UFC
B.J. Penn doesn't miss training camps, but misses "being the baddest man on the planet"
Jul 3, 2015 - 2:15:01 PM B.J. Penn doesn't miss training camps, but misses "being the baddest man on the planet"

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"You know what I don't miss? I don't miss a three-month training camp. I don't miss fight week. But I do miss being the baddest man on the planet... It does blow me away, though, when I see Werdum just got the belt at 37 and then you see Mark Hunt still fighting at 40. All these different things. It is amazing. I don't know. They're out there, they're doing it. It ain't the technique, it ain't the speed, it ain't the power. It's who wants it the most. Over time, maybe as you start getting into it, the people start coming along that love it more than you do... I don't see myself with a strong will to want to. You never now what the future could hold. You never know what could pop up. I've got no desire to jump into training camp and try to go out there."

-B.J. Penn talks to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour about retirement and why he's not thinking a return will ever happen again.

Penick's Analysis: Penn's time in the sport just wound down naturally. The fight camps became too much of a burden, his heart wasn't in the work it required to continue competing at the level he always had, and the end result was several decisive losses down the stretch. It's unfortunately the most common way for a fighter to close out their career, and Penn was just the latest in a long line of fighters in his era to go out in similar fashion. Still, his greatness when he was at his peak can't be denied, and his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame next week is more than deserved.

[B.J. Penn art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]