Issue 150

January 2017

‘The Prodigy’,

Former UFC welterweight & lightweight champion,

MMA debut: 2001,

Record: 16-14-2,

Notable wins: Matt Serra, Matt Hughes (x2), Takanori Gomi, Jens Pulver, Kenny Florian.

1: HISTORY MAKER VS. EDSON DIAZ - IBJJF WORLD JIU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIP 2000

"I knew going into the final that if I won that match, my life would change forever. To be the first American, the first non-Brazilian, to win the gold medal was a big achievement.

I was prepared to break my arm, break my leg, whatever it took. I was prepared to do anything to win that fight.”

2: FLASH KNOCKOUT VS. CAOL UNO, UFC 34

"I signed for the UFC after training with Dana White and Lorenzo Feritta in Las Vegas, but I really didn't know what to expect. Everybody thought I was going to be a ground fighter, but I won my first three fights by knockout in the first round.

The Uno fight was an eliminator for the belt. I remember I ran to the Octagon, knocked him out and ran back to the locker rooms. It was my fastest finish, 11 seconds. I was out there just a couple of minutes, total!"

3: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE VS. MATT HUGHES, UFC 46.

Whenever people tell me I can't do something, that's when I really want to go out there and prove them wrong.

Matt Hughes was just so dominant as the welterweight champion that I wanted to defeat him. Weights were never an issue to me. It was just me versus him. I won the fight with the submission, but it was the punch I caught him with that even Hughes would admit won me the fight.

I couldn’t believe it when he started tapping. I honestly didn’t know how to react...

After you beat Matt Hughes, what the f**k else is there to do?”

4: WIN SOME, LOSE SOME VS. MATT HUGHES II, UFC 63.

"People may be surprised I'm including a loss, but the fight was something special.

After the fight, Dana White calls me and says, ‘BJ you’re an f’ing superstar. That was the greatest fight I ever saw.’ And it was great. It had submissions, we were going back and forth punching each other, it had takedowns and of course it had a finish.

What more do you want?”

5: RECORD BREAKER VS. JOE STEVENSON, UFC 80.

I liked this performance because I just went out there and let my technique beat him. I showed everybody – this is how good I am, there you go. I knew it was important to win a second title in a second weight division.

I knew it was going to build my legacy in the sport. And I won that fight very convincingly.

Nobody thought I would win anything in MMA – myself included, perhaps – so winning titles in two weight classes is special to me.”