When B.J. Penn finishes his career he may go down as one of the greatest fighters and champions of all time, but don't try to tell him that right now.
As Penn readies for the rematch with Frankie Edgar at UFC 118, the Hawaiian is tired of hearing the old clichés about how he's the greatest, and that he's untouchable in the lightweight division. That day has passed, and Penn wants to hear none of it.
"First of all, no one is untouchable," he said on Thursday. "If they are they just haven't run into the right guy."
It's always been a label that's followed Penn throughout his career, from his early days knocking out opponents in the UFC when he was dubbed "The Prodigy." He may still go down as the greatest lightweight to ever step foot in the Octagon, but he's not willing to accept that persona.
While Penn has faced adversity in his career before, he admits that the loss to Edgar in April woke a sleeping giant, and that giant will rear its ugly head in Boston next Saturday night.
One other point that he makes abundantly clear about the rematch is that it's not about the title; it's not about being the best lightweight. It's about beating Edgar in a fight, simple as that.
"I don't know if I sit there and say 'well, I'm happy that Frankie's a worthy opponent.' One thing he did was wake me up, and makes me realize it never stops. When you hear people say 'you're the greatest of all time and this and that' it's (expletive). It's not real. It's fake," Penn said.
"Being a champion is fake, all that, it's all fake. You've got to go out there, you've got to keep training, training as hard as you can, and keep winning fights."
Penn didn't change much for his camp this time, as he got ready for Frankie Edgar, outside of bringing in Dream featherweight champion Bibiano Fernandes to help out. It's not been a broken machine when it comes to Penn's training regimen lately, but his mindset has changed and he's only focused on one thing... putting Frankie Edgar away.
"The only thing that's real is the fight," Penn stated. "Everything else is fake."
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