BJ Penn Says Edgar Doesn't Deserve Title Rematch+ Speaks On Return to UFC

[No More Sorrow]

Penn talked about his back-to-back title fights versus former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar. While talking about "The Answer," Penn was asked if he feels Edgar deserved the rematch against current Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson. Given the fact that Penn was given an immediate shot at redemption after losing to Edgar for the first time, his answer was a little surprising:


Quote:
"Honestly, I don't think he should have. He could make the case for it. He gave me a rematch. He had to give Gray (Maynard) the rematch, because they had a draw. I'd like to see Benson Henderson fight Nate Diaz. Fight someone else."
When pressed on why he felt he was deserving of a quick rematch and Edgar was not, Penn answered that he really feels it comes down to the damage done in the respective bouts:


Quote:
"I got the rematch, some people say it was a close fight or not. Frankie's fight, I guess you could have made a case that he did well with Benson. But to me, I look at fights -- I don't know who took the guy down more. I don't look at stuff like that. Who woke up in the morning and who was in more pain? I think Frankie Edgar was hurt the next morning. Benson told me he (Edgar) had his 'stunner shades' on. I think he probably got hurt more."

Penn spoke further about his second loss to Edgar at UFC 118 in Boston, Mass., on Aug. 28, 2010. He was careful to not take anything away from the man who beat him, but he stated that he believes it was a lack of focus that did him in that night:

Quote:
"First of all, these are questions that are tough to answer because I don't wanna take anything away from Frankie Edgar. He's a champion. He's a great champion. But, you know, it's tough. I ask myself all the time, 'What was up with that fight, B.J.?' Talking to Mike (Straka), he said, 'I didn't know if you were gonna kill him or if you were gonna get killed.' Just talking about it, I remember walking into the fight and walking out, and I remember one of the fans yelling, 'GSP kicked your ass!' I remember thinking, 'I should kick his ass right now!' With all that said, I know I wasn't focused."

Since Penn's retirement announcement, there have been multiple rumors regarding a possible return to MMA. B.J. said that the thought has crossed his mind, but for now, he's comfortable on the sidelines:

Quote:
"You know, I'm starting to warm up to the idea. I get this question asked a lot. I'm starting to warm up to the idea, but I'm not in a rush to jump into a eight, 12 week camp, at the moment. Besides that, I'm just hanging out, training and taking it easy. I go in the gym. I do some jiu-jitsu. I do some different stuff. I stay away from getting punched in the head, a little bit."
Penn was asked if there were any names, in particular, who could interest him enough to enter back into the Octagon. According to the former champion, there are some fighters who could intrigue him, but he's hesitant to name names:

Quote:
"The way the landscape is of the UFC, fighters constantly win and lose at any moment. Me, not fighting in the next two or three months, I couldn't really say a name. I could say a name, he could lose two or three fights and then he'd say, 'B.J., you said you'd fight me. Fight me now."
If B.J. did come back, the question that is routinely kicked around is one of which weight class he'd want to fight in. As far as he's concerned, it really doesn't make a difference either way:

Quote:
"I think anyone's fine for me. A lot of people, they look at the different weight divisions and they say, 'B.J., you gotta fight in this one.' Or 'This is your best one.' Each weight class offers its difficulties. 170? They're big and strong and slow. 155? They're weaker, but they're wiry and they're fast. You just gotta prepare for both."

Completely agree with Penn here, and I'm starting to think we're not going to see Penn fighting for awhile. I mean he turned down a chance to legally punch Koscheck in the face for 3 rounds, that's every fighters dream.

 

[Troy]

I didn't expect Penn to say that Edgar didn't deserve a rematch considering he got one even though he was pretty convincingly beaten. I still think that we won't see him return until UFC run an event in Hawaii and then he will return for one last fight.

 

[Slim]

The first Penn/Edgar fight was rather close plus BJ was the lightweight champ for how long? I mean a rematch just seemed natural.

The Edgar/Maynard rematch was absolutely necessary cause there was a draw. Edgar then won decisively. But the Henderson/Edgar fight... after that upkick that just about finished Edgar it was all Henderson so a rematch just didn't seem necessary. Also because it was stated before that Pettis was getting the shot and then he got kicked to the curb cause Dana got his hard on thinking... OHHHH rematch lets do it.

The lightweight needs more fights... instead its just a bunch of rematches and this one is not warranted nor needed. Edgar needs to earn his spot back. Either that or move down in weight... ya know to challenge Aldo.