Why is BJ so popular?

I don't understand why BJ penn is so popular. He is a good fighter, but he is not THAT amazing. He is 16-7-2, witch is good in that he has won more than he lost. I just don't get why so many people are ALL ABOUT Penn.
Don't get me wrong I like to watch Penn fights to, but I cant even respect him anymore because when he gets a loss it is never his fault, I mean GSP was "greasing" right?

i don't understand as well.

        

Because he's awesome.

 

* Edited at 09.20.2011, 7:23 PM ET *

Yeah, hes not THAT great.

lol what year did he do that? he actually has pecks there.

* Edited at 09.20.2011, 7:15 PM ET *

@beastmaster your answer to why Penn is so popular is because he licks his gloves and paces back and forth?

@Arcon  Yep

GSP was "greasing" but I don't want to get into that, but people love him because he always comes to fight, has some of the best boxing and BJJ ever, moves up weightclasses to fight big names, he fought Machida at HW, never been dropped, never been submitted, and he licks blood off his gloves haha.

Why does it matter why he's popular? People love to watch him fight. He's one of my favorites obviously. Fights anyone out there, and does well most of the time. He has some of the best BJJ MMA's ever seen, and has awesome standup as well. He comes to finish fights, not stall and grind out decisions (I have nothing against those who do). It's the same reason anyone would like a fighter, they think he's awesome and puts on a show, and people just like to watch him fight. Yeah, he has seven losses, all to top competition. Edgar twice, GSP twice, Hughes, Pulver, and Machida. All legends in their own right. Some of his losses are contested, I agree with pretty much all of them, but he always puts on a show and tries to finish no matter what.

They also love Penn because he has been in the game for a long time now..He always comes to the octagon ready to fight and put on an entertaining match. Did you know that he fought Machida back in the day, talk about an absolute division. That's what makes him fun, he just loves to fight and doesn't matter the size :)

He's popular because he's cool as hell, has a fighting style that people love to watch, and while maybe he never fully lived up to his potential, he was UFC champion and an amazing fighter.

I think if BJ truly put 110% into his training and conditioning, he would be one of the best of all time. Watching him get beat to the punch by Edgar showed he had a lot of holes in his game.

I understand that everyone has their personal likes and dislikes when it comes to fighters.  Of all people, I strongly dislike Stephan Bonner, who seems to be a heavy fan favorite.  I also can't stand Tito Ortiz, Brock Lesnar, the Diaz brothers, Shinya Aoki, and many others that some people seem to love.  So, I guess for some, BJ just rubs them the wrong way. 

I used to strongly dislike Penn myself, but that was before I actually gave him an honest chance, and spent some time learning about him as a person and as a fighter.  Now, Penn is on my favorite fighters list, and absolutely love watching him compete.  I used to be on the Miletich Fighting Systems bandwagon back in the day, and loved Matt Hughes, Jens Pulver, Spencer Fisher, Jeremy Horn, Pat Miletich himself, etc.  Penn was painted to be the bad guy in his match up with Pulver, but in reality, BJ is an awesome talent and a very eccentric personality.

BJ has a strong passion for Jiu-Jitsu, and his knowledge of the art is incredible.  He's fearless when it comes to quality of opposition, and he displays that in his willingness to fight anybody, any time, any where.  While his record may not seem impressive at face value, when you take a look at who he has fought, you see that he has a resume that includes the best names in the sport.

Oh boy. I don't even know if I should even post in this thread. 

No offense.

He's popular because he'd beat his opponents ass so hard that they'd have no choice to shoot a takedown.

But we all know that's a mistake, he'll tap them out HOWEVER HE WANTS.

BJ is probably the one fighter that has grown on my the most since I started watching mma.

He's a lot like Hendo in a way that he doesn't care about what weight he fights at and he doesn't care about how good the other guy is. He's a fighter in every sense of the word and that's appealing.

BJ Penn is a bad ass. He's an entertaining fighter, somewhat charismatic, outspoken and he's been a long time star in the sport. 

* Edited at 09.20.2011, 11:02 PM ET *

BJ is a legend. He helped get MMA to where it is today, his fights are always exciting, and he is one of the, if not the most well rounded fighters out there. Also, like @gregory was saying, he's a cool dude. Laid back, relaxed Hawaiian guy, what's not to like?