BJ Penn shares theory as to why Khabib Nurmagomedov would not fight Kamaru Usman

UFC legend BJ Penn shared his theory as to why former lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov would not fight welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman.

Penn was once considered the greatest lightweight in UFC history, but Nurmagomedov and his 29-0 MMA/13-0 UFC record has surpassed Penn in the eyes of many as the lightweight GOAT. Penn, however, recently shot back at that notion, saying that he believed Nurmagomedov walked away from his career too early. In addition, Penn also believes that Nurmagomedov did not challenge himself enough by moving to another weight class.

In a recent Instagram post from the legend, BJ Penn explained why he believes Nurmagomedov would not take the risk to move up to 170lbs and take on Usman.

BJ Penn: Since Khabib has been saying he is the greatest lightweight of all time and I am number 2 best lightweight many people have been asking me why didn’t Khabib fight Usman for the 170 pound belt or compete for 170 belt like I did many times… in my humble opinion it is because he is not proficient and confident in jiujitsu I believe the reason behind Khabib not fighting Usman is because he does not know jiujitsu like I did and he is not comfortable fighting off his back against someone who is bigger and stronger than him like I did many many times in my career. I fought at 170 185 and heavyweight and every fight I had to fight from my back and survive and come back and fight harder if I was to get a victory. It’s because of my jiujitsu black belt experience and fighting in my weight and absolute division for years that always prepared me for this…Gracie jiujitsu and Brazilian jiu-jitsu alone is not enough to be UFC champion but to choose one system BJJ is still the greatest self defense system in the world especially for the little man to fight the big man. It was just part of the game… Khabib says jiujitsu is easy and he is the best grappler ever but he did not fight bigger opponents in higher weight classes because his style is not prepared for this …and that’s what jiujitsu was created for.. for the little man to defend himself from the big man! That is martial arts, that is self defense !!

Do you agree with BJ Penn?