The More Things Don’t Change, the More They Stay the Same.

Posted by Barry Laminack

As I watched Frankie Edgar dismantle B.J. Penn for a second time on Saturday night at TD Gardens in Boston, I couldn't help but wonder to myself if this was the end of an era in the lightweight division or the beginning of a new one, or perhaps both.

It's been said many times that styles make fights, and while I agree with that philosophically, I don't think that was the case in the Edgar vs Penn rematch.  I think what we saw was one fighter (in Frankie Edgar) who knew what he wanted and needed to do to retain his title; and he went out there did it, again.  He executed his game plan to perfection and basically had Penn befuddled for 25 minutes.

When I was on ESPN 97.5's "In The Cage" with Adam Villareal last week breaking down the fight, I made the point that B.J. Penn had 5 rounds in his last fight against Edgar to adjust his game plan in an attempt to counter Edgar's systematic dismantling of what many believed to be pound for pound the best fighter in the world.  The problem was that Penn had no answer for Edgar and ended up losing his title via a unanimous decision.

Leading up to the rematch, many of the so called experts brushed Edgar's one sided victory off as a fluke and said that we would all see a different B.J. Penn in the rematch.  Again, I'm not sure what they saw that would make them think that Penn would be able to alter his game plan in the next 5 rounds.  Perhaps it was disbelief that lightning could strike twice, or perhaps it was his reputation that had the pundits believing Penn could return to his dominate form against Edgar.  Either way, Franky Edgar went out and showed the "experts" that he is, with out a shadow of a doubt, a better fighter than B.J. Penn.

So what's next for Penn?  Only he knows, but I can't help but think that based on his comments (and the look in his eyes) that he was for the time being contemplating an exit from the game.  Do I think he'll retire? No, but at that moment in time he looked defeated and broken (which is understandable). I just hope for his sake and the sake of the sport that he is able to bounce back.  He's still one of the best lightweights in the world, just not THE best.

As for Edgar, I'm not ready to proclaim him the new king of the MMA world just yet.  His reward for defeating "the greatest lightweight ever" is to defend his title against the only guy to have ever defeated him as a pro, Gray Maynard (the baddest man with a tramp stamp).

Cue the "styles make fights" talk.