Over the weekend, UFC president Dana White announced that B.J. Penn, who is on a record seven-fight losing streak, will return to face Nik Lentz at an event to be determined. The decision to give the 40-year-old UFC Hall of Famer another fight comes after White determined last month that he “can’t do it again” when it came to booking Penn. And yet, here we are. And White swears this is it. So what are we to make of Penn fighting again and the UFC’s decision to allow it? MMA Junkie’s Simon Head, Simon Samano and Farah Hannoun sound off in this edition of “Triple Take.”
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Simon Head: Dana got it right with Liddell, so why treat Penn differently?
B.J. Penn’s place in UFC folklore is assured. He’s a UFC Hall of Famer, a former two-division champion and one of the sport’s first big stars of the Zuffa era. But history doesn’t win you fights in the here and now.
The old adage says that Father Time is undefeated. He catches up with us all, and the sad truth is he got to Penn a good few years ago. He’s lost a UFC-record seven fights in a row, he’s won just once in his last 11, and that win came back in 2010 against Matt Hughes.
So why, almost nine years removed from Penn’s last triumph, did Dana White agree to give him another fight?
Clearly, White has a soft spot for Penn. Given what “The Prodigy” has done over the course of his career, that’s no real surprise. But White’s treatment of another of his longtime favorites, Chuck Liddell, seems markedly different from what’s happening with Penn here.
The problem with Liddell at the time was he was getting knocked out badly in fights and White, to his credit, made the difficult decision to save Liddell from himself. It begs the question: Why isn’t he doing the same for Penn?
Granted, Penn hasn’t been getting knocked out in devastating fashion like Liddell was at the end of his career. But while Penn’s granite chin may have held up, his reflexes haven’t. And, as a result, he’s taking more shots to the head than he ever used to. Penn has avoided being spectacularly knocked out with one big shot, but the cumulative damage of repeated head shots must surely now be a concern.
MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn cited Penn as having received more than 1,300 head strikes during his UFC career. That’s a record no fighter wants and a number nobody should ever want to see increased.
White’s response to reporters’ concerns, telling any non-doctors at the UFC 240 news conference to “mind your own business,” was flippant and unnecessary. In a week that saw the boxing world mourn the loss of two fighters due to brain injuries, the response certainly could have been a bit more measured. Despite his spiky response, I’m sure White is acutely aware of – and perhaps even shares – those concerns, which is why his decision to let Penn fight again is so bizarre.
I’m really not sure what anyone – including his opponent, Nik Lentz – really gets out of Penn stepping back into the cage again. Perhaps Penn feels he needs the structure and routine of a fight camp to help him with potential issues away from the cage. And while there may be merit in that thinking, the act of then stepping into the cage with a seasoned, dangerous fighter like Lentz carries more risks now than it did back in the days when he was winning fights in the UFC. And those risks are the issue here, especially after seven straight losses and a plethora of shots to the head.
White made the more difficult decision with a close personal friend and got it right with Liddell, but while I know Penn gave White “a million reasons why” he should have one more fight, this one just feels wrong.
Next page – Simon Samano: Allowing B.J. Penn to fight is hypocrisy of the highest order
Simon Samano: Allowing B.J. Penn to fight is hypocrisy of the highest order
Just consider for a moment the timing of UFC president Dana White’s decision to give B.J. Penn another fight. I mean really think about it.
In a week when two boxers died from fight-related injuries just days apart, White goes ahead and green lights the guy with the most head strikes in UFC history to fight again. Because that’s a smart decision. What, 1,300 shots isn’t enough head trauma?
We all know White is as hard-nosed as they come. But for the deaths of Maxim Dadashev and Hugo Santillan to not serve as a wake-up call for the promoter of the world’s leading MMA promotion is truly disappointing, even if not that surprising. Apparently all it took was some incessant text messaging for White to give into Penn’s request. How can this be?
You see, Penn I understand. The man is a fighter. And regardless of his transgressions outside the cage, he remains one of the greatest of all time. He’s of a mindset that us non-fighters could never understand, but clearly he needs to be protected from himself.
And that’s where White is supposed to come in.
Remember last year when referee Mario Yamasaki allowed Priscila Cachoeira to take a ridiculous amount of damage before finally stopping her fight with Valentina Shevchenko? Here was White’s reaction to Michael Bisping and Kenny Florian:
“She didn’t tap, and that’s the thing. The reality is, when you’re a fighter – and it’s one of the reasons this sport is as big as it is, because most of you guys don’t tap. Most of you guys stay in there, and she did fight like a warrior. For that idiot to say he gave her the opportunity to be a warrior – no. No, you moron. You’re in there to protect her from herself.”
And there it is: protect her from herself. How is this any different, how does this not apply to White and UFC?
It’s hypocrisy of the highest order and why I can’t take White seriously when he claims to be concerned about fighter safety.
White told anyone who’s worried about Penn’s safety to “mind your business” unless you’re not a doctor – as if you need to be a doctor to know that 1,300 head strikes isn’t good for your brain. White’s decision and ensuing defiance on Penn’s return has rightfully opened up the UFC to criticism.
I shudder to even think of the fallout if the worst-case scenario was to play out.
Next page – Farah Hannoun: All B.J. Penn is doing is tarnishing hiss legacy
Farah Hannoun: All B.J. Penn is doing is tarnishing his legacy
Anyone who’s followed mixed martial arts for the last 15-plus years knows that B.J. Penn is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time. In fact, some people believe the former two-division champion is the greatest talent the sport has ever seen.
Unfortunately, as the sport’s popularity grows, that’s not how people will view Penn, especially if they take a look at his recent record. He’s on a seven-fight skid as he heads into his newly booked fight vs. Nik Lentz.
But why is he still fighting? Surely he has nothing left to prove, especially at 40 years old. He might not be taking an incredible amount of damage in his losses, but he has barely looked competitive. He looks nothing like himself, nothing like the Hall of Famer that was running right through contender after contender. And for those who didn’t know much about him, this unfortunately will be their lasting memory of him.
While I hate to be one to tell a fighter when he should walk away, but having watched Penn’s fights during his prime, he just seems unrecognizable. I’m not sure what he’s getting paid, but I don’t even think money is the main motivation for Penn. It could purely be for the love of the sport but I, among many others, no longer want to see Penn fighting. He deserves to be recognized for what he really is, one of the best to ever do it.
