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The Faces of UFC 39: BJ Penn
By Loretta Hunt

BJ Penn What better way to conclude our series today than chat with lightweight contender, BJ Penn? At 23 years old, Hawaiian import Penn has already had a phenomenal career in a relatively short period of time. He knocked out two of the UFC's top five lightweight contenders on his way to a collision course title bout with champion Jens Pulver. Although he did not come away from that match-up victorious, Penn says he walked away with an even more valuable commodity -- wisdom. Pulver may be gone from the UFC, but he still remains in Penn's thoughts. With the UFC lightweight belt potentially two fights away for 4-1 UFC veteran, Penn discusses his future in the game, his current bout against fellow BJJ black belt and Renzo Gracie protégé Matt Serra, and just what he thinks of Pulver's current competition.

FCF:   Your last fight versus Paul Creighton at UFC 37 introduced us to a less frenzied BJ Penn. You took your time and showed the patience of a more mature fighter. Should we expect more of that this Friday?
BJP:     Definitely. I'm going to take the fight as it comes, standing or on the ground or wherever. I think I'm a lot more relaxed now and I'm not in such a rush to get the guy out of there, so in that aspect this fight might look similar. But, I've also been working a lot on my explosiveness, so it might be a mix of those two.

FCF:   What do you attribute this newfound relaxation to?
BJP:     I attribute that to [Jens] Pulver. Losing that fight to him just made it a lot worse for everyone now, including him when I see him again to fight. I really feel like I matured over that fight. I know how it is now to be almost winning and then not win, to take a few punches here and there. That fight really did it for me. It made me ten times a better fighter.

FCF:   After training for previous fights with Frank Shamrock and "Crazy" Bob Cook's crew at the American Kickboxing Academy in California, you went back to your Hawaiian roots and trained for your last fight from there. Who have you been training with this time around?
BJP:     Pretty much the same guys as last time. I am training with my brothers, my teacher Charuto Verissimo de Oliveira [of Nova Uniao] -- he's a black belt down here, and then we have a wrestler here named Melchor [Manibusan]. He's fought in Abu Dhabi before. He's a great wrestler. We've been bringing in a couple of other guys and I have everything I need right now.

FCF:   Your match-up against Matt Serra is fast becoming one of the more anticipated bouts of the night, especially for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners around the world who hope to see some serious ground action. What are your thoughts on "The Terror"?
BJP:     Matt Serra is a very explosive fighter himself. He's a great competitor and I love watching him fight. I like him as a person as well; he's a really good guy. But I' m entering my prime now in my fighting career. This is definitely not the most experienced I'll ever be, but I'll definitely be my strongest and my fastest time. I think in these next seven years, you're going to see a lot of great fights out of me -- this is going to be one of them.

UFC 31: BJ Penn beating on Joey Gilbert FCF:   If you get control during the fight, where would you dictate it to go?
BJP:     Either or -- on the ground or standing. I still feel I'm the best grappler in the lightweight division, although not to take anything from Matt. Matt is an unbelievable grappler. Matt's the man, you know? But I still feel I am a better grappler than he is. I feel I'm better in all aspects of the fight than he is.

FCF:   Will you try to capitalize with your stand-up prowess?
BJP:     Yeah, that too, but sometimes I like to make the guy stand up because I know it tires him out -- being on his back and stepping back off him and then he has to get up and exchange punches. I know that really wears on you mentally and physically.

FCF:   A knockout or a submission? What would be your preference in finishing the fight in your favor?
BJP:     Submission.

FCF:   Because Matt Serra is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Renzo Gracie?
BJP:     Not just Renzo Gracie -- just that Matt Serra is very good at what he does. If I could have my choice it would be a submission, but it could be a knockout too. Who knows? If I get the chance, I'll submit him.

FCF:   Are there any specific changes you made for this fight?
BJP:     My diet. I' m mastering The Zone diet. I'm totally into that now. The guys at crossfit.com, who help me to train, kept trying to get me to do it. I was always about fast food and Myoplex and now I'm just totally into the Zone. That's going to give me 1,000 more times confidence now knowing that I'm running on optimum fuel.

FCF:   How do you feel on this new diet?
BJP:     Great. Unbelievable. Before, all I would eat was McDonalds or Jack-In-The-Box and then try to drink protein with it. That's all I ate through all of my other fights. Now I' m eating really well and I like it.

FCF:   If you get past Matt, your next opponent will be decided for you on this same night. Din Thomas meets Caol Uno in the second semifinal lightweight match up of the evening. Who do you think will come out the victor in that bout?
BJP:     Everything tells me Din, because he' s bigger and stronger, but I don't know. Uno would never, ever give up. I still think Uno could win. Din's not terrible on the ground, but I don't know if he could submit Uno. It's up in the air to me. Everything is telling me Din, but I wouldn't count out Uno versus anybody.

FCF:   Who would you prefer to fight?
BJP:     It doesn't really matter. I know I'm in both of their heads.

FCF:   Getting a rematch with Jens Pulver was obviously an important goal for you, but now he no longer fights with the UFC organization. Do you still harbor hopes that one day you might meet again in the combat arena?
BJP:     Of course. Jens says the winner of this title elimination won't be the true champion. What he should have just done was come down to Hilo and dropped the belt off at my house. At first, I thought that maybe the UFC is treating Jens real bad, and maybe that's why he's leaving. All that guy's doing is going around fighting people that aren't even ranked at all. Isn't the goal of this sport to be the best? To be the champion? At least he could go fight Din Thomas again. Thomas beat him and is ranked in the top ten. I don't know what that guy's up to.

FCF:   That's a challenge if I ever heard one. [BJ laughs] It sounds like you are trying to lay some bait to get him back into the UFC.
BJP:     I think he'll end up back in the UFC. I'm not really worried about it, because I know we'll fight again. I guarantee he'll be back and I'll be ready.

With UFC 39 now only hours away, we at Full Contact Fighter wish you an enjoyable evening of mixed martial arts entertainment and wish all of tonight's competitors the best of luck. Enjoy the show!
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