Penn fueled by haters

[tn94z]

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Former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion B.J. Penn is too old for this you-know-what.

He's still a proud man and a fighter. But he's a father of two now, and has children to keep in check the flare-ups of emotion that would have landed him in hot water three years ago. He can't go flying off at the handle at any slight. He is measured because he is responsible.

In short, he's an adult. At 32, he ought to be.

Few of the haters that seem to follow him everywhere have undergone such transformation. Even after all these years, they still dole out criticism that attacks his motivation, his skills, his background. And it's those nice people that give him the motivation to do his best in the gym.

"I'm sure it's constructive at times, but they light a fire under my butt," Penn today told MMAjunkie.com Radio (MMAjunkie.com Radio | MMAjunkie.com).

The haters seem to have taken a break this time around for Penn's fight this weekend at UFC 137, and in no small part because of the opponent he faces. Former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz seems to suck all the air out of the room in any of his current ventures, and just as much or more for his misbehavior outside the cage as inside it. His appeal is that he just doesn't give a you-know-what. He'll fight you in the octagon or the laundromat. He is street; no kids at home here.

Indeed, much of the standard publicity for the fight has been thrown out the window because of the problems that have surrounded it, Diaz or otherwise. Penn was originally scheduled to meet Condit. That went out the window when Diaz no-showed a press conference (again, sucking air). Condit got champ St-Pierre, and Penn got Diaz. After all that, St-Pierre withdrew with a knee injury, and by default, Penn and Diaz got thrust into the headliner and the spotlight – with all of a week to get the fans used to the idea.

They're just now getting used to it themselves. It's not an entirely comfortable situation, and one where the former training partners have no choice in the matter. This time around, the job overtakes the passion that might come from rivalry.

But at the same time, it might be a good thing for Penn. At the very least, he doesn't need to worry that Diaz will fight in the way that prompts a flare-up: the ground and pound, hold-you-down artist.

Penn has long championed the idea of keeping the "fight" in ultimate fighting, and it's an easy sell when, as a fan, you're forced to watch a molasses-slow positional war inside the cage. He also says there's also an economic reasoning behind his logic. It's one he might not have grasped without children in his life.

"I think at the end of the day, it's hard for me to talk about this because some fighters, that's really all they have," he said. "They cannot do anything else. They're going out there (and) they want to put food on their table and feed their families.

"So really, talking about things like this, you're talking about taking food off their tables. With the way the rules are right now, it's giving [wrestlers] a big advantage, and that's it. That's life, and we as fighters who want to finish the fight have to train extra hard and prepare more to make sure that doesn't happen."

Penn gets to take a break from that mentality, at least for now. Diaz will march straight forward and start throwing punches. A takedown might find its way into the fight, and on the mat, the two will grapple to see who is better on the ground. But whoever is on top, he won't wait it out there. Motion will follow.

Penn's critics are nowhere to be found when this happens. They don't attack him when he fights to finish and fights with passion. They attack him when he delivers anything less.

I just don't see how you can not like this guy.

[jipped genes]

Tweetagree. penn is one of my favs

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TweetPENN ON A GOOD DAY IS ONE OF THE BEST TO WATCH