Nick Diaz has made his triumphant return to the UFC. And B.J. Penn may have fought for the last time.
Diaz, the former Strikeforce welterweight champion who hadn’t fought in the UFC since 2006, battered Penn for 15 minutes on Saturday night at UFC 137, winning a unanimous decision. The judges scored it 29-28, 29-28 and 29-27 for Diaz.
It was a great showing by Diaz, whose high-volume punching turned Penn’s face into a bruised, bloody mess. Penn also marked up Diaz’s face, but Diaz seemed to shake off all of Penn’s punches, while Penn looked worn down by Diaz’s punches.
It was the 11th straight victory for Diaz, who is now expected to be the No. 1 contender in the UFC welterweight division. Diaz called out UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre after the fight, accusing St. Pierre of being scared to fight him.
A Diaz-St. Pierre fight would be a huge one, which the UFC knows — it originally booked St. Pierre vs. Diaz before Diaz’s refusal to show up for press conferences promoting the fight got that bout scrapped. It seems just a matter of time before St. Pierre and Diaz settle it inside the Octagon.
But the shocking news came after the fight, when Penn said he doesn’t want to fight anymore.
“This is probably the last time you’re going to see me here,” Penn said. “I’ve got a daughter, another daughter on the way. I don’t want to go home looking like this. I’m done.”
Whether Penn is really done we likely won’t know for a long time: Plenty of fighters have announced their retirement only to change their minds later. But Penn has seemed recently like his heart wasn’t really in MMA anymore. Diaz may have taken away Penn’s will to keep fighting.
Nick Diaz has made his triumphant return to the UFC. And B.J. Penn may have fought for the last time.
Diaz, the former Strikeforce welterweight champion who hadn’t fought in the UFC since 2006, battered Penn for 15 minutes on Saturday night at UFC 137, winning a unanimous decision. The judges scored it 29-28, 29-28 and 29-27 for Diaz.
It was a great showing by Diaz, whose high-volume punching turned Penn’s face into a bruised, bloody mess. Penn also marked up Diaz’s face, but Diaz seemed to shake off all of Penn’s punches, while Penn looked worn down by Diaz’s punches.
It was the 11th straight victory for Diaz, who is now expected to be the No. 1 contender in the UFC welterweight division. Diaz called out UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre after the fight, accusing St. Pierre of being scared to fight him.
A Diaz-St. Pierre fight would be a huge one, which the UFC knows — it originally booked St. Pierre vs. Diaz before Diaz’s refusal to show up for press conferences promoting the fight got that bout scrapped. It seems just a matter of time before St. Pierre and Diaz settle it inside the Octagon.
But the shocking news came after the fight, when Penn said he doesn’t want to fight anymore.
“This is probably the last time you’re going to see me here,” Penn said. “I’ve got a daughter, another daughter on the way. I don’t want to go home looking like this. I’m done.”
Whether Penn is really done we likely won’t know for a long time: Plenty of fighters have announced their retirement only to change their minds later. But Penn has seemed recently like his heart wasn’t really in MMA anymore. Diaz may have taken away Penn’s will to keep fighting.
Nick Diaz has made his triumphant return to the UFC. And B.J. Penn may have fought for the last time.