Dana White says B.J. Penn won’t get another UFC fight: ‘I can’t do it again’

MMAfighting.com

Following seven straight losses dating back to 2011, it appears B.J. Penn’s time with the UFC has come to an end.

The former two-division champion has suffered through one of the toughest runs in UFC history while watching his record hit 16-14-2 after his most recent defeat to Clay Guida at UFC 237 in Brazil in May.

UFC president Dana White gave Penn every opportunity to get back on track after he initially retired back in 2014 and then decided less than two years later that he wasn’t done fighting yet.

Penn returned in 2017 where he fell to featherweight prospect Yair Rodriguez by TKO and then fell in three more straight fights including a heel hook submission loss to Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Ryan Hall and then the most recent bout against Guida.

While Penn has never said that he planned to retire again, White says he can’t in good conscience give him another fight in the UFC.

“No, I want B.J. to retire,” White told TSN on Friday in Chicago ahead of UFC 238. “I love B.J. Penn. B.J. Penn is one of the legends of the sport. This is a young man’s game. I gave him a lot of opportunities because he’s B.J. and because of the relationship that I’ve had with B.J. his entire career and before that.

“But I can’t do that again. I can’t do it again.”

White has actually called for Penn’s retirement in the past yet continued to give him fights as the 40-year-old Hawaiian attempted to return to the win column for the first time since in nearly nine years.

Penn has stayed competitive in at least two of his most recent losses including a majority decision defeat to Dennis Siver back in 2017.

As close as that fight may have been, Penn has been considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the history of the sport and perhaps one of the most dominant lightweight to ever hold the UFC championship.

During a run from 2007 to 2009, Penn was undefeated at lightweight with five wins — all by knockout or submission — while defending his 155-pound title on two of those occasions. His only loss during that run came at welterweight when Penn moved to 170 pounds in an attempt to become a simultaneous two-division champion.

Penn has not stated if he would continue competing should he be released but it appears White is no longer willing to give him fights in the UFC.