[How I Roll]

Hey guys, I re-watched the Penn/Stevenson fight last night and was impressed with B.J.'s stand up. But I'm the first person to admit I have a major lack of stand up training so I might be looking at the fight all wrong.

I guess what I'm asking is technically speaking how good is B.J.'s stand up really? As a jiu jitsu guy I know how good he is on the ground, but I was hoping you guys could clear up how good his boxing really is.

[aries]

Originally Posted by How I Roll

Hey guys, I re-watched the Penn/Stevenson fight last night and was impressed with B.J.'s stand up. But I'm the first person to admit I have a major lack of stand up training so I might be looking at the fight all wrong.

I guess what I'm asking is technically speaking how good is B.J.'s stand up really? As a jiu jitsu guy I know how good he is on the ground, but I was hoping you guys could clear up how good his boxing really is.

Well he boxed before he started BJJ. And compared to anyone else in MMA I'd say he is very good. No one really slips as effectively and uses the jab as well as BJ apart from the Marcus Davis's of the world. His use of distance and his footwork are excellent. I think if he concentrated on boxing solely he'd do pretty well as a professional.

[Yanoush]

He has very good stand up

Some of the best at LW if not the best in general

[JerseyTrash]

I think he said somewhere he doesn't really throw kicks because they don't work well for his style.

[How I Roll]

Originally Posted by JerseyTrash

I think he said somewhere he doesn't really throw kicks because they don't work well for his style.

That's kind of what sparked this actually. It seems that most people in MMA revolve more around muay thai or some kind of kickboxing. Penn never seems to throw kicks, although I guess a knee was what put Sherk away. Anyway that made me wonder if he was more of a boxer, but since I am not very good at analyzing stand up I thought someone here could clear it up.

[Rinksterk]

He uses basic boxing techniques very well. Uses his jab a lot and slips pretty well. If you watched his rematch with Pulver and his fight with Sherk, I think he used his footwork well enough to stay in range. He moves back just enough for his opponents to miss instead of jumping 5 feet back after a combination like a lot of MMA fighters do. In contrast to his juijitsu, there's nothing fancy about his striking; its all basic boxing techniques.
Penn also has natural advantages as well. He's a talented athlete and has a solid chin.

[ChachiKiller]

underrated.

[dkickboxer]

He doesn't throw kicks much, but his training at AKA is what built his standup skills. Solid trainers here, so he learned solid technical striking.

[crossdx]

Read his book, "MMA: The Book of Knowledge", for more insight into his standup technique/strategy.

[ssssmashing]

One thing when you watch BJ is he uses a good stance. His stance is not as wide or deep as a lot of guys. I think this is because has no fear of being taken down.

If you watch he uses his knees and hips to drive out his punch. He has good form because he is always very relaxed with his technique.