Former UFC lightweight champion Ben Henderson believes BJ Penn is the greatest lightweight fighter of all time and not Khabib Nurmagomedov.

‘The Prodigy’ started his professional career in UFC back in 2001 and hails an MMA record of 16-14 under his name. He has fought against some of the biggest names in the sport’s history. Also, Penn has won over notable names like Matt Hughes and Matt Serra.

Meanwhile, ‘The Eagle’ had already competed in 16 MMA bouts before his debut in the UFC. However, during his time in the promotion, Nurmagomedov remained undefeated while destroying the likes of Conor McGregor, Edson Barboza, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje inside the cage.

Although Nurmagomedov has competed in only 13 UFC bouts, he retired with a perfect undefeated record of 29-0. Whereas, ‘The Prodigy’ had a few setbacks on his MMA resume. And also suffered seven straight losses before he retired from professional fighting.

Hence, many UFC fans and pundits believe Khabib ‘The Eagle’ Nurmagomedov to be the greatest of all time. However, in an interview with TMZ Sports, Henderson said, “That’s easy, hands down BJ. Not even close.”

“You don’t even gotta say his full name, just one word. BJ, and you know who it is. The greatest lightweight of all-time, without a doubt, hands down BJ Penn.”

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“Out of those 29 and 0, Khabib fought, go look up the records of the 29 people he beat and then go look at the records of guys BJ beat. Go look at the records the guys BJ lost to. Go look at where they fought.”

Ben Henderson gave Khabib Nurmagomedov his first loss as a coach

Ever since his retirement from professional fighting in 2020, ‘The Eagle’ has been training his friends and cousins for their MMA career. Interestingly, he also corners them during their fight.

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Some of the best names who train under the undefeated fighter are Islam Makhachev, Umar Nurmagomedov, Abubakar Nurmagomedov, and more. Akin to his fight career, ‘The Eagle’ was undefeated as a coach. Unfortunately, his streak got snapped recently.

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Ex- UFC fighter Ben Henderson, who now competes in Bellator, defeated Islam Mamedov via a split decision in the co-main event of Bellator 273. The latter is coached by Nurmagomedov. Thus, the undefeated fighter suffered his first loss as a coach.

What are your thoughts about Henderson calling Penn the greatest lightweight and not Khabib? Let us know in the comments below.