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Who is next for BJ? Frankie Edgar or Gray Maynard?

4K views 55 replies 35 participants last post by  eds23 
#1 · (Edited)
According to Mir and what he said in the post fight press conference, he thinks Edgar would be a really good opponent for BJ....do you agree?

Edgar has looked awesome lately, his striking has really come a long way, he's a great wrestler with excellent cardio and fights at a ferocious pace.

Would this be enough to beat BJ? I honestly doubt it. If you put Frankie in there with Penn, BJ would flat out embarrass him. As good a wrestler as Edgar is he would be a lot smaller than BJ and he would likely not be powerful enough to get a takedown. If a big strong guy like Diego couldn't take Penn down once I really don't see Edgar doing it. Penn would brush off the takedowns and outstrike Frankie on the feet and basically do whatever he wants.

In order to beat Penn you gotta be able to take him down.

This is why I truly believe that Gray Maynard would pose as more of a threat to Penn than Edgar. He is a big, strong guy with superior wrestling, heavy hands and a great gas tank. Using GSP's blueprint from his 2nd fight with Penn, Maynard would have a big chance at taking this one in my honest opinion.

If Maynard gets past Nate Diaz, the UFC has to set this fight up!

Discuss...
 
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#3 ·
I know it ain't gonna happen soon, but Nate vs Bj would be a fun fight. The reach advantage would almost make Bj have to take it to the ground, where you would see something of a bjj orgasm (in bj's favor, but still).

But for these two guys, Maynard is a bully for a reason, so I think his style would match up decent with Bj, until Bj connects.
 
#4 ·
Gray beat Edgar and if he beats Diaz he should be the one to get a title shot. I dont give him much of a chance against BJ in fact i dont give anyone in the LW division much of a chance but Maynard imo is the ONLY guy in the LW division who can take BJ down. Im not sure he can keep him there but imo he can get him to the ground and thats a start.

So yeah if Maynard beats Diaz (which i think he will do) give him the title shot. If Diaz wins Maynard then we can talk about giving Edgar a title shot.
 
#8 ·
Are you guys forgetting about Tyson Griffin? He's got a fight at 108, and if he wins that I definitely think he is the next dude to fight BJ. Griffin has a solid wrestling base, has a new love for striking, he has 4 FoN awards, and the dude is a ******* beast inside the cage.

I don't think there is a better fight for BJ right now and I think Griffin can totally give him some trouble. Tyson Griffin is the dark horse of the LW division and I think he could be the one to beat BJ, if there is anyone who can at 155..
 
#9 ·
I am a huge fan of Frankie and I really enjoy watching Tyson fight as well but I really do believe they are too small to beat BJ. Although it certainly is not impossible. Frankie has looked terrific as of late and I feel he definitely deserves a shot at the title. The "Bully" however, has the size and power to match up well against BJ.

Bottom line is...its all guessing at this point till the fights happen and anything can happen. Styles make fights! If BJ were to beat all three of these guys he can leave the LW division knowing he really did clear it out.
 
#15 ·
Edgar would last longer nad be much more comptetitve. Maynards's striking is light years behind BJ's and if he took BJ down, he would get turned into a pretzel.

Edgar has real fast hands and would make for a fun fight. But would lose badly.

Griffin has more power than Edgar and is stronger, but would still lose.

But its all irrelevant. NOONE AT 155 will beat BJ. Sum people say Kos can make 155, I disagree. But lets see him try. That would be fun.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Lets sort of settle this right now, cuz its old and i think alot of people dont get it....

Let me break it down for you, Maynard, Edgar, whoever, bring Fitch down from 170 or let him stay at 170 and bring KOS and watch them get beat too...

People need to realize a couple things about Dana White he is a promoter 1st not a businessman, but he does know fighters, BJ, FINALLY is dialed in so go get Faber Brown and Aldo and watch him systematically smash each of them, I think the Daughter in his life is something that adds to his motivation now and TBF....he's not to be phucked with at 155......some 170lb guys could fight him and stay at 170 and still he would beat them....


Enjoy it, you may never see a guy as good at his weight again....


Done....
 
#21 ·
Lets sort of settle this right now, cuz its old and i think alot of people dont get it....

Let me break it down for you, Maynard, Edgar, whoever, bring Fitch down from 170 or let him stay at 170 and bring KOS and watch them get beat too...

People need to realize a couple things about Dana White he is a promoter 1st not a businessman, but e does know fighters, BJ, FINALLY is dialed in so go get Faber Brown and Aldo and watch him systematically smash each of them, I think the Daughter in his life is something that adds to his motivation now and TBF....he's not to be phucked with at 155......some 170lb guys could fight him and stay at 170 and still he would beat them....


Enjoy it, you may never see a guy as good at his weight again....


Done....
AGREED and repped.

For fighting's sake though he needs someone. I think it should go like this;
Edgar, Maynard than KenFlo II...personally I would rather see Aoki and Alvarez come over from Japan because I really don't think anyone is in the same world as BJ.
 
#17 ·
Yep, we're witnessing the greatest lightweight of all time.

As far as matchups..

1. Maynard
2. Edgar

and then I think its off to welterweight for Mr Penn.

Florian, Stevenson, Griffin, Sanchez and co. will be fighting it out for a while me thinks.
Someone is going to have to go on a seriously impressive streak before being considered worthy.

There is Aoki and Alvarez is consider, but until they're a part of the UFC roster the point is moot.
 
#18 ·
If Maynard beats Diaz - then its Maynard first up.
If Maynard loses then its Frankie Edgar.

Likely its going to be
1)Maynard
2) Edgar.

After that its speculation - u dont know who will be on a roll or winning well.
But i think Tyson Griffin will be likely round and possibly challenging.

I think if BJ beats thise guys he will move to welterweight.
If the WEC was in the UFC we could have Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber step up and fight him.
Still lots of options for BJ Penn.
 
#19 ·
There isn't a single lightweight fighter in the world that matches up well against BJ right now. Maynard is bigger and that'd be all he brings into a fight with BJ. Gray has only a slight chance of taking BJ down and 0 chance of doing any damage if he does get him down. Edgar is too small for BJ and doesn't have the skills to be much of a challenge for him. There isn't a single lightweight in the UFC, hell, not many in the world, that match up well against BJ. BJ will retire with the belt.
 
#20 ·
The second best LW in the world is my boy Superflo and we all kno what happened to him. BJ is unstoppable at 155 just like GSP at 170 and Anderson at 185... People talk about Thompson and Aoki but they would get killed too. Thompson isn gonna take BJ down and Aoki is nowhere near the striker Penn is and if they hit the ground BJ is still ahead of him.
 
#22 ·
I'm not sure why people want to bring Aoki over to fight BJ.

The only thing, the absolutely only thing that Aoki has that will be of any use to him in a fight with BJ is his BJJ. That's it. Aoki will not be able to take Penn down, not even close, his striking is far, far behind Penn and he's not a very big guy, so he will be thrown around everywhere if BJ wished. Also, if by luck, if my some amazing work of God he actually does get BJ down, BJ is a very skilled guy when it comes to BJJ, as we all know.

Terrible, terrible fight for Aoki.

As far as this thread goes, at this point it's somewhat up in the air about who should/will get the next shot. I think Edgar and and Maynard would both be decent choices, however, I would like to see a rematch with Kenny.

Why a rematch with Kenny you might ask? Well, I want to see him get beat up again, and I also believe he is the #2 LW fighter in the world, skill wise, not ranking wise.
 
#23 ·
I'm not sure why people want to bring Aoki over to fight BJ.
He is ranked #2 LW in the world by many circles and I think its safe to say that BJ has/will continue to clean out the UFC LW division. I too would like to see a rematch with Kenny Florian who I think is second only to BJ in the UFC at 155. BJ owns 155 and just to make it crystal clear, why not bring in the so called top ranked fighters from around the world. Not only is it a bad match up for Aoki, I think its a bad match up for anyone at 155.
 
#24 ·
I think Thomson or Alvarez would actually present the biggest challenges to Bj at the moment at lw. Thomson is a very dynamic striker with good timing and would not be intimidated by Bj, I dont see him running from Bj like Kenny did. The same goes for Alvarez, he would not have a problem going toe to toe with Bj. I dont think either of them would be able to beat him, but they have the best chance at lightweight. Aoki would get murdered quickly. Aoki has flashy bjj, but its not world champion level like Bj's. Aoki wanted no part of the ground game against Shaolin. Unfortunately for Aoki, Bj probably has the best hands at lightweight and maybe the second best in mma. That would leave Aoki with zero options in that fight. Terrible match up and wouldnt make it out of the first round. Bring in Thomson, Alvarez, or even Hellboy (I dont think he would actually come to the UFC though).
 
#25 ·
Yeah, Bj would murder Aoki. I want to see Edgar vs Bj, personally. Gray is a boring fighter, and his stand up is really bad... Edgar has really crisp boxing, good footwork, good head movement, and good wrestling as well.

If Bj took Edgar down, though, it'd be over pretty quick I imagine.
 
#28 ·
Not only do I see Maynard as a better fit opponent to challenge BJ but he also holds a victory over Edgar. For this reason alone I think Gray should be next in line if he gets past Nate.

Do I think he could beat BJ? At this point, probably not...but Penn will have to defend the belt eventually so opponents will be needed.
 
#30 ·
Personally, If Aoki was in the UFC and he faced off against the lightweight contenders:
Tyson Griffen, Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, Kenny Florian, Sean Sherk and Diego Sanchez

I'd be surprised if he can win 4/6 of these fights. This isn't really a knack on him. Because frankly i don't think anyone in the world could beat 4/6 of these guys except for penn. Even if these contenders fought each other, I'm not sure any of them could get 4 wins.

Thats how far apart Penn is from the rest of the lightweight competitors.

That being said, if BJ beats gray and frankie, they should bring aoki, thomson and alvarez over just because BJ's cleared the competition. But it would be a big upset if anyone can beat bj in the next year or two.
 
#31 ·
BJ Penn is on a completely different level than any other fighter in the LW division. It really doesn't matter who wins the Maynard/Edgar fight, because BJ would beat both of those guy easily. Frankie Edgar is a very balanced fighter, good striking ability, good ground game. Maynard is a good wrestler, and thats it. He is like another Sean Sherk, but lacks the same power.

BJ Penn demolishes either one of these fighters, but if I had to pick, I'd go with Frankie Edgar. At least we would see something different. We just saw BJ tool a good wrestler with overrated standup (I used to think Diego had good standup).

On a side not, I want Nick Diaz to come over from SF and fight BJ Penn at a catchweight of 160. If he could fight BJ like he did Gomi at that weight, it could be a hell of a fight.
 
#32 ·
BJ Penn is on a completely different level than any other fighter in the LW division. It really doesn't matter who wins the Maynard/Edgar fight, because BJ would beat both of those guy easily. Frankie Edgar is a very balanced fighter, good striking ability, good ground game. Maynard is a good wrestler, and thats it. He is like another Sean Sherk, but lacks the same power.

BJ Penn demolishes either one of these fighters, but if I had to pick, I'd go with Frankie Edgar. At least we would see something different. We just saw BJ tool a good wrestler with overrated standup (I used to think Diego had good standup).

On a side not, I want Nick Diaz to come over from SF and fight BJ Penn at a catchweight of 160. If he could fight BJ like he did Gomi at that weight, it could be a hell of a fight.
This would be awesome but unfortunately its a long shot. Nick has looked phenomenal lately and I think he would pose a serious threat to BJ.
 
#34 ·
Man I would love to see Penn and Diaz go at it. I think that Diaz has the skills to pose a very big threat to BJ. I am not saying that BJ will lose though. He is an absolute animal.

I think that the fact that it would be at a higher weight, might make it more difficult for BJ. I mean granted he has beaten Matt Hughes in his prime and he has held the WW belt, he was never as dominant at WW as he is at LW. I think that this would definitely be an interesting fight.
 
#36 ·
There isn't a LW who could touch BJ right now.

People are so amazed by how he handled Diego and say he's definitely top 3 p4p now, how he's the best LW ever etc etc etc. Just noticing this now? In his last 4 fights (Joe Daddy, Sherk, Florian, Diego) BJ wasn't hurt or in any trouble at any point in any of those fights.

I know people are going to throw MMA math at me (please don't) but stylistically I believe Tyson Griffin has the best chance at winning against BJ, and only by decision. Do i think he would pull it off? Nope. Alas, that's the only possible scenario of all the LW in the UFC who i think would have a possibility in hell of taking BJ's title.

If Matt Serra came down to 155 and fought BJ again, i bet he does better then any current LW would.
 
#38 ·
gray edgar will be his next fight and he will finally lose his belt gray edgar by pound and ground he may show some of his wrestling of the greco in this match of tested in battle veterans
 
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