Simply because when the name B.J. Penn enters the conversation, one thing has been abundantly clear ever since he started training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at the age of 17 under Ralph Gracie: He's a freak of nature when it comes to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and submission fighting. And we mean that in a good way.

Where Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and B.J. Penn met

Jay Dee "B.J." Penn was born on December 12, 1978 in Hilo, Hawaii. It took him 17 years to start training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Ralph Gracie. However, it only took him three years of training before he was given his black belt by Andrea Pederneiras ( leader of Nova Uniao ) in the year 2000. In case you were wondering, that's an unheard of amount of time to achieve black belt status in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. For many it takes twice that amount of time and sometimes even more.

Of course, B.J. Penn is called The Prodigy for a reason. Along with this, not only did he achieve black belt status quite early, he also managed to win the gold medal at the Mundial World Championships in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In doing this, he became the first non- native Brazilian to win a gold medal in the black belt division.

B.J. Penn and MMA submission fighting

B.J. Penn went 5-1-1 to start out his mixed martial arts career. Interestingly, his only loss during that initial stretch came at the hands of Jens Pulver in a now famous match via decision. Though Penn did lose that bout, he had an armbar sunk in after the second round that would've ended the fight had the bell not saved Pulver.

Yes, this article focuses on B.J. Penn’s submission skills. But the funny thing is that none of his first five victories came by way of submission. You see, Penn is also an outstanding stand up fighter that used his striking acumen to win four of his initial bouts by (T)KO and one by decision (against Matt Serra).

But when you're this good at submission fighting, eventually it's going to come out. At least this was the case with B.J. Penn. Along with this, he won five of his next 10 bouts via submission. Though detractors will point to the fact that he possesses a good though not stellar 7-3 record over his last 10 fights, there is good reason for this. Namely, Penn's losses during that stretch have all come to larger fighters like Matt Hughes, Georges St. Pierre, and Lyoto Machida.

Pretty good ones, too. Wouldn’t you say?

By the way, Penn has never lost via submission. But you probably figured that out.

B.J. Penn and his style of submission fighting

In terms of style, B.J. Penn is extremely hard to put on his back if he doesn't want to be. Look to his second fight against Matt Hughes for reinforcement of this (he balanced on one leg for an amazing amount of time in that one). Further, he has very good takedowns and ground control skills for a lightweight.

But it's Penn's flexibility and guard that are the things that often make you say 'wow'. Joe Rogan has often indicated that Penn can put his leg over the back of his head from a standing position. And if you've ever seen him fight, you'd believe him.

Along with this, B.J. Penn has submitted a 'who's who' of mixed martial arts. We're talking about Matt Hughes ( first match up: rear naked choke ), Takanori Gomi ( rear naked choke ), Duane "Bang" Ludwig ( arm triangle ), Jens Pulver ( second match up: rear naked choke ), and Joe Stevenson ( rear naked choke ). Further, he's defeated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gurus like Matt Serra, Rodrigo Gracie, and Renzo Gracie via decision.

When you look at the stats, it's hard to miss the fact that B.J. Penn has defeated a ton of great fighters via a rear naked choke. Said another way, he's always a threat, no matter how good you are, to slip around back and choke the life out of you.

Thus, when you put it altogether there's no doubt about one thing. B.J. Penn is one of the greatest MMA submission fighters of all time. Perhaps the most impressive thing, however, is that there is some evidence to suggest that his one perceived weakness is no longer present. Namely, people have questioned Penn’s cardio in the past. Most specifically, they’ve wondered aloud how hard he trained for his most recent losses to Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre, two fights that were going his way early on only to come apart at the end. However, if you ask UFC President Dana White, it appears that Penn is beginning to look at the MMA legacy he is leaving a bit more. And he wants to make sure that when people look back on his talent, they don’t speak of talent unfulfilled.

“Me and B.J. have talked about his legacy,” says White. . . “His legacy is important to him. He doesn’t want to be one of the most talented guys and not live up to his potential.“

In other words, as good as you think B.J. Penn is at submissions and MMA in general right now, he’s probably about to become better. Recent opponents Joe Stevenson and Jens Pulver, two good fighters in their own right, are likely to concur.

Scary.

Fighter Biographies

Top Submission Fighters of All Time : Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Chuck Liddell Biography and Fighting Information

Dan Henderson Biography and Fighting Information

Lyoto Machida Biography and Fighting Information

References

Sherdog

NBC

Wikipedia