Fighters make fights, not styles, and coming into UFC 101 a huge question was whether B.J. Penn had anything left to give the sport and if he could deliver another history-making performance, extending his streak of more than seven years without a loss in at 155 pounds.
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If anyone had doubts about Penn's ability after a dominating loss at the hands of welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 94, they were gone after Saturday night's submission victory over Kenny Florian.
In front of more than 17,000 fans, the lightweight champ proved he's still the top fighter in a stacked division. Penn (14-5-1) not only looked like a champion, he fought like one; content to bide the time that he knew he had — gassing himself early in a reckless attempt to stop the fight would put him in harm's way against a young challenger who was eager to "kill the master."
Opponents train for Penn's spider-like legs and deceptive boxing skills, but one can't prepare for what he doesn't know. Penn looked prepared to go all five rounds after moving his team to Southern California and having a strong training camp with famed strength and conditioning coach Mark Marinovich (father of USC great and NFL washout Todd Marinovich). He almost needed to.
"When I woke up this morning, I thought, 'I've been at this thing for nine years. What the hell am I doing with myself?'" Penn said after the fight.
