After seeing BJ Penn’s latest street fight altercation Dana White has declared that the UFC legend’s time fighting in the UFC has finally come to an end.
Penn was filmed being knocked to the ground by a punch outside a venue in Hawaii last week, before later being filmed on top of the same person throwing ground and pound punches in retaliation.
It came just months after Penn had also been videod outside a strip club in another altercation and it’s convinced White to scrap an upcoming fight with Nik Lentz and close the door on any future comebacks to the Octagon.
“He won’t fight again. That’s it. That’s a wrap,” White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. “It’s not even that this was the last straw. I didn’t love him continuing to fight anyway. But when you have 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.”
Many people had already been calling for the 40-year-old Penn to retire after having recorded seven defeats in a row inside the Octagon, but it’s more the fighter’s personal life that has left White concerned for the former lightweight and welterweight champion.
“I don’t want to sit here on TV and pick B.J. Penn apart and his life. We all know what B.J. Penn needs to do, and hopefully B.J. Penn knows what B.J. Penn needs to do. I’m not going to 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 on that video was sad. I love the kid, and I hope he gets his life together. Obviously, the guy calls me and I’m still putting him in fights. If B.J. needed me, all he’s got to do to is pick up the phone and ask. If he does, I’m sure he’ll call. If he doesn’t, I hope he gets his life together.”
