Every fighter has their strengths, and every fighter has their weaknesses. And some fighters naturally pick up skills with more ease and at a faster rate than others.

This is certainly the case with current UFC lightweight champion, BJ Penn. Unlike nicknames like “The Axe Murderer”, or “The Pit-bull,” Penn isn’t called “The Prodigy” for the intimidation factor.

Prodigy: A highly talented child or youth.

And this is exactly what the Hawaiian native is. He achieved his black belt in Brazilian Jujitsu in THREE YEARS, (most fighters are still blue belts at this level), then weeks later went on to be the first non-Brazilian to win the World Jiu-jitsu Championship in Brazil.

Then he became a professional mma fighter and started knocking people out.

He is the only fighter other then Randy Couture in the UFC to hold a title from two different weight classes, hasn’t lost in the lightweight division in 8 years, and hell, in my opinion he is the only other fighter other then Shogun Rua to really give light-HEAVY weight champ Lyoto Machida a run for his money (which, by the way, Shogun DID win) way back before Machida was the champ.

Outside of being somewhat of a sore loser (sorry Penn fans), where is the weakness in BJ’s game?

From the beginning, it has always been the question of his conditioning, but this may not be the case anymore.

After his rude awakening with the second George St. Pierre fight, BJ went and did one of the smartest things he could have done for his career: Humble himself enough to reach out for help from a professional strength and conditioning coach.

Enter Marv Marinovich, a conditioning specialist who specializes in speed, power, and functional training. After just a few months of training his mma conditioning with Marv, BJ went four tough rounds with at the time the number one lightweight contender, Kenny Florian.

Just the way BJ looked physically you could tell he was different. He was slimmer and much more cut.

But the real question of his conditioning proved itself when he was able to continuously stuff Kenflo’s numerous takedowns and eventually execute a beautiful takedown of his own followed by a fight ending rear naked choke.

Where MMA Conditioning Plays it Role

When two fighters square off, often times we compare styles, and predict possibilities based on each fighters strengths and weakness in terms of their style of fighting.

But one important element that is no less important than knowing Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling, and some form of striking and kicking is the strength and conditioning level of a fighter.

The Prodigy has one of his toughest lightweight challenges this Saturday against Diego “The Nightmare” Sanchez.

If Diego has one major advantage over the current champ, people would argue it’s his conditioning.

His intensity in his training and in the cage doesn’t just mean an exciting fight for the fans, it is a strength that if used properly can overwhelm fighters who are even more technically skilled.

But with BJ Penn having several months training under the watchful eye of a mma conditioning expert, can Diego still leverage this to his advantage?

This fight can go many ways, and the strength and conditioning may or may not be a factor.

The bottom line is this: a true mixed martial artist is one who has a mix of different arsenal in their toolbox, and they have the game-plan and intelligence to execute each tool at the correct time and with the right opponent.

So whether or not BJ Penn’s conditioning helps him with his chances in winning the fight, a true mixed martial artist is one who prepares himself so that he does not lose because of his lack in this or that skill or attribute.

And the Prodigy, at least in physical capabilities, is beginning to fill the gap that perhaps held him back from being as close to a true mixed martial artist as one can get.

Leave your comments below on your own personal thoughts on BJ’s conditioning and how important it is for his upcoming fight with the “Nightmare”