Few things in life are more precious than family, fame and fortune. Happiness, for one, is quite possibly the single most valuable commodity one will endure throughout his or her lifetime. Some seek happiness through monetary benefits, others through a means of escape from reality by partaking in a favored pastime.

For BJ Penn, however, happiness could come tenfold on Saturday when he locks horns with world recognized and UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes. Providing that Hughes succumbs to either Penn's superior striking ability or BJ's slick BJJ, he will most certainly leave the Octagon not only with the gold plated welterweight crown, but also with that ever so precious feeling of triumph.

About a week or so ago I had the opportunity to chat with BJ after one of his grueling workouts. It was a rare instance where I actually caught him during some reserved free time just after a quick catnap. Now I pass on to you, loyal Sherdog reader, what we chewed the fat about.

Mike Sloan: How long, exactly, have you been training full force for Hughes? Has it been just the regular five to six weeks, or have you been in the gym for months?

BJ Penn: I've been in for about a month, then the rest of this month left.

MS: How is training going right now? Are there any problems or weight issues?

BP: I'm right on weight. Usually I'm at about 155, but I'm walking around at 170 right now, so I'm good; I'm just out right around there.

MS: With the extra weight that you've accumulated for this fight, does it make you feel sluggish at all?

BP: Nah. I might walk into (The Octagon) at about 165 or whatever, but if that's the weight where I'm comfortable then that's biggest I'm going to get comfortably without putting all kinds of extra weight, you know. That's how I would be if I was going to defend myself out on the street or anywhere at my best.

So if someone's going to attack me out on the street or something, that's where I'll be about; 165 or 170. I'm pretty much the best possible fighter I can be right now for my size, I guess.

MS: When you signed on to challenge Hughes, was it because you wanted to step up and challenge the man regarded as the best in his class or was it because you had difficulties making the lightweight limit of 155?

BP: Nah! I can make 155 easy. I actually got real fat, about 180, before the Gomi fight. But that was just fat, so it was real easy to lose. I didn't have to get or lose any muscle.

The UFC will not get a lightweight title for a long time; at least until the end of 2004. I just want to fight for the belt and I think I can beat him, man. It's no problem for me. I like fighting good people. You know, I can go around and fight all kinds of nobodies and have, like, fifty wins on my record, but when I'm done I want everybody to look at my record and see all these great people that I fought.

I want to fight only the best. Man, I can go right now and fight a shitty guy at the bar! I want to just fight the best people. MS: With Hughes, he's naturally bigger than you, probably stronger than you and most everybody regard him as the world's best welterweight and clearly one of the best, if not the best pound-for-pound. People also consider you have the abilities to be what Hughes is in the eyes of the MMA public. Because Hughes is at the top of the food chain, do you see it possible that you can actually lose to him, or are you so confident that there is no way you'll lose?

BP: Yep, I'm coming to win. This isn't no circus act. I'm coming to win this fight. I'm doing everything in my power to win the fight. I mean, nobody gets three shots at a title. I've already had two and this could be my last, but (chuckles) I'm coming to win this fight. This is no joke, you know?

I'm coming to win and I'm going to knock him out or submit him. I'll do whatever I have to do to win the fight. That's all I know. I'm very confident. I am a jiu jitsu world champion and I feel that I can do anything. I feel that I can do anything in a fight against Hughes, so I don't know. We're just going to have to find out that way.

MS: You have unprecedented striking ability and your jiu jitsu is world class, obviously. Out of your two potent strengths, which do you see as the bigger advantage for you against Hughes?

BP: Both and I think even my takedowns are going to play a part in it, too. I honestly don't feel like he's going to overpower me like everybody says he is. Sure, he's going to be the stronger man in there, but I don't think he's going to overpower me and do whatever he wants with me like everything thinks. That's not what is going to happen.

My takedowns are going to play a role in that. I feel like I am hard to take down and I feel that if I get the right shot, I'm going to take you down. Will it be something for him to think about? I don't know. So I'm going to come in striking, grappling, whatever I have to do.

MS: In his recent string of wins, most people think he's looked invincible with the way he dominated Sherk, Sakurai, Newton in the rematch and most recently, Trigg. By watching his latest fights, what flaw in his style do you see that you can capitalize on?

BP: I see some stuff that I don't want to talk about. (Laughs) I'm not trying to hold out on you, but I feel that there is some stuff that I can definitely do out there, though.

MS: Ever since this fight was announced and that you were making your welterweight debut against Hughes, not many people have fully backed you in terms of the regulars on the various forums. Of course you have supporters, but it seems that the vast majority of MMA fans think you'll get owned by Hughes, even many of your fans. How much does this bother you, if at all?

BP: Infidels!! (Laughs) Nah, just kidding. Nah, it doesn't bother me. You know what? This is the first time in my life that I'm going to be an underdog in any of my fights. I've always been the favorite, so this is kind of fun, actually. There's always going to be those people, though, that even if I do beat Hughes- Wait. I mean, when I beat Hughes, they're going to say that stuff, but whatever. The only people's opinion that really matter is the team that I'm with. And if someone over here on my team said that I couldn't do it, I'd say to get the fuck out of here! But no, that doesn't bother me too much.

MS: Exactly because no matter what you do, you can't please everybody. There is always going to be somebody trashing you.

BP: Yeah and even after I beat him, they'll still say that I never got over the Pulver thing or that I drew with Uno or that I didn't fight Serra well. Who cares? Every fighter goes through adversity. If I never went through all the stuff, if I never had that adversity and didn't have a tough career, like if I walked through Jens and got the belt, I wouldn't be having as good time as I've had. All these people that are with you, then they're not with you, then they like you again and this and that, then there are the people will never like you and then there are people who will always like you, so it's okay.

MS: One thing that I noticed, though, that when you fought Pulver, everybody was riding the BJ bandwagon and though you lost to Jens, not many people jumped off. They still stuck behind you, unlike other fighters who lose their fans the instant they lose.

BP: Honestly, I think people have faith in me and think that I'm one of the best talents to ever fight. I think they realize that I have had problems in my career. I think that maybe they believe that I haven't reached my potential yet and are still waiting to see that knockout of Din Thomas, that knockout of Uno again. That kind of stuff will happen again, you know, and I am very happy that all these people have stuck around. It's good to hear people talking about you like that and understand that it could take some time. This is going to be my tenth fight now and I know I have gotten a lot better. Before I used to fight really hard and look great, then I'd not really try hard and kind of relax. Then I saw what was happening and changed that. I am happy with myself now. I was really happy with my performance against Gomi. I just started having fun again. Before I was just all about that I gotta win, I gotta look good, I gotta do this and that, but then I started just having fun again. It's fun in my training, too. I'm just having a good time like doing other things like swimming in rivers, running on the road, jumping off waterfalls, all kinds of things that I loved to do before I started fighting. I've started to finally get back to doing all those fun things again.

MS: You're alive again! I can hear it in your voice.

BP: I'm alive! So, yeah, I just started doing all those fun things and now it's kind of like a street fight again for me. It's like Matt Hughes is waiting for me outside on my road right here or like I'm about to fight someone with Matt Hughes' skills, you know what I mean?

It's like, 'Okay, come on! Let's go!' That's kind of the mindset that I'm in right now. I'm just happy to be here, happy for the fight and just happy for the opportunity to be able to fight the best people in the world. It's wonderful for me to fight all these great fighters.

MS: Let's move back a couple of fights, but after the loss to Pulver. Yu were dominating everybody you stepped in against and the Pulver fight was close. Though I felt Pulver won, it was a great close fight. In your next fight against Paul Creighton, you seemed- I don't want to say bored- but you didn't look like yourself. It looked like you were fighting without passion that night. What happened? Were you thinking too much, under trained, not focused? I was with John Lewis when UFC 37 was aired and we both were talking about how flat you looked. What was up?

BP: I think it was just all kinds of different trainers. After the whole thing with the Pulver fight, I wasn't training right, like I had all different kinds of trainers coming in. It's not their fault, but I wasn't utilizing their training.

I was listening to other people when I should have been listening to myself. It wasn't their fault because that's what I had them there for, but I should have taken that in a different way. I should have been listening to myself like if I say that I'm not going to throw and elbow, I'm not going to throw it. If I say I'm not going to throw a knee, I won't throw it.

I gotta listen to myself because in the end, it's just going to be me in there. I was going through all sorts of different phases and I felt weird about it. It was like how relaxed can I be and how little can I do in order to beat this guy? Come on, that's not a fighter! That's not why I got into fighting, to see how easily I can beat a guy without even trying.

That's not why I got into fighting. I got into fighting to fucking smash somebody (laughs). Not to hurt them because as soon as the fight's over, it's over. I didn't get into it to actually hurt them, but I got into it because it was like how I got into it when I was a kid on the street. You know, that kind of motivation. (Mimics a fight) "Come on! I'll kick your ass right now! *Boom! Boom! Boom!* ooh, ooh, are you okay?" (snickers again) That's why I got into fighting, not for all this technical shit, like, "Ooh fuck, I'll try this technique during this or that." That's not why.

Fighting is a reaction sport to me. I react to something like you'll do something to me like boom, boom, boom and then I react to that, to that and to that, not to sit and think about what I should do. I started not thinking like that anymore and I'm just not that kind of fighter. I started thinking about what to do next where I usually just react and I usually always react the right way to the situation, the moment. It's just from natural instinct. If I don't, well, I get knocked out and then I won't even know anyway. Do you understand what I'm saying?

MS: (Laughs) Completely. Which of the two fights was more difficult to swallow; the loss to Pulver or the crummy draw with Uno?

BP: Um, I have to say the Pulver fight because that was only my fourth fight and I went out after the first round. Once that first round was done, I was lost already and was just fighting on pure instinct. I would never quit in a fight, but I was just lost and had no idea what was going on. I mean I knew what was going on, but I just didn't know how to react coming into the 10th minute of the fight, the 15th minute, coming into the 20th minute, the 25th minute. I didn't know how to react in that situation.

I didn't know how to react by fighting in front of millions of people for that long before (laughs), you know? But it's cool. As for the draw with Uno, yeah, I know I beat him but I wasn't fighting like a champion that night. I didn't fight like a champion who deserved the belt. I know that and I was doing just enough to win. I consider the UFC belt like a black belt in any martial art. At that time, I should have gotten only a brown belt or whatever, not the black belt. I know I beat Uno up, but did I fight like that belt would want to come home with somebody who fights like that? It didn't want to come home with someone who was fighting that night. I didn't deserve it, you know? That's kind of how I look at it.

MS: That's a very good point, a good analogy. I was watching the fight and scored you ahead of Uno at the end three rounds to two, and when it was draw I was shocked. But, true, the way you put the spin on the situation, it did seem like you didn't truly want the belt.

BP: Before the fight, I even cried because it was for the belt and that I was so glad that this day finally came and that I'd finally be champion. Then after the fight I went out and was bummed about the draw. But after I went back and watched the tape a couple of times, I didn't fight like a champion, so should I deserve to be champion? That's how I feel about it.

MS: When you fought Gomi, was that your idea to part from the UFC for a fight and face him, or was it Zuffa's idea to do so to keep you active while they straighten out the lightweight mess? Was Zuffa all for the idea of having you face, who I felt at the time, the best lightweight in the world?

BP: That's the fight I really wanted all this time. After I found out that Pulver couldn't fight, I wanted Gomi. I said in the beginning that I didn't even want the tournament, that I didn't want to even be in that lightweight tournament with Serra, Uno and Din. I fought two guys in it already.

The only plausible fight for me which was new was Serra and I didn't want Serra yet. I wanted to fight Serra later. I wasn't at a high motivation point and this is nothing against Serra at all; he fought a great fight. But I wasn't at a high to fight Serra. Not just him, but the whole tournament. I wanted Gomi from even back then. I wanted something that I could get up for. Back when I lost to Pulver, Pulver was #1, I was #2 and Gomi was #3. If I couldn't get Pulver, what's the next best thing? The guy right under me.

So I said, "Fine. If Pulver's going to leave, then it's me and Gomi for the belt." They said, "Yep, yep, it sounds great. Okay." Then they came up with the whole tournament and I was like, whatever, what else am I going to do? I had nothing else going on for the rest of the year, so I chose then to do it. I've been waiting for that Gomi fight forever. It really motivated to do that.

As soon as I walked into the ring, I was like, "This is the guy I want to be fighting! Man, you're gonna fucking get your ass kicked tonight! You're gonna get smashed!" (Laughs) Man, I was on top and I got so much experience that night, too. I know how it feels to kick someone's ass, I know how it feels to get my ass kicked, I know how it feels to get a draw. I felt all of that and now I just fight for fun. Of course it's always about being a champion, but it's about fighting.

MS: Leading up to and following the Gomi fight, how was Takanori towards you? Was he a respectful guy or was their some tension between you two?

BP: After the fight, he was real respectful. He said to me that he wanted me to be his sensei, actually. But no, Gomi was very respectful. I'm not trying to mad dog him at all (chuckles) but he was very respectful.

MS: It looks like a rematch with Pulver is MIA for a while. Providing you get past Hughes, will you stay at welterweight or are there plans to go back down to lightweight to fight, maybe, Ludwig or even Sudo?

BP: Oh, I'm not done at lightweight yet. I am definitely not done with the lightweights. That's all I have to say.

MS: No targets mentioned?

BP: No. No targets mentioned until after I beat Hughes.

MS: I appreciate your time and thanks for the interview.

BP: Thank you, but before you go I want to get this out.

MS: Okay, what's up?

BP: I just want to thank all my fans who have stuck behind me the whole time. Be prepared to watch a great fight come January 31st. Okay, that's it. Thanks a lot, man. Take care.