The Penn Is Mightier Than the Sword

Just ask Diego Sanchez.

UFC Lightweight Champ BJ Penn completely manhandled Sanchez at UFC 107 on Saturday, and in the course of the fight, he opened up a hellacious gash on Sanchez’ forehead with a rare, but devastating, head kick.

“It just boosted his confidence within the last two fights and especially this fight, when he transformed what Gary and Marv Marinovich did with him in his strength and conditioning and his cardio work and agility work into the fight,” said Valentino.
“They’re really valuable to us because when B.J. used to fight, he used to look at the time and wonder, ‘How much time do I got?’ He wasn’t confident in his conditioning, and that’s so important. He had a mental block like, ‘Can I make it for that three or four or five rounds?’ He would always have that.”

Valention then looked down the road to Shinya Aoki.

Aoki has been talking about a matchup with Penn over the last year and Valentino’s response was pretty clear.

“I don’t think anyone can hang with (BJ) at 155 pounds,” Valentino said. “Who knows, maybe try to get [Shinya] Aoki from Japan? He’s talking shit too now, saying he thinks he can beat B.J. Come on down bro, we’re waiting. Come to the UFC. I would love to see that fight.”