Penn finally wins lightweight belt

BJ Penn said he feels like a champion and trained like a champion.

Now he's got the belt to prove it.

Penn submitted Joe Stevenson by rear naked choke at 4 minutes and 2 seconds of the second round to become the UFC lightweight champion in the main event of UFC 80: Rapid Fire in Newcastle, England.

"I only want to be known as the best ever," Penn said in his pre-fight interview. "Is that too much to ask?"

Apparently not.

"The Prodigy" penned his name into the UFC record books by joining Randy Couture as the only fighters to win world titles in two different weight classes.

Penn (13-4-1, 8-3-1 UFC) had won just once in four title fights and had failed in two previous attempts to become lightweight champion.

Stevenson (33-8, 5-2 UFC), who won season two of the "Ultimate Fighter" reality show, was in his first title fight, and seemed nervous in front of the main event spotlight as he entered the cage.

"Joe is a great guy. I knew he was going to be tough," Penn said. "I put everything I had into this."

Penn put his foe on the canvas 5 seconds into the fight with a right uppercut and kept him there for the entire round. With 35 seconds remaining, he landed a brutal elbow that opened a deep cut over Stevenson's left eye.

With blood pouring down his face, Stevenson opened the second round with a sense of urgency and went right at Penn. But the Hilo native methodically picked him apart standing and put him on the ground again with a right-left combination. From there, he pounded Stevenson with more elbows and punches before eventually securing his back and sinking in the choke hold.

Former champion Sean Sherk was stripped of the belt after being suspended by the California State Athletic Commission for testing positive for steroids last July. His six-month suspension ended this month, and he will be the foe in Penn's first title defense.

"Sean Sherk, you're dead," Penn said after the fight.

Sherk, who did guest commentary during the main event on the pay-per-view broadcast, entered the cage and had some choice words of his own.

"BJ can talk all the crap he wants to. I don't have any respect for BJ," Sherk (35-2-1, 6-2 UFC) said. "That belt still belongs to me."

In earlier action, Jorge Rivera dominated Maui's Kendall Grove, who lost his second straight fight.

The 6-foot-6 Grove was hit early and often by Rivera, who put him on the mat 40 seconds into the fight. After Grove got back to his feet, he ate another steady diet of right hands before a straight left buckled his knees and forced the referee to stop the fight.

Grove (10-5) dropped to 3-2 in the UFC, while Rivera improved to 15-6 (4-4 UFC).