BJ Penn Releases Brief Statement Following Loss To Yair Rodriguez
Following his second round knockout loss to Yair Rodriguez in the main event of UFC Phoenix last night (Sunday, January 15, 2017), former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn didn’t get the opportunity to speak to the media following the defeat.
Today (Monday, January 16, 2017), however, Penn issued a brief statement to BJPenn.com congratulating Rodriguez on the win, and offered no excuses for his performance:
“Congrats to Yair Rodriguez for a great performance, I had a great camp and great weight cut, no excuses.”
Penn’s Octagon appearance last night marked the fourth consecutive loss in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, not having won since 2010 when he knocked out fellow Hall Of Famer Matt Hughes in just 20 seconds into the first round. All of Penn’s losses as of late have been rather lopsided affairs, causing many to call for the Hawaiian legend’s retirement as they are reluctant to witness such a pioneer of the sport take another vicious beating.
”’The Prodigy’ has competed in the sport of MMA since 2001, being a member of an exclusive club alongside Randy Couture and Conor McGregor, as the only men to have ever held titles in different weight classes in UFC history.
Having accomplished what some could only dream of when competing in the grueling sport of MMA, what left is there for the 39-year-old to possibly prove? Do you think it’s time for Penn to call it a career?
