B.J. Penn hasn’t spoken publicly since his lopsided second-round TKO loss to Yair Rodriguez in Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 103 main event. However, that hasn’t stopped others from speculating on what should be next for the UFC Hall of Famer.
Penn (16-11-2 MMA, 12-10-2 UFC) ended a more than two-year retirement only to be blown out by the speed and diversity of Rodriguez (10-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) en route to a stoppage loss that pushed his winless skid to five fights dating back to November 2010.
“The Prodigy” was once one of the most fierce, feared and dangerous fighters in all of MMA. But at 38 and with just one victory in his past eight fights, the Hawaiian could finally be at the end of the road once and for all.
Penn has already retired twice during the course of his nearly 16-year career. Whether he’ll do it again remains to be seen, but several of his fellow fighters, including former opponent and current analyst/commentator Kenny Florian, believe it’s time to permanently hang up his gloves.
You can call it talking shit I call it stating facts. A legend is a legend no doubt but no need for a HOFer to keep coming back. #ufcphoenix
It wasn’t only fighters who voiced a desire to see Penn retire. His longtime striking coach, Jason Parillo, who was in Penn’s corner alongside Reagan Penn and Greg Jackson, said he could see the fighter pushing for at least one more bout, but that wouldn’t be his first choice.
Parillo said he fully supports a Penn retirement but believes it’s a decision only the former two-division UFC champ can make himself.
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