BJ Penn officially ends retirement - wants 145 lb belt

[Wild]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcApsirEL78


BJ Penn is back. The former two-division UFC champion, who last year was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, announced Tuesday on The MMA Hour that he is officially coming out of retirement with famed trainer Greg Jackson in his corner.

"That's who I am, Ariel," Penn told host Ariel Helwani. "That's who I am. That's what I do.

"I want to go get that 145-pound belt. That's definitely a huge motivation for me. I believe with Greg Jackson's help, I can get that done. And I believe that I will be able to walk away as the only man with three titles in three weight divisions."

"I've been kind of thinking about it for a while. But, this is my last resort, and I'm going to give it everything I got," Penn said.

"I made sure to tell Greg, I let him know the other day that if I can't do this, Greg, in any way, shape, or form, you feel that B.J. doesn't belong in the ring, please let me know. Please let me know. And he's very confident that we can get something done. With somebody like that, who has so many champions himself and who has does as well as he has in this sport, when he tells me that: ‘I know you can go out and I know you can beat all these guys,' it gives me a lot of confidence."

"I don't want to be a shell of my former self," Penn said. "And I told Jackson that if I can't do this, you let me know. You come straight to me, Greg. You see me sparring one day, you look at me and say ‘this guy don't got it anymore,' pull the plug right now. I got a wonderful life back in Hawaii. I love my life. But I love fighting more.

"I realize what I'm up against. I'll go out right now and give all my respect to these guys. These guys are animals. These guys are the best athletes in the world, and I want to go and take my place among them.

"When you get the dice, just roll it," Penn added. "That's what I've done my whole life. That's what I've done my whole career. That's why people remember me. All these people are talking about this and that. If I cared about legacy, I would've never fought all these guys. I would've never took these fights. I think they're confusing me with someone who actually cares. I don't care about that stuff. I just want to scrap.

LINK: BJ Penn officially ends retirement: 'I want to go get that 145-pound belt'

 

[TheEmperorRises]

I'm all in. No one gets me fired up for a fight like BJ Penn!!

 

[ECC170]

love ol BJ...a lot of ppl care for his health abd want the best..but if Arlovski and Johnson can mane a resurgence So can BJ...call me crazy but I GUARANTEE he will shock some ppl..

 

[The EZ Life]

he can hang with anyone at 145 if he gets his speed up and conditioning

 

[member 1013]

Awesome, hope he has a great comeback. Always gave entertaining fights against amazing competition. Glad to see that it doesn't appear to be a money grab either.

 

[Wild]

If he were coming back with his Hilo camp, I wouldn't be interested in this at all....for his sake. And you all know I'm a Penn nuthugger. But knowing he's all-in with Jackson & hearing that Greg believes he got one last run in him? Count me in as on board with this shit.

 

[member 1013]

If he were coming back with his Hilo camp, I wouldn't be interested in this at all....for his sake. And you all know I'm a Penn nuthugger. But knowing he's all-in with Jackson & hearing that Greg believes he got one last run in him? Count me in as on board with this shit.

I conquer

 

[Qat]

Excited to see this.

But:

"I want to go get that 145-pound belt. That's definitely a huge motivation for me. I believe with Greg Jackson's help, I can get that done. And I believe that I will be able to walk away as the only man with three titles in three weight divisions."

All these people are talking about this and that. If I cared about legacy, I would've never fought all these guys. I would've never took these fights. I think they're confusing me with someone who actually cares. I don't care about that stuff. I just want to scrap.

Contradicts a bit.

 

[TheEmperorRises]

Excited to see this.

But:


Contradicts a bit.

I think he just means he's not worried about 'harming' his legacy.

Of course he'd like to add to it

 

[SongExotic2]

Bj vs aldo

 

[jason73]

id love to see BJ licking conors blood off his gloves

 

[jason73]

 

[BeardOfKnowledge]

"I want to go get that 145-pound belt. That's definitely a huge motivation for me. I believe with Greg Jackson's help, I can get that done. And I believe that I will be able to walk away as the only man with three titles in three weight divisions.

 

[TheEmperorRises]

Bj vs aldo

They've trained together and I believe are friends, so not likely.

 

[TheFifthScallop]

Willow from, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer, will convey how I feel about this.

 

[Wild]

Pretty cool to hear BJ say Cabbage Corriera is staying there in ABQ with him.

 

[pattitude]

I just hope that, at the end of his training, he has the cardio he needs. I also hope he doesn't get hurt whether it's in training or in the ring.

 

[teamquestnorth]

Pretty cool to hear BJ say Cabbage Corriera is staying there in ABQ with him.

Is Cabbage training at Jackson's too?

 

[Wild]

Is Cabbage training at Jackson's too?

I doubt he's there just to lay out BJ's RVCA shirts in the morning.

 

[teamquestnorth]

I doubt he's there just to lay out BJ's RVCA shirts in the morning.

Lol hey he could have went for the BBQ and great Mexican food.

 

[Psychotropic Wanderlust]

this is the best MMA news I have heard in the last 6 months.

 

[Silverball]

 

[LurkenLikaGherkin]

The only thing that keeps me from being bummed out about this (because I don't want to ever watch BJ Penn getting tooled by anybody, again, ever) is Jackson getting behind him. But, then, can you really see Jackson telling him, "BJ, I have to be honest with you. I think your time has passed."

IMO we have seen the best BJ there can possibly be. People always thought he was out of shape, didn't train hard, etc. etc. etc., but that Hughes fight where his rib tweaked out, other fights, you could see from how he moved that he was physically sharp.

We've already seen the best possible BJ. Anything we see now will be an older, more worn BJ with some heavy beatings in his past, and most of them in his most recent outings.

 

[LurkenLikaGherkin]

(Sorry to be a party pooper. I hate seeing BJ reach his limit, and it not being enough, don't ever want to see that again with guys he would have tortured when at his best. His picking Lentz to call out makes me think, too, that he doesn't truly believe in himself, and that he just misses the process of fighting, and all it involves.)

 

[HEATH VON DOOM]

I hope he cleans out the HW division when he is done taking the title at 45. Wonder if he will get a immediate shot at 155 after he wins the 145 strap. Should be fighting for the title after his 2nd fight.