Penn makes history with victory at UFC 80

BJ Penn smacked himself in the face repeatedly, then licked each of his gloves. The same gloves he just used to pummel Joe Stevenson's bloody face before tapping him out with a rear naked choke.

Nobody can accuse Penn of having a boring postfight celebration ritual. And now, nobody can accuse him of underachieving anymore.

In the main event of UFC 80, Penn became only the second fighter in UFC history to win a championship in two different weight classes when he overwhelmed Stevenson to claim the lightweight title on Saturday.

Penn gets the gold. (AP)

Penn (12-4-1 overall, 8-3-1 UFC) assaulted Stevenson (28-8, 5-2 UFC) with fists and put him on his backside almost immediately in Round 1. Penn kept Stevenson on the defensive in a ground battle and landed a grazing elbow that opened a cut on Stevenson's forehead. Stevenson bled heavily for the rest of the fight. After eating more ground and pound in Round 2, Stevenson fell victim to a rear naked choke and was forced to tap out at 4:02.

Stevenson wept openly as he congratulated Penn for the win.

"I knew he was going to be tough," Penn said. "I put everything I had into this."

Penn scoffed when UFC interviewer Joe Rogan brought up the unrelenting criticism of his conditioning and work ethic.

"Look at my abs," Penn said, pointing to his six pack and flexing. "You tell me."

Almost immediately after the title win, Penn was looking for another fight.

"Sean Sherk, you're dead," he said.

Sherk -- recently stripped of the lightweight belt by UFC when the California State Athletic Commission upheld his suspension for a positive steroid test last July -- was already on his way into the Octagon as Penn issued his threat.

"BJ can talk all the crap he wants to," Sherk told Rogan. "I don't have any respect for BJ."

Sherk was booed loudly by the crowd in England, and seemed to take exception to the cold welcome.

"You guys can boo all you want. I don't really care," he told the audience before turning his attention back to Penn. "That belt still belongs to me. You got one more fight before you're UFC lightweight champion."

Penn joins Randy Couture as the only men to reach the pinnacle of two weight classes in the UFC. Until Saturday, Couture was the only man to claim the honor, with title reigns at heavyweight and light heavyweight to his credit.

Penn won his first UFC title on Jan. 31, 2004, when he moved up a weight class to challenge welterweight champion Matt Hughes at UFC 46. After winning the title from Hughes, Penn left the UFC while still champion, forcing the promotion to strip him of the belt. Litigation followed -- another similarity Penn shares with Couture.

Complete results from Saturday's UFC 80:

• BJ Penn defeated Joe Stevenson via submission to a rear naked choke at 4:02 of Round 2 to become the new UFC lightweight champion.
• Fabricio Werdum defeated Gabriel Gonzaga via TKO due to strikes at 4:34 of Round 2.
• Marcus Davis defeated Jess Liaudin via KO due to a left hook at 1:04 of Round 1.
• Wilson Gouveia defeated Jason Lambert via KO due to a left hook at 37 seconds of Round 2.
• Jorge Rivera defeated Kendall Grove via TKO due to strikes at 1:20 of Round 1.
• Antoni Hardonk defeated Colin Robinson via KO with a left hand at 17 seconds of Round 1.
• Paul Kelly defeated Paul Taylor via unanimous decision after three rounds.
• Alessio Sakara defeated James Lee via TKO due to punches at 1:30 of Round 1.
• Sam Stout defeated Per Eklund via unanimous decision after three rounds.