BJ Penn vs Jake Paul? The UFC legend wants the fight.
Jake Paul just improved to 3-0 in his pro-boxing career with a first round TKO of MMA veteran Ben Askren. Now another UFC stalwart is calling for a fight against him.
Two-division UFC champion B.J. Penn took to social media to ask Triller for a contract to fight the YouTuber-turned-boxer. He claims that if it happens, he’d “happily” knock Paul out in one round.
Hey @triller send me a contract and I will happily knock this fucker out in one round https://t.co/JSP5lNh9xh
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) April 18, 2021
Penn’s accomplishments in mixed martial arts are undeniable, and he’s considered as one of the best lightweights in MMA history. So while I wouldn’t be surprised to see Triller bite and make him an offer — 51-year-old Chuck Liddell was ringside and is already featured in their promos after all — I really don’t think they should.
Penn is now 42-years-old, and while he’s definitely a legend in MMA, he lost his last seven bouts and has looked like a shell of himself in the last several years. His last victory was over a decade ago, when he knocked out an equally shot Matt Hughes in 2010. This was his only win in the final 11 bouts of his MMA career, and he was eventually released from the UFC in 2019.
While his in-cage performances were already concerning, the UFC star’s last few years have been even more troubling outside the cage. Penn has been repeatedly involved in various arrests and substance issues, bar fights, and serious domestic allegations.
Triller hasn’t hesitated with signing old and retired fighters that are well past their primes though, so it will be interesting to see if they’d actually be open to signing someone like Penn (and giving him one more big payday).