The former UFC lightweight champion speaks out after losing to Ryan Hall at UFC 232.
Last month, B.J. Penn suffered the first submission loss of his legendary MMA career, tapping to a wicked heel hook from leglock specialist Ryan Hall at UFC 232. It was Penn’s sixth consecutive loss, which prompted UFC president Dana White to say he wants to see “The Prodigy” retire.
Well if you came here expecting a statement from Penn that he is retiring for good, that’s not happening. He told Chris Taylor on BJPenn.com that he’s going to wait until his ankle is healthy again before making his next decision.
“I just got back home to Hawaii,” Penn said. “I’m going to let my ankle heal up and then I will contemplate what is next for my life.”
Penn called Hall’s submission “a perfect storm,” as he tapped instantly the moment Hall grabbed his leg after the Imanari roll. The 40-year-old credited the decorated jiu-jitsu standout for his performance, and discussed how he felt physically in the lead-up to this matchup.
“I was shocked at how deep Ryan [Hall] was able to sink in the leg lock right off the hop. The timing was perfect. I tried to run and pull my leg out, but I wasn’t going anywhere as my knee was still stuck inside his hips. So I tried to defend my knee and turn it up towards the sky. By the time I looked back he had already switched to the heel hook and my ankle just popped.”
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“You know I felt like I had one of the greatest training camps in my life for this fight. Training in Brazil at Nova Uniao was nothing short of amazing. I can’t thank Leo Santos and coach Andre Pederneiras enough for their efforts. We had practiced everything, including leg locks, and I felt great. It just didn’t work out this time around.”
The last time Penn won a UFC fight was way back in November 2010, when he knocked out Matt Hughes just 21 seconds into the trilogy matchup.