BJ Penn is a great fighter, and he has represented Hawaii very well for a long time now. However, Nick Diaz gave him arguably worst beating of his career last night during the main event at UFC 137 at Mandalay Bay. In even bigger news, Penn announced that he was “done” after tonight.
“B.J. is the man,” Diaz said. “I always loved watching him fight.”
After the hard-fought battle, Penn’s face was a puffy mess, his left eye swollen shut and bruises were splattered across his head. It was enough to make him say he isn’t going to fight anymore.
“This probably the last time you will ever see me in here,” Penn said after falling to 16-8-2. “I’ve got a daughter at home, another on the way. I don’t want to go home looking like this; I’m done. “Diaz won by scores of 29-28, 29-27 and 29-28, badly busting up Penn’s face. Diaz improved to 27-7 overall while Penn dropped to 16-8-2.
Penn seemed to have control in the fight early on, as he dominated the groundwork in the first round, but when he started taking punch after punch to the face, you knew it didn’t look good for Penn. At one point he looked like a punching doll.
Penn’s left eye would begin to swell, but he didn’t go down without dishing out some punishment of his own. Penn refused to go down without a fight, landing right hands that drew blood from Diaz’s left eye. However it was just not to be, as everyone who saw the fight knew who had won.
This isn’t the first time Penn has considered retirement. After his draw at UFC 127 he hinted that he may be done, only to come back and fight more. However, this time it seems different, as Penn seemed to take punch after punch to the face, getting hammered like he has never been hammered before.
It is nothing to be ashamed of, he has been the world title holder, and he has been a great fighter for a very long time. However, MMA is a hard way to make a living for more than a decade, as your body just takes too much of a beating.
A shout out to BJ Penn is in order here. Whatever he does decide, whether he sticks with the retirement statement, or does indeed fight again, he will go down as one of the best, and one of the most popular MMA fighters ever.
At one point he was the face of MMA and the UFC, but time happens to us all. Whatever happens form here out, Penn has represented Hawaii well, and will always be loved in the islands.
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