B.J. Penn Points Out That He Went the Distance With Lyoto Machida

I've watched this fight before and I thought BJ won the fight, honestly. The thing people need to remember is that Lyoto's style is more conducive to an octagon cage match because of the extra space. When Penn fought him it was in a regular ring and Lyoto didn't have as much space to operate and essentially stay on his bicycle the whole time (not saying it in anegative way just saying what his style is). Let's also not forget that Penn was severely outweighed in this fight but still took it to the distance and arguably won the fight.

You can see in this video that Machida has the same exact style he uses today in the UFC and that the only difference is he has more room to maneuver. Machida looks very uncomfortable when Penn rushes in on him. Penn had a great game plan of not being afraid of Lyoto's power and taking the fight to the inside of Machida and not letting him pick him apart with distance. This is going to be the key for anyone who wants to beat Machida today in the UFC. They have to figure out his timing and get inside of him and/or take him down which is easier said than done. No one is unbeatable except maybe Fedor who is probably the greatest fighter in the history of MMA.

The only thing I don't like about the UFC is that they fight in a cage instead of an actual ring. I like the ring better for viewing purposes as you can see all the action clearly and there isn't as much space which lends itself to better fights IMO. But, it's a great tactical advantage for a karate master like Machida who is very elusive and prefers to counter punch.

Instead of making fun of Penn you should probably give him some props for taking a fight against an undefeated guy at the time who was seen as untouchable, a much larger opponent and taking it to the distance while arguably winning. This is why I love Penn because the guy is a warrior and will fight anyone at any weight at anytime. If the UFC would let him I'm sure he would fight Anderson Silva, Machida and Lesnar/Mir. The dude is the real deal and he deserves a little more respect than you are giving him. I think he has earned that right just as Lyoto has.

I admit I haven't always been the biggest fan of machida because of his elusive style (and it's weird he drinks his own urine everyday but thats a cultural thing) but I certainly respect the guys ability and give him props. All of these guys that get into the ring and actually fight (even Kimbo) deserve respect.

Sorry, obviously Penn did not win. Machida not only scored more points, but got the better of Penn multiple times. If it was so close, I'd expect BJ to flip out after the fight.

If the fight were to happen today, BJ would be KO'ed.

Machida was very well known at the time for hardcore MMA fans. The casual fan who thinks the UFC is the only organization probably never heard of him. In fact, Penn took a hiatus from the UFC to specifically go over to Japan and fight Machida because he wanted to test his own skill level against a fighter many in the world considered one of the best fighters even at that time.

I think Penn has earned his respect and if you feel differently thats your own agenda. Penn's corner actually threw in the towel for that fight against GSP. You say the heigh difference is only one inch but there is a big difference in that GSP has to cut weight to make welter weight where as Penn had to add weight just to make the class not to mention he didn't have an in between fight to get accustomed to the difference in weight.

You will notice something similar in terms of a natural weight advantage when Penn fights Florian at UFC 101. Penn is big for a lightweight but an undersized welter weight, well, against a guy who is really a natural middleweight like GSP anyway. This is why GSP is so dominant at that class because he is so much physically bigger and actually has to cut down to make weight. SImilar to how Anderson Silva walks around with the size of a LHW but cuts down to fight at MW and have a length and size advantage. I would imagine by the day of the fight GSP rehydrated to 10-15 lbs above the size limit.

The Lyoto of then (93?) wasn't near the Lyoto of today. He only had a couple of fights by that time and was a long way off from being considered the best. If you can find the rankings when he fought Penn, I'd guess he wasn't even ranked in the top ten. If he was please post it up or link the source, i'd like to see it.
I fully understand cutting weight. It would be accurate to say Penn didn't have to cut as much weight to fight WW as he does to fight LW. Penn did in fact cut weight to make WW. If he wasn't training and cutting weight, he'd be walking around at about 185, maybe more. GSP is much closer to Penn's size than say Sherk, Griffin, or any of the other LWs that are about 5' 6". Theres a one inch difference between Penn and GSP and Penn doesn't do well when he fights guys his own size; he does well fighting smaller guys in the LW division.
I hope Florian beats his Asz.