The Prodigy Will Never Fight in the UFC Ever Again… That’s According to Dana White Who Says That the Viral Bar Fight Videos Were the Final Straw…
It’s a tough time to be BJ Penn right now. All is not right in his world. We should be talking about the former welterweight and lightweight champion as one of the greatest of all time, but instead, we’re focusing on the chaos in his life outside the cage.
Well, that’s not quite true, is it? The fact is that Penn is riding an 8-fight losing streak shows that he shouldn’t be fighting at the highest level. The UFC has indulged him for too long but now they’re going to pull the plug on his career with the world’s biggest MMA promotion.
Dana White has confirmed that Penn will never fight for the UFC again after the latest dramatic incident which saw the Hawaii native get KOed in a bar and then ground-and-pound the same dude on the same night.
Dana White on the recent videos that surfaced of BJ Penn. pic.twitter.com/Ll35VFuAfG
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) September 5, 2019
Enough is Enough
Obviously, White doesn’t have the same close relationship with Penn as he does with Chuck Liddell, because he’s allowed the Hawaiian to fight for this long. He told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto:
“That’s it. It’s a wrap. It’s not even that this was the last straw,” White said. “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, B.J. needs to focus on his personal life and get himself together before he thinks about fighting again.”
Finished
White insists that he’s got Penn’s best interests at heart. Nik Lentz might not be happy because he was meant to fight Penn in December, but at the end of the day, the former champion shouldn’t be getting punched in the head anymore while this sort of thing is going on. White said:
“Listen, I don’t wanna sit here on TV and pick B.J. apart on his life or whatever. I think that we all know what B.J. Penn needs to do and hopefully B.J. Penn knows what B.J. 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 B.J. and B.J. 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.”
Sad Times
It’s a sad way for Penn to go out. He’s currently also fighting a custody battle for his kids after his wife took out a restraining order against him and filed for divorce. White is right. It’s time for him to focus on the real problems.
There’s a lesson there somewhere for all wannabe fighters. It’s not all sunshine and roses in these guys lives. Don’t ever forget that.