Khabib Nurmagomedov is widely regarded as the greatest lightweight fighter of all time, but not by UFC mainstay, Joe Rogan.
Khabib Nurmagomedov shocked the MMA world in 2020 when retired from the sport after dominating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 to go 29-0.
‘The Eagle’ is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time, and the most dominant lightweight of all time, despite his protege Islam Makhachev breaking his record this past January with another title defense.
Nurmagomedov is now creating a legacy as one of the best coaches in the sport, helping Makhachev continue the Russian dominance of the lightweight division.
Joe Rogan disputes Khabib being the greatest lightweight ever
However, despite the general consensus being that Khabib is the greatest 155lb fighter ever, Joe Rogan has disputed that by claiming BJ Penn is the greatest lightweight fighter ever.
‘The Prodigy’ somewhat tarnished his legacy at the end of his UFC career after finishing his career 16-14-2, losing his last seven fights.
Prior to that, though, Penn scored victories over some huge names in the sport like Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian, and Joe Stevenson.
“People talk about Khabib being the greatest lightweight of all time and maybe he is, it’s very possible he is,” Joe Rogan began to explain in a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.
“But I would put the BJ Penn that fought Joe ‘Daddy’ Stevenson, the BJ Penn that fought Sean Sherk, the BJ Penn that was in that peak when he was training, I would put him against anybody, against anybody.
“When he fought Diego Sanchez, he couldn’t be stopped. And if you got him to the ground, his f—— submission game was insane. He was insane off his back, he would take your back, you were dead. He would knock you out standing up, his kickboxing was elite,” Rogan continued.
Will Islam Makhachev overtake as the greatest lightweight of all time?
Both Penn and Nurmagomedov are now retired from the sport, leaving the door open for Makhachev to leave no doubt on who the greatest lightweight of all time is.
With the Russian holding the record for the most title defenses in the division’s history, a few more wins at 155lb could cement his name as the greatest lightweight ever.
And despite him having plans to move up to welterweight in the not so distant future, he has been sent a message by Belal Muhammad to stay at lightweight for the time being.