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A top MMA coach recently heaped praise on BJ Penn and described his training methods as being ahead of his time in terms of perfecting his weight cuts. He disclosed that the UFC Hall of Famer acclimated himself to competing at 155 pounds and devoted his camp to ensuring he could perform at his best at the weight.
'The Prodigy' was one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world during his prime and cemented his legacy in the lightweight division through his surge in popularity and the title reign. Penn was a very durable fighter and even competed in several weight divisions including featherweight, welterweight and openweight.
During his appearance on Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson's JAXXON PODCAST, top MMA coach Jason Parillo described 'The Prodigy's training methods. Parillo mentioned that Penn educated himself on weight-cutting and proper training, which ensured he could do well in what ended being his natural weight-class:
"[Penn] legitimately trained himself to the weight that he belonged at and that's 155 [pounds]. He did conditioning...ran...got a nutritionist, educated his body and trained his body to be a real 155-pounder. A guy that has to cut weight to 155 [pounds] and then put the weight on properly to get back up to whatever you are, 167 [pounds], whatever it is.
"And be strong...agile and have the athleticism as a 155-pounder. So, he really brought himself down to a real 155-pounder."
Check out Jason Parillo's comments regarding BJ Penn below:
Jason Parillo discusses how BJ Penn prepared for his move up to welterweight
In addition to cementing his legacy as one of the greatest lightweights in the world during his prime, BJ Penn also achieved success at 170 pounds and had a reign as UFC welterweight champion.
The MMA coach noted that the sport had changed since his pupil was the welterweight champion. Penn was the reigning lightweight champion but felt confident in returning to 170 pounds when the opportunity for a rematch against then champion Georges St-Pierre presented itself. Parillo said during the aforementioned appearance:
"[Penn] has got to be a little fat. We make jokes like that. I said...'The sport was even a little different back then and you gave 'GSP' a run for your money', so now in your mind, you fought somebody, gave him a run for their money, you feel like, 'I know I can beat this guy and I'm in way better shape than I've ever been'. But he legitimately brought himself down to his real weight."
Check out highlights from Georges St-Pierre vs. BJ Penn 2 below:
