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B.J. Penn is no longer an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter. That’s according to company president, Dana White, who told Kevin Iole that the promotion has officially parted ways with the former Lightweight and Welterweight champion.
The move comes after White revealed his plans to prohibit Penn from ever fighting inside the Octagon after videos surfaced showing “The Prodigy” get knocked on his back during a street fight in Hawaii, only to come back and get his revenge a bit later.
A few months prior, Penn was involved in yet another street fight, adding to his list of out-of-the cage incidents. Penn was in line to make his comeback against Nik Lentz later this year, though many were already questioning UFC’s decision to allow him to keep fighting.
That’s because “The Prodigy” has dropped his last seven fights, and hasn’t scored a win in nine years, proving that his best days are indeed behind him. Still, the promotion was willing to overlook that and allow Penn to have his farewell fight. But now he won’t be afforded that opportunity.
Now, it will be interesting to see if Penn intends to keep on fighting, and which promotion would be willing to sign him to a contract. Other than a brief stint with K-1 from 2003 to 2005, Penn’s entire 18-year MMA career has been fought inside the Octagon.