Source: MMA Spot - B.J. Penn’s Boxing Coach Jason Parillo Reflects On UFC 112 Loss

B.J. Penn’s Boxing Coach Jason Parillo Reflects On UFC 112 Loss

Following B.J. Penn's disappointing loss to Frankie Edgar at "UFC 112: Invincible," the former lightweight champion's trainer Jason Parillo discusses his thoughts on the fight. Back home in the U.S., MMA Spot's Breanna Armstrong met with Parillo at the RVCA training center in Costa Mesa, Calif. to find out what he thinks may have led to Penn's uncharacteristic performance, the odd 50-45 score that has many scratching their heads, and what the future holds for Penn.
Armstrong: What do you think about B.J.’s fight?

Parillo: I can’t really say if there was a winner, nor a loser of the fight, but obviously the winner was Frankie Edgar. So it’s nothing to complain about at the end of the day, you just have to go on. But I don’t think that B.J. was himself, I don’t think that he established what we were trying to establish in that fight. I expected B.J. to have a showcase fight, I expected him to win in a high fashion. I thought leading up to fight week we had him going in that direction and camps don’t always go smoothly, but B.J.’s reaction time wasn’t where it normally is. I don’t know if we were a little over trained and not so much under trained. B.J.’s definitely looked better physically. He didn’t have the same energy walking out to the cage. Normally, you can feel that energy coming off of him and I didn’t feel that energy as much. B.J. felt that he had enough talent to beat Frankie even on a bad day. And B.J. ended up having a bad day. I’m not making excuses; I think Frankie is a hell of a fighter. I think he established his game plan of what he wanted to do and I think we knew that was exactly what his game plan was. I knew it personally. And I thought we established B.J.’s movement in cutting out the cage, to where he could have smothered that speed and took advantage of Frankie but he never got off to do it.
Armstrong: What do you think about the judge that gave all five rounds to Edgar?

Parillo: It was shady, I felt that the judges were in a position where if there was any close round what so ever, they would give it to Frankie. Because B.J. was supposed to dominate, and so if he is not dominating, he might as well be losing the round. No doubt the first and second round B.J. won, I feel he won the third round too, some people might think it’s a draw or might go one way or the other, the fourth is questionable and the fifth I feel that it went to Frankie. The 45 and 50 round is crazy but these judges are only human. I know that when I come home after my job, maybe I make a few wrong calls at times. And that judge probably questions a couple of rounds that he judged himself.
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