UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn is coming out of retirement and training for another shot in the cage. But is Penn’s return the best idea for the former lightweight champion and the UFC?
UFC President Dana White stated to MMA Junkie that he “supports the idea” of Penn’s return. But, nothing else has been solidified.
The 37-year old’s last fight was a hard-to-watch loss to Frankie Edgar in July 2014. Penn was thoroughly dominated and did not look like the former UFC Lightweight Champion. Notably, White stated that he would push for the Hall of Famer to retire if he lost to Edgar. Now, he supports the comeback.
Penn is setting his sights on the Featherweight title of Conor McGregor. It appears that he will be training with Greg Jackson.
Payout Perspective:
Does the 37-year-old Penn coming out of retirement makes sense? It seems more like he has not determined a path post-UFC and is coming back to fight as a result. Unless he was hampered by major injuries, the fight against Edgar should prove that he is not a UFC-caliber fighter anymore. Moreover, a move to Featherweight seems more like an aspiration that a reality. In a USADA-regulated UFC, it would seem hard for Penn to make the weight-cut.
Frankly, the Penn news puts the pressure on the UFC. Certainly, White knows that Penn can only tarnish his Hall of Fame status if he puts on a performance like he did against Edgar. Do we believe that Penn has rejuvenated since we last saw him in July 2014? Should the UFC allow him to fight? On Tuesday, Matt Mitrione believed that he should have been saved from himself on Sunday and that the fight against Travis Browne should have been stopped after being poked in the eye. Similarly, it might be up to the UFC to save B.J. Penn from himself. Of course, you can argue that Mitrione is no B.J. Penn. Then again, B.J. Penn is not B.J. Penn anymore.
The UFC doesn’t want him in Bellator. Hell, if they can find a can for CM Punk, they can give him some easy opponent and retire him again on a positive note.