B.J. Penn interview

MMA Sport issue 11 interview exclusive with B.J. Penn

MMASports: Thank you for taking the time out to do the interview, what have you been doing since winning the UFC lightweight title?
BJ: I've just been hanging out in Hilo in Hawaii, actually I've been in the gym the whole time I took a couple days of here and there but I have just been in the gym.

MMASports: What does it feel like to be the champion?
BJ: I don't really feel like I am a champ. I'm happy I got the belt, and now I just want to go out and beat some people.

MMASports: You dominated Joe Stevenson, is that how you predicted the fight?
BJ: Yeah I expected the fight to go just like that, I'm happy that everything turned out well.

MMASports: Your conditioning looks so much better in your last fight, tell us about that?
BJ: I got on a good diet, I trained hard, I had great training partners everything was just perfect. I'm just more serious about what's going on, it's a big sport and I want to do big things.

MMASports: You destroyed Jens Pulver in your previous fight, what was the difference in you between that and the first fight you had with him?
BJ: I definitely had a lot more experience when we came to fight for the second time and I felt so comfortable I was in great shape and I was just ready to go. I was ready to go.

MMASports: Let's talk about Sean Sherk, what goes through your mind when you hear that name?
BJ: Sean Sherk…when I hear that name, its just a guy that I've got to go out and beat and a guy who says that he’s the real champion and he’s a guy that makes me laugh for thinking that.

MMASports: What is your prediction for that fight?
BJ: I'm just going to go out there and get after him and eventually he is going to end up folding and his going to give up. Whether it is going to be from punches or from me submitting him. The only way that Sean Sherk can win is to have three people sitting outside the cage telling him he has won the fight. You know what I mean, who wants to win like that. I'm just going to go out there and put him away.

MMASports: What do you think of Sean as a fighter?
BJ: As a fighter you know what, he’s got his take down and his cardiovascular, but if you want to talk a fighter, in his heart and abuse different things and I think that he is a coward for taking drugs to be able to beat people. That's just what he is, he’s an athlete he’s not a fighter and if you want to go further he is a coward.

MMASports: Sean tested positive to steroids, he denies it, your thoughts?
BJ: Like he said he didn’t do it uh. He didn’t do it. (laughing while he says it, which caused me to laugh).

MMASports: Tell us a little about your training for this upcoming fight and the team you train with?
BJ: I have been training all this time and when I over train I take some time off. I have some good training partners. Urijah Faber is here, I got Pablo Popovich coming down, I've got Grey Maynard coming down, I'm going to be ready for this fight. I know he is the former champ and whatever and he’s got some great credentials. This is going to be a tough fight. His going to come in, he’s going to have to twitch his thing a little. I'm almost guaranteed he'll probably be blood doped. He’s going to be blood doping, Growth hormone, Steroids. Who knows maybe he won't take steroids but I know he is going to do something. When your use to always taking drugs and all that stuff, you can’t go in. It’s going to be hard to have the balls to go in just natural. Whatever he comes at me with I'm going to come harder and stronger and I’ll be ready.

MMASports: So what's your future in the lightweight division, will you be staying or will you be going back to the welterweight division after this fight?
BJ: I'll probably fight again in the lightweight division but I will be moving up soon.

MMASports: What does competing, fighting mean to you?
BJ: Competing, fighting is not to prove anything to anyone else, just to prove to myself where I am and my dedication and it gives me something to live for, if not, I wouldn’t be doing anything I'd just be hanging out. So fighting basically it's my life, it gives me something to live for.

MMASports: Have we seen he best of BJ Penn yet?
BJ: Not yet.

MMASports: So what's Hawaii like for a fighter?
BJ: My life use to be different use to be more partying and checking out everything. But now for a fighter like me, all that I do is go to the gym and come home. I go to the beach to have fun and stuff like that, but as far as the women and all the partying and all that I kind of slowed down a little bit, just trying to focus.

MMASports: Any last comments?
BJ: Just want to thank all the fans in the sport, check out bjpenn.com, non stop entertainment. And I want to thank RUCA for taking care of me all this time.

What does B.J. Penn think of...
Jens Pulver - A good fighter, I hope he stays around for a while.
Georges St.Pierre - Great athlete.
Sean Sherk - Juiced.
Matt Hughes - Best welterweight champion ever.
Kenny Florian - Tough guy, all heart.
Takanori Gomi - Punches hard.
Matt Serra - Great fighter, great guy.
Karo Parisyan - Great Judo.
Jon Fitch - Floating in under the radar.