Joe Rogan recently hailed B.J. Penn as a top contender for the greatest UFC lightweight ever. His comments came on a May 2025 episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.
Penn, a Hawaiian MMA legend, holds a 16-14-2 record with seven UFC wins. He claimed the welterweight title in 2004 and lightweight belt from 2008 to 2010.
Rogan focused on Penn’s prime from 2007 to 2009, when he dominated opponents. Penn’s versatility in striking and submissions made him a fan favorite.
Rogan said: “When B.J. Penn was in his prime, he was training with Marv Marinovich, and Marv Marinovich had very unorthodox training methods where it was all plyometrics, explosive drills, sprints, box jumps, all this crazy stuff, and he believed….. I hope I’m not quoting him incorrectly…..but he believed fight training was of secondary importance when you’re in camp and really what was important is to just have a f**king insane gas tank.
B.J. Penn knows how to fight, he’s a world champion, he’s not going to forget how to fight. But you can could get him training this way where you have this gas tank that’s just insane and when B.J. Penn was training with him, he was unstoppable.” This approach fueled Penn’s dominance.
Penn’s peak began with a submission win over Joe Stevenson at UFC 94 in January 2009. He choked out Stevenson, then 29-7, in just 4:02 of Round 2.
At UFC 84 in May 2008, Penn stopped Sean Sherk, a former champion with a 32-2-1 record. Penn’s crisp boxing and takedown defense led to a TKO in Round 3.
His masterpiece came at UFC 107 in December 2009 against Diego Sanchez. Penn landed 83 of 101 significant strikes, an 82% accuracy rate, earning a TKO in Round 5.
Marinovich, a pioneer in sports conditioning, trained NFL stars like Troy Polamalu. His plyometric drills and sprints built Penn’s unmatched endurance from 2007 to 2009.
Penn’s Versatility Fuels Lightweight GOAT Debate
Rogan compared Penn to Khabib Nurmagomedov, the 29-0 lightweight king who retired in 2020. He argued Penn’s prime could rival Khabib’s grappling-heavy reign.
Rogan stated, “I always say this—people talk about Khabib being the greatest lightweight of all time and maybe he is, it’s very possible he is—but I would put the B.J. Penn that fought Joe ‘Daddy’ Stevenson, the B.J. Penn that fought Sean Sherk, the B.J. Penn that was in that peak when he was training with [Marinovich], I would put him against anybody. When he fought Diego [Sanchez], he couldn’t be stopped, and if you got him to the ground, his f*cking submission game was insane. He was insane off of his back. He would knock you out standing up. His kickboxing was elite.” Penn’s all-around skills stood out.
Khabib’s dominance relied on relentless wrestling, averaging 5.32 takedowns per 15 minutes. Penn, however, blended elite kickboxing with a deadly guard, submitting 20% of opponents.
Rogan also discussed Penn’s losses to Georges St-Pierre at welterweight. St-Pierre, a bigger 170-pound fighter, defeated Penn at UFC 58 in 2006 and UFC 94 in 2009.
Rogan explained, “Take him down, for sure. He’d probably fight him the same way Georges St-Pierre did. But the difference in size between B.J. Penn and Georges St-Pierre is pretty significant. B.J. Penn is really a 155-pound guy, who actually later in his career fought 145. Later, when he was kind of at the end of his career. But Georges is way bigger. Georges was a big 170, big muscular 170 with great wrestling, nasty ground-and-pound, and a black belt in jiu-jitsu himself, and also a really good striker.
“There was also accusations of greasing because Georges was very slippery in that fight. If you were a grappler and the other person can’t get a hold of him, especially if you’re a guy like B.J. who fights so well off of his back. B.J.’s legs were like arms where he could be sitting there without using his hands and he could put his feet in the lotus position, so completely crossed and lock his legs in the lotus position without using his hands at all. Crazy flexibility and dexterity. So if you were trapped in his guard, you were f*cked.” Penn’s flexibility was unmatched.
St-Pierre’s size advantage, at 5’11” and 190 pounds cutting to 170, overwhelmed Penn, a natural 5’9” lightweight. Greasing allegations in their 2009 bout remain unproven.
Daniel Cormier praised Penn’s prime, calling him a “beast” at 155 pounds. Fans on X debated Rogan’s take, with some favoring Khabib’s undefeated run.
Penn’s later career saw struggles, with a 1-7-1 record from 2011 to 2019. Losses at featherweight and welterweight dimmed his legacy, but his prime remains iconic.
Rogan’s comments reignited interest in Penn’s 2007–2009 run. Fans still celebrate “The Prodigy” as a lightweight legend.
