UFC President Dana White has announced that BJ Penn’s career is over with them after videos surfaced of him fighting in public.
Dana White Says that BJ Penn is Done with the UFC
When asked about BJ Penn’s future with the UFC, president Dana White said “it’s a wrap”. Many UFC fans feel like that decision is long overdue but regardless, Dana White made it official today. He reiterated that the videos of Penn fighting in public were not the reason but the played a part. The two men are friends and White appears to be looking out for Penn’s best in interest.
Many people consider BJ Penn one of the greatest martial artists in the history of the UFC. In his prime he was certainly one of the company’s most popular fighters before announcing his retirement back in 2014. He did make a comeback in 2017 but he is clearly a shell of his former self. A lot of people associated with the sport have actually been upset that Dana White has let Penn continue to fight. He has lost his last seven fights in the Octagon.
BJ Penn Gets into Public Fight in Hawaii
To be clear, this is the second incident of BJ Penn fighting in public in Hawaii. Back in June, video surfaced of Penn involved in an altercation outside of a strip club. In that incident the bouncer was apparently escorting Penn out of the club when the two starting fighting. When police arrived on the scene, Penn was already and police did not pursue him.
In this latest incident, according to Penn, he knew the man he was fighting. He claims he was at the bar to watch a mutual friend of theirs perform but the individual he ended up fighting was upset at him. Penn claims when the man insisted he wanted to fight, that he tried to hug him. He then says he followed the individual in question when things turned physical.
BJ Penn claims that the video was edited to not show the part where he tries to hug the man to diffuse the situation. According to TMZ who published the video, they did not edit it in any way. If Dana White and BJ Penn are indeed friends, his decision not to let him fight anymore is the best thing he can do for him.
Dana White Made the Right Decision
While Dana White says he didn’t speak to Penn personally, he did confirm that Penn has been informed of the UFC’s decision. When White was being questioned about the two incidents, he did appear to be genuinely concerned for Penn’s well being. He called what he saw on the videos “sad” and he says the hopes Penn can get his personal life sorted out.
Speaking of his personal life, this is the most important part of the story. It has to be assumed that Dana White is aware that Penn is currently in the middle of a custody battle. Penn himself brought up the fact that these incidents look bad to the lawyers involved. He knows he needs to do better and hopefully for everyone who loves the UFC, BJ Penn can get his life back in order.
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