B.J. "The Prodigy " Penn (12 - 4- 1):



The full fight is here, occasionally, when the video loads.

If anyone lives up to their nickname, it's B.J. Penn. He's one of the most creative and dynamic grapplers in mixed martial arts. His hands are pretty good too, as you can see in the clip above, holding his own against the phenomenal striker Georges St. Pierre. He lost this fight in a very closely contested split decision.

Penn is the only other fighter, after Randy Couture, to have won UFC titles in two different weight classes. He moved up from lightweight (155 lb.) to welterweight (170 lb.) to quickly defeat Matt Hughes for the title in 2004. Penn recently defeated Joe Stevenson for the lightweight title. (Another temperamental video can be found here.) B.J. has recently stated that he wants to move back up to welterweight to avenge his loss to St. Pierre.

Penn is a buzzsaw at 155. He only has one loss at that weight, a split decision early in his career. There are a lot of skilled lightweights in the UFC, but I think that he'll be able to retain his title with little difficulty. On the other hand, I think he's just a little too small for a welterweight. It's a testament to his skill that he is successful in the 170 lb. division. On fight night, he must be giving up at least 10 or 15 pounds to his opponent. His record is something like 5 - 3 at welterweight.

Please note that the clip above features Herb Dean, who is absolutely the best referee in mma. Maybe it's because he's also a fighter.