BJ Penn’s storied career adds another chapter this Saturday when he takes on Frankie Edgar for the UFC Lightweight Championship. Although Penn has had mixed results in other weight classes, he has been utterly dominant at 155 pounds. The last time Penn has lost in the division was over 8 years ago in a bout against Jens Pulver at UFC 35. After dropping hints that he would like to take another run at Welterweight, some have questioned how focused Penn will be when he steps into the Octagon with Edgar.

Penn concedes that he never paid much attention to Edgar when he debuted with the UFC. In fact, it wasn’t until the two were scheduled to fight each other that Penn finally started studying up on the New Jersey native.

“The first time I heard of Frankie Edgar it was a night of really bad fights. And I remember somebody saying that Frankie Edgar and Tyson Griffin got the Fight of the Night. And I actually haven’t gotten to see that fight until recently – until I started studying some of Frankie’s tapes. And then I know Mark Bocek really well and Bocek ended up fighting Frankie. So I saw Frankie again, there. And then I remember Frankie fighting Spencer Fisher and fighting Sean Sherk. But throughout all… throughout those times I never knew if there was going to be a show down between me and Frankie, so I didn’t really pay any attention. I just thought well there’s another good guy in the division. And now since this fight got put together I’ve been really trying to study Frankie.”

While Edgar may not have piqued Penn’s interests at first, he has since received the champion’s respect.

“I’ve said many times Frankie Edgar is not the guy to look past. Anybody who looks past Frankie Edgar is going to end up with another loss on their record and this isn’t the guy you play around with. So I’m not thinking about anything past April 10.”

With a win over Edgar, the line of viable contenders gets much shorter. Gray Maynard waits in the wings as well as a rematch with Kenny Florian. Beyond that, the picture gets a bit hazy. Even so, Penn refuses to accept that he has nothing left to prove at 155 pounds.

“I honestly believe that you can never really clean out a weight class because you know there’s always going to be a new contender. No matter what you do there will also be somebody new coming up.”

Penn remains dedicated to defending the Lightweight belt, but he won’t close the door on possibly moving up in the future.

“I try to just be true to myself and what my own personal goals are. And if I feel in my life that I want to try to take a fight at 170 pounds, I’ve got to stay true to myself and to my motivation.”

(source: MMA Weekly)