Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President, Dana White, canceled the BJ Penn vs. Nik Lentz fight planned for November, shortly after “The Prodigy” got mixed up in a “Big Island” bar fight that left him flat on his back in Hawaii.
Watch the video replay here.
Not that White needed much convincing. Penn (16-14-2), who turns 41 in December, has now lost seven straight fights, getting finished three times in the process. His only victory over the past decade was a 2010 knockout win over Matt Hughes.
“He won’t fight again,” White told ESPN. “That’s it. It’s a wrap. It’s not even that this was the last straw. I didn’t love him continuing to fight anyway, but we having the relationship that he and I have and he’s getting me on the phone, begging me for another fight, begging me for another opportunity, it’s hard for me to turn him down, but after what I saw on that video, BJ needs to focus on his personal life and get himself together before he thinks about fighting again.”
Penn insists his recent altercation was worse than it looked, thanks to selective editing, and that his primary goal during the parking lot confrontation was to let cooler heads prevail. Then he was attacked and had no choice but to fight back.
Sounds noble, but unfortunately for Penn, this isn’t his first street fight caught on camera.
“Listen, I don’t wanna sit here on TV and pick BJ apart on his life or whatever,” White said. “I think that we all know what BJ Penn needs to do and hopefully BJ Penn knows what BJ Penn needs to do. Not gonna sit here like I’m his father or I’m some guy who’s above him and pointing the finger at BJ and BJ needs to do this and that. What I saw in that video was sad. I love the kid and I hope he gets his life together.”
Penn is currently embroiled in a custody battle with the mother of his kids.