We know the ambition of “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn (13-4-1). The UFC Lightweight Champion has moved up to the 170 lbs. limit to fight the UFC Welterweight Champion, Georges St. Pierre this coming Saturday. Let’s just say hypothetically B.J. wins the UFC Welterweight Title, he would then hold two UFC belts in two different weight classes at the same time. It has never been done before in MMA.
If B.J. Penn were to achieve that, what would be left for him? He has said in previous interviews that he would go back down to lightweight and defend that title. Would he then come back up to welterweight and try to keep putting on and cutting weight indefinitely? That seems unlikely.
In a recent interview in Men’s Lifestyle Penn hints at the fact he may be closer to retirement than many of us would like to think:
Do you think about your legacy in fighting?
I don’t know what I think about it anymore. I’ve got two world titles. I just think about beating the best fighters. I used to be consumed with legacy, and this and that, but now I just want to fight a couple more good fights and we’ll see what happens. I’m 30 now, I’ve been with this company for nine years, I’ve got a daughter, I want to have some more kids. I want to be around; I don’t want to be in training camp while they are growing up.
What if Penn does not defeat GSP at UFC 94 for the Welterweight Title? He still has the UFC Lightweight Title (not to mention he already won the WW title in 2004) and most MMA analysts do not give much credence to the thought of anyone presently on the UFC roster taking that title from the champ.
B.J. has been around since the beginning of the Zuffa era and has seen the UFC and the sport grow tremendously. He already has a highly respectable resume and there are many who consider him the number one pound for pound fighter in the world today. With a couple of more “good fights” as he puts it, that may be just enough to satisfy B.J. Penn where he could walk away from professional MMA competition content and fulfilled.
On a side note, in the same interview, B.J. says he really needs to stop licking the blood of his opponents.
-Jack Bratcher