(Well, at least we had the same reaction to this news as Penn himself.)
Former lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn is one of the best fighters in MMA history, pound for pound. There is no debating this. However, the thirty four year-old has also only won a single fight in his last six outings, and just three in his last nine fights, dating back the last four and a half years.
Penn’s last two losses, to Nick Diaz and Rory MacDonald at UFC 137 and UFC on FOX 5, respectively, were ugly ones for “The Prodigy” to say the least. The tough Hawaiian made it to the end of both fights by virtue of being damn near impossible to finish, but also looked more like a cartoon who had taken a bath in Judge Doom’s “Dip” than a human being by the time both encounters were all said and done.
UFC President Dana White has called for Penn to retire, saying that Penn is “too tough for his own good.” Despite this, Fuel TV’s UFC Tonight reported yesterday that Penn is not yet ready to call it quits. Because who ever is, really?
“The door is still open for BJ Penn to return to MMA in the future,” reporter Ariel Helwani said on UFC Tonight. ”If he does come back, it will be at 155 pounds…He’s actually training right now and has to check in with his body and mind in the next few months.”
Goodness. Combine his results and damage sustained over the past five years with statements from Penn about how he hasn’t been the same, mentally, since having kids, and one has to wonder if the UFC should try and take the decision out of the former champ’s hands. The fact that he already retired after his fight with Diaz, then unretired only to get his ass handed to him by “Ares” should drive this notion home.
What do you say, Nation? Should Penn prolong his already long and legendary career or just leave well enough alone?