Sherdog’s Top 10: UFC Ironmen

5. B.J. Penn

Few fighters have captured the public’s imagination like Penn. “The Prodigy” made his professional MMA debut at UFC 31 in May 2001 and has been part of the sport’s fabric ever since, totaling five hours, 18 minutes and seven seconds of Ultimate Fighting Championship fight time.

One of three men -- Conor McGregor and Randy Couture are the others -- to capture UFC gold in more than one weight class, Penn has appeared in 11 title fights with the promotion, good for fifth on the all-time list. He laid claim to the welterweight belt with a stunning upset of Matt Hughes at UFC 46 on Jan. 31, 2004 and then got his hands on the lightweight title by shredding Joe Stevenson at UFC 80 a little less than four years later. Penn has not aged particularly well, as he has gone just 1-5-1 across his past seven outings, his knockout of Hughes in their trilogy bout overshadowed by a draw with Jon Fitch and losses to Frankie Edgar (three times), Nick Diaz and Rory MacDonald.

Penn returns to the cage from a two-year layoff on Jan. 15 in Phoenix, where he meets Yair Rodriguez in the UFC Fight Night 103 main event.

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