The undisputed UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is often considered the greatest of all time, even though Khabib Nurmagomedov finds himself in the conversation as well. Nevertheless, the Dagestan phenom has made his case to be arguably the greatest lightweight fighter in the promotion’s history with a 29-0 undefeated career. However, there is a debate that his protégé, Islam Makhachev, may have surpassed him with the most title defenses as a 155-er, but color commentator Joe Rogan seems to refute this claim.

Joe Rogan has been in the UFC long enough to witness a plethora of talented fighters grace the Octagon. He is probably the most qualified person to give us an idea of who the real lightweight GOAT really is. While he understands why people talk about Khabib Nurmagomedov possibly being the best lightweight in UFC history, he believes that former champion BJ Penn takes that honor.

“People talk about Khabib being the greatest lightweight of all time, and maybe he is. It’s very possible he is,” Joe Rogan stated on the #2316 JRE episode. “But I would put the BJ Penn that fought Joe Daddy Stevenson, the BJ Penn that fought Sean Sherk, the BJ Penn that was like in that peak. I would put him against anybody.”

Let’s take a look at how BJ Penn’s career panned out. After all, Khabib Nurmagomedov is a superstar, and many of the contemporary fans are well aware of his record. Meanwhile, Penn was always destined to do great things in combat sports after he won a gold medal in the 2000 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship. He started his MMA career in the UFC, and during the 2000s, he would win the lightweight and welterweight titles, with three successful title defenses as a 155-pound king.

From 2001 to 2009, ‘The Prodigy’ would put on some of the best fights ever, with the bout against Joe Stevenson being one of Joe Rogan’s favorites. “He’d take you back, you’re dead. He’d knock you out standing up. His kickboxing was elite,” the 57-year-old further stated. But then the most important question came when his guest, Cam Hanes, asked how he thought Khabib Nurmagomedov would have fared against BJ Penn.

Rogan simply replied that things would have been the same for the Hawaiian legend as it was when he fought Georges St-Pierre. “[Khabib would] take him [Penn] down for sure. He’d probably fight the same way Georges St-Pierre did.”

Well, before Khabib Nurmagomedov was a professional fighter, he was a fan. He had his own favorites, with Russian legend Fedor Emelianenko being one of the key figures who inspired him to go down the career path that he did. But ‘The Eagle’ was also a fan of BJ Penn, and here’s what he had to say about that.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is a BJ Penn fan

The best always recognize the best, and that’s true when it comes to Khabib Nurmagomedov and his feelings towards BJ Penn. He has followed Penn’s entire career, and once during an interview, the Dagestan legend considered Penn the gold standard of the lightweight division. But as we all know, things went down through an absolute downward spiral towards the end of his career.

BJ Penn, from 2011 to 2019, almost the entire duration of the last decade, racked up seven losses on the trot. The continued punishment he took despite losing the fights led Dana White to cut him off from the UFC for his well-being. For Khabib Nurmagomedov, that doesn’t take away the fact that he was one of the best fighters during his prime, and Penn appears to be one of his two favorite fighters besides Georges St-Pierre.

“I think the impersonation of the lightweight division was BJ Penn for a long time. I can explain… Despite many defeats (towards the end of his career), he won the lightweight title, defended it, and also moved up to welterweight and won the belt there,” Khabib Nurmagomedov said in 2021. “Then he had lost to one of the best fighters ever, Georges St-Pierre. So for me, BJ Penn, I think we can put him there.”

While some fans may disagree with Joe Rogan, Khabib Nurmagomedov may not mind his claim. But what do you think? Let us know in the comments down below.