Official next victim for Penn is ....

[Nemesis21]

Frankie Edgar


http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/new ... id=4820638

[sh00n]

Man, I like Edgar. But he has no chance against the biggest douchebag in MMA.

[cowboyronnie]

The only option. Not terrible. I would have puked had Maynard gotten this.

[damo[23]]

Its fair enough.

There's no real "clear cut" guy right now that makes you think "he's a challenge". With Kenny Florian I don't think many picked him, but I think everyone would admit he had a legit opportunity (i.e he was the #1 contender), and though Diego got given a quick shot after being the LW division for so little time, there was concerns expressed over would Penn be able to handle it.

Right now, the others in the division, while in their own right are working towards it in the right way, you just don't get the same feeling of a challenge is being given to Penn on the same level (despite in retrospect that Penn handled them pretty well)

[jTF2]

I'd venture to say that both florian, stevenson (a reach?) and diego are better overall fighters than Edgar. UFC LW division badly needs new outside talent. Its not that they aren't talented enough compared to fighters around the world but they need compelling matchups even if those matchups are more lopsided than Edgar vs BJ.

Just so the fans can say, "What if?".

[damo[23]]

Well we got Gomi - thats a start I'd say. But I do agree with you. Obviously there will be problems with this for the forseeable future - with Dream or Strikeforce they are lucrative and big enough to draw in a lot of top competition that would do well to bulk up the top of the UFC divisions (which clearly is the overall monopoly on talent), and with the likes of the Aoki's of the world, I find it hard to see them moving away from their own enviorment (though the likes of Barnett, Rampage and others have done it in the flip scenario).

Right now I think the UFC in the WW and LHW divisions are doing the case of "lets put the champ vs all the "contenders" rather than maybe making the odd rematch that might be a bit more of a interesting/closer fight (revenge is always a good driving force for a fight as well).

[REDDzone]

The only option. Not terrible. I would have puked had Maynard gotten this.

With the whole Maynard keeps his hands down, BJ would literally disfigure that dude.

[Cammo101]

The UFC needs to go get Kawajiri. He is the best fight out there for BJ.

[2009NBAChamps]

The most compelling would probably be Aoki. But I think Alvarez stands a good chance to dethrone Penn more than anyone else.

[Cammo101]

The most compelling would probably be Aoki. But I think Alvarez stands a good chance to dethrone Penn more than anyone else.

From a selling the fight perspective, Aoki is the biggest name out there. From a decent chance of winning perspective, Kawajiri would give BJ a much better fight.

Aoki will try to take BJ down. Fail. And then get killed in the standup. Aoki can not take a punch from BJ.

Alvarez IMO does not have the ground game to fight with BJ. Kawajiri is the only guy who has both good standup and good ground game.

[cowboyronnie]

Kawajiri gets killed by the jab. He can't do anything to Penn on the ground, nor could he get it there.

[CapeCrusader]

I would like to see Maynard, but from his performance against Diaz hes not even close to being ready. Hopefully Randy can help him improve his overall game to compete in a future fight with BJ.

But about Edgar, I like Edgar but hes going to be another victim.

[Cammo101]

Kawajiri gets killed by the jab. He can't do anything to Penn on the ground, nor could he get it there.

I'm not saying he would win, I'm saying it would be a better fight than anyone else out there.

[damo[23]]

I think right now the best challenge for BJ Penn would be like a Royal Rumble, but MMA style.

He starts with Edgar, then Gray comes in after that fight, then Aoki, then Kawajiri, and at that stage tag teams up on him.

No? ...

I'll get my coat.

[CPT]

I'd be interested in a fight with Eddie Alvarez, and I think he might be the most realistic option.

For starters, he's American, and even though I'm making an assumption here, I've got to think he's more interested in fighting in the UFC than Japanese fighters might be.

Also, he's under contract with Bellator, but I'm not sure how their contracts work. If they are for one season at a time, he could be a free agent following the upcoming season. If he wins again, he could have some added name value coming into the UFC.

They would have to compensate him well, but I think they might be able to get a deal done.

[cowboyronnie]

Eddie has a great negotiation position anyways. Bellator does not have exclusive contracts.

There's also Hansen.

[CPT]

Eddie has a great negotiation position anyways. Bellator does not have exclusive contracts.

There's also Hansen.

Yeah, I'm not really sure how the Bellator contracts work, since they have their seasons. I don't know if he's always under contract and can just take other fights in their offseason, or if he's a free agent after each season of Bellator. Either way, he'd have to sign an exclusive contract to get in the UFC, so that could be a sticking point.

Hansen has no interest in ever fighting for the UFC if I remember correctly. He had some harsh things to say about their contracts after they tried to get him when they bought Pride.

[kdawg32086]

Man, I like Edgar. But he has no chance against the biggest douchebag in MMA.

Wait, Edgar's fighting Clay Guida?

[Nemesis21]

Man, I like Edgar. But he has no chance against the biggest douchebag in MMA.

Wait, Edgar's fighting Clay Guida?

Nope, Frankie Edgar is fighting Michael Bisping.

[Cammo101]

Eddie Alvarez also has a deal with Dream, which may be more problematic for the UFC than his Bellator deal.