Joe Rogan Says Prime BJ Penn Would Be Nightmare for Khabib, Islam
Joe Rogan said a prime BJ Penn at 155 pounds would have been a nightmare matchup for Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev in the same lightweight era. The longtime UFC commentator made the claim on The Joe Rogan Experience while putting Penn against anyone in the history of the division.
Rogan was speaking on episode No. 2544 with Modern Wisdom host Chris Williamson, which aired Aug. 21. He used Penn as his example of a lightweight who could trouble the best Dagestani champions the UFC has produced.
Penn, known as “The Prodigy,” is a UFC Hall of Famer and a former champion at lightweight and welterweight. He became the second fighter in UFC history to win titles in two divisions and was the first inductee into the promotion’s modern-era Hall of Fame wing in 2015.
His peak at 155 pounds came after he won the lightweight title in 2008. Penn made three successful defenses, beating Kenny Florian, Sean Sherk, and Diego Sanchez, before Frankie Edgar took the belt in 2010.
He had already captured welterweight gold from Matt Hughes at UFC 46 in 2004. Penn also made Brazilian jiu-jitsu history as the first non-Brazilian to win a world championship at black belt.
Rogan did not pick Penn to beat Khabib or Makhachev. He argued that the Hawaiian’s prime version would have been a brutal problem for both.
“And I always point to BJ Penn, because BJ Penn in his prime was f***ing insane,” Rogan said.
“I would put prime BJ Penn at 155 pounds against anybody ever, anybody at 155 ever.”
He then separated admiration from a prediction.
“I don’t know if he would have beaten Khabib,” Rogan said. “Khabib is the all-time great.”
“I don’t know if he would have beaten Islam, but I know it would have been a nightmare,” he said. “It would have been a nightmare.”
“He was a f***ing phenom.”
Khabib retired undefeated at 29-0 after winning the UFC lightweight title and making three defenses. He entered the UFC Hall of Fame in 2022 and never shared an era with Penn’s best years.
Makhachev is 29-1, the current UFC welterweight champion, a former lightweight champion, and the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He made four title defenses at 155 pounds, then moved up and has now won 17 UFC fights in a row.
Rogan’s comparison is hypothetical. Penn’s prime was built on boxing, jiu-jitsu, and timing that gave wrestlers and strikers trouble in a thinner lightweight division than the one Khabib and Makhachev later dominated.
Rogan added that when Penn was in peak condition, training with the Marinovichs and using plyometrics, he had an “insane gas tank.” That cardio, in Rogan’s view, is part of what made him such an awkward matchup at 155.
The comment lands while Makhachev’s all-time case is growing at welterweight, not lightweight. Khabib remains the measuring stick Rogan still calls “the all-time great,” and Penn remains the older name he keeps throwing into that conversation.
Penn finished his career 16-14-2, a record padded by a long decline after his title years. The version Rogan is talking about is the champion who beat Hughes at 170 and then ruled 155, not the fighter who stayed too long.
That distinction matters. Rogan is not rewriting Khabib’s 29-0 run or Makhachev’s two-division resume. He is saying a prime Penn would have made either man uncomfortable.
Lightweight has changed since Penn’s title reign. The wrestlers got better, the depth got heavier, and the champions started stacking defenses against a tougher field. Rogan’s point still rests on Penn’s unusual blend of skill at a time when that combination was rare.
Khabib is retired. Penn is retired. Makhachev is still active as welterweight champion, with his next title defense not yet officially announced.
The 155-pound what-if will follow him anyway. As long as Rogan and others keep using Penn as a measuring stick, the nightmare matchup stays part of the lightweight history debate.