Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Dana White says B.J. Penn will never fight in the UFC again.
B.J. Penn’s not-so anticipated grudge match with Nik Lentz has been cancelled as, according to UFC president Dana White, the former two-division champion will never fight in the Octagon again.
In a recent interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, White confirmed that Penn’s UFC career has come to an end. The news follows Penn’s street fight with a man outside a bar in Hawaii, where video footage showed the UFC veteran knocked out with a two-punch combination only to get back up and attack the man on the ground.
“He won’t fight again,” White said. “That’s it.”
Dana White on the recent videos that surfaced of BJ Penn. pic.twitter.com/Ll35VFuAfG
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) September 5, 2019
“It’s not even that this was the last straw,” White continued, speaking of Penn’s bar fight. “I didn’t love him continuing to fight anyway. But when you have the relationship that he and I have, he’s getting me on the phone, begging me for another fight, begging me for another opportunity, it’s hard for me to, you know, turn him down. But after what I saw on that video, BJ needs to, you know, focus on his personal life.”
Penn released his side of the story earlier this week, claiming that the video footage was edited to depict him in a bad light.
The UFC Hall of Famer and former pound-for-pound great has lost seven fights in a row and hasn’t officially won a fight since 2010, when he knocked out ex-welterweight champ Matt Hughes at UFC 123.