In case you didn’t know…
B.J. Penn made his UFC debut in 2001 and is considered as one of the pioneers of the UFC Lightweight Division. Penn won his first UFC Title at UFC 46, beating five-time defending Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes via first-round submission.
In early 2006, at UFC 58, Penn re-debuted for the promotion after settling his conflicts and contractual issues with the UFC and in his first fight back the Hawaiian lost to Georges St-Pierre by in a fight that decided the number one welterweight contender. Shortly afterward, Penn replaced St. Pierre in a Welterweight Title fight, setting up a highly anticipated rematch with Hughes. At UFC 63, B.J. Penn lost his Welterweight Title fight to Matt Hughes.
In 2008, Penn moved to the Lightweight Division and at UFC 80, challenged Joe Stevenson for the 155 division title. At UFC 80, B.J. Penn defeated Stevenson to win the UFC Lightweight Title.
At UFC 94, Penn challenged GSP for the UFC Welterweight Championship in one of the most highly awaited title fights of all time. GSP eventually retained the Welterweight Title in one of the controversial fights of all time.
At UFC 232, Penn lost his Lightweight return fight to Ryan Hall, having previously lost to the likes of Yair Rodriguez, Frankie Edgar, and Dennis Siver at Featherweight.
The heart of the matter
While interacting with the MMA media at the UFC 240 post-event press conference, Dana White stated that B.J. Penn had “terrorized” the UFC President for a week and eventually talked him into making a grudge match against Nik Lentz. (H/T: MMA Mania)
White, also, stated that regardless of the outcome, this will seemingly be Penn’s last fight in the UFC Octagon.
What’s next?
As of now, the UFC is yet to confirm an event for the upcoming Penn vs Lentz fight. And, this could very well be Penn’s last fight in the Octagon.
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