The 10 Best MMA fighters from the 2000s

4. BJ Penn

In his prime, there weren’t many other athletes on planet earth more dominant than BJ Penn.

Penn is the only fighter in UFC history to earn titles at both welterweight and lightweight. After falling short against Jens Pulver by a controversial decision at UFC 35, he would eventually get revenge against him in 2007 and finish Joe Stevenson at UFC 80 for the lightweight title.

In his welterweight debut at UFC 46, he became one of the only men to finish Matt Hughes and earn the welterweight belt. Penn’s striking, to go along with his fierce ground game, made him a matchup nightmare for his opposition.

UFC president Dana White, among others, has credited Penn for helping to bring the smaller weight classes in MMA to the forefront. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2015 as part of the ‘modern wing’.

White isn’t the only one who has praised Penn for his greatness inside the cage. Famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach once referred to Penn as arguably the greatest boxer in MMA.

Performance bonuses weren’t a rarity for Penn during his UFC career. His knockout over Matt Hughes at UFC 123 wrapped up one of the greatest trilogies in the history of the welterweight division. Two of his battles with Hughes earned Fight of the Night awards.

To go along with his UFC accolades, Penn also earned wins as a K-1 kickboxer over the likes of Renzo Gracie and Duane Ludwig. He also won the Rumble on the Rock lightweight championship over Takanori Gomi in 2003.

Despite his struggles later on in his career, fans tend to forget just how great Penn was at the height of his skillset. He’s right up there with Khabib Nurmagomedov amongst the greatest lightweights of all time.