With a career record of 16 wins and 14 losses, BJ Penn might not seem like a generational talent at first glance. But a deeper dive into his legacy tells a far different story. “That right there, ladies and gentlemen, is the greatest lightweight in the history of the sport!” exclaimed UFC commentator Joe Rogan after Penn’s dominant title defense against Diego Sanchez—his third in a row. Nicknamed ‘The Prodigy’ for good reason, Penn’s resume is stacked with accolades that silence any doubts. His record may not glitter, but his impact on MMA is undeniable. The podcaster, during his recent appearance, threw a word of praise towards ‘The Prodigy’—and guess what? The former champ has now come forward to respond.

BJ Penn was not a fighter who liked to hold up his division. ‘The Prodigy’ was a man who loved to fight even if he lost his battles. From lightweight to welterweight to middleweight, the American fighter has fought opponents across several divisions without even thinking about his career record. Now, you might be wondering — despite being the former lightweight and welterweight champion — why the fighter has a substandard record. Well, that’s because the ex-champ struggled with consistency, neglected diet, and minimal training.

However, his mettle was tested when he was training under the Marinovich brothers, and after that, he was never the same. While having a conversation with Bas Rutten on the ‘JRE MMA Show 139,’ Joe Rogan emphasized that a trained BJ Penn was a demon: “BJ Penn was so fucking talented dbit during that period when he was the goat what happened was he got with Marv Marinovich and he started training insane cardio Marinovich had him training cardio more than anything else.”

He further added, “It was plyometrics. You already know how to fight; the problem is endurance. let’s give you the most insane gas tank, and then you go out there with so much confidence because you never have to worry about taking your foot off the gas. He always won, but that’s when he became BJ Penn the motherf—–” Guess who reacted to these words? It is none other than BJ Penn who reshared the clip on his Instagram timeline and captioned it as, “Not One time, Not Sometime, The Greatest of All Time.”

When he was at the top of his career, BJ Penn fell from grace. From being one of the most decorated fighters to losing seven fights in a row, Penn was ultimately cut by Dana White for his own good. Whatever the reason, years have passed since then, and it appears that Penn is going through some crisis of its own. Just a few days ago, the former UFC double champ took to his Instagram handle to reveal a conspiracy theory that suggested that the government murdered his mother and brother and replaced them with clones.

‘The Prodigy’ further claimed that these clones had been trying to steal everything from him. These statements shocked the entire MMA world as they raised concerns about the effects of the fighting on him. As the former fighter made these statements, several combat sports veterans came forward to share their opinions. Let’s have a look at them.

UFC veterans react to concerning updates from BJ Penn

Many fighters within the community have reported experiencing severe headaches and difficulty remembering things due to their prolonged fighting careers. BJ Penn might be the latest addition to the list of such fighters but the severity looks concerning. Reacting to his comments, former UFC heavyweight contender Brendan Schaub stated that Penn’s current struggle goes back to his fighting days.

During his conversation on his YouTube handle, Schaub emphasized, “You know. And when you start threatening physical violence and these crazy conspiracy theories that your mom’s not real. Like clearly there’s an issue there, you know. And obviously, he has his legal troubles. He is not doing great.”  The former heavyweight fighter also cautioned the new generation fighters about the adverse effects of making a career out of MMA.

BJ Penn is one of the what-ifs of the promotion. Many believe a well-trained Penn could have even overpowered today’s lightweight as well. However, reality is a bit different. Given that, what are your thoughts on the hubbub? State your opinion in the comments below.