has the solution to Edgar's riddle. We'll have to see how the rematch goes, and as for BJ Penn, don't write him off just yet, he still has some fight in him.

SBN coverage of UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2