As not all heroes wear capes, not all heroes are perfect, but they don’t always have to be.
In the grueling world of combat sports and as is the case with every sport at the highest professional level, the magnitude of each and every setting gets magnified to the broadest possible audience with the more and more success that is gained.
Because of this, it just creates for new and different types of tests with each new step that is taken.
Along the journey, athletes will be required to learn and grow from uncomfortable situations. Avoidable mistakes are going to end up happening and more often than not they’re going to end up having been necessities for a greater outcome.
Without adversity, there is no reason to grow and adapt, there will be no sense of direction that is found.
For 13-year MMA veteran and UFC strawweight Jessica Penne, it took her roughly 12 of those years until she finally found herself. But who’s counting?
After a quick examining of Penne’s 17-fight record, it can quickly be seen that she’s not one to sit on the shelf for long periods of time… If she has anything to say about it that is.
Up until 2018, 2011 had been the only year of her career where she hadn’t competed in a mixed martial arts bout. But even in that year, she took her skills to the shoot-boxing world.
Despite the unplanned nearly two-year layoff that Penne currently prepares to end come this Sunday at UFC Phoenix, it ended up being one of the best things to have happened to her.
“It was definitely a costly learning lesson,” Penne said when speaking to BJPenn.com. “I’m not gonna beat around the bush, I was suspended for two years. I have no problem talking about it. It’s part of my journey… And it was actually quite the blessing in disguise even though it was a hard, costly lesson.”
Continued: EXCLUSIVE | Jessica Penne and the journey to self-discovery | BJPenn.com
