Shinya Aoki on BJ Penn and the UFC in an interview with MMAfighting: "I am really a huge fan of BJ Penn, he is one of my favorite fighters. He lost by decision. When we look at martial arts in its most extreme form, we need to win by submission or knockout. In that sense, he didn’t lose. He lost that fight but he is still ‘the man’. He is still my favorite fighter." "The American wrestling style – punching a little bit, getting a takedown and moving to side control to win the round has no risk. It’s an easier fight. It’s just using the judges. They don’t even have to worry about injuries or anything like that. There is no risk." "I’m a huge fan of the UFC, but I think that it hasn’t been very interesting lately. There are good fighters of course but not so many interesting fights. They punch a little bit, then get a takedown and every round is just a repetition of that. I am a big fan of aggressive fighters like BJ Penn, Joe Stevenson, Kenny Florian, Melvin Guillard and Nate Diaz.. Everyone else is just wrestling and it’s not interesting at all." "Japanese MMA is totally different. We go for knockouts and submissions from the beginning and going for the decision isn’t an option. BJ Penn, Eddie Alvarez, Gilbert Melendez, Frankie Edgar they are the top four. BJ Penn is still No. 1. The most aggressive fighter is Eddie Alvarez. Frankie Edgar is the most defensive. When Penn lost, I didn’t lose my goal at all. It is difficult for me to see that he lost the fight."