Joe Rogan discusses the fighting future of former two division champ BJ Penn

By Chris Taylor - May 25, 2019

It has been almost ten years since BJ Penn told Joe Rogan “I love you” during his post-fight speech at UFC 123 in Detroit.

Joe Rogan

That evening, ‘The Prodigy’ had defeated longtime rival turned good friend Matt Hughes via knockout in just 23-seconds, thus reasserting Penn as one of top welterweights in the divison.

The victory propelled Penn into a number one contenders bout with Jon Fitch at UFC 137. Unfortunately for both men (Fitch and Penn), that bout was ruled a majority draw – which meant neither fighter would go on to challenge Georges St-Pierre for the promotions welterweight title.

Instead, BJ Penn went on to fight Nick Diaz and then Rory MacDonald, ultimately losing both of those contests by way of decision.

Those setbacks prompted Penn to move all the way down to featherweight, where he proceeded to suffer losses to Frankie Edgar, Yair Rodriguez and Dennis Siver.

Most recently BJ Penn returned to the octagon at arguably his best weight, 155 pounds, for a UFC 237 scrap with Clay Guida.

After a strong opening round from ‘The Prodigy’, BJ would begin to fade in the late stages of round two and ultimately lost the fight via decision (29-28 x2, 29-27).

UFC commentator Joe Rogan has been around for most of the highs and lows of BJ Penn’s illustrious career and recently discussed the Hawaiian’s fighting future on his JRE Podcast.

“When Yair Rodriguez 360 roundhouse-kicked him in the face, that should’ve been the end. You saw that and compared it to BJ, when BJ beat Sean Sherk, you’re looking at a severely different fighter.”

While Joe Rogan believes Penn has definitely lost a step, he doesn’t believe anyone should be demanding that the UFC legend retire.

“No one’s job. Here’s the thing man, I don’t think he should be competing at the highest level of the sport but if he still wants to compete who’s to say he can’t? Who’s to say he can’t go to a small organization and fight for them? Who’s to say? He’s not getting sparked out, he’s still conscious. He’s getting beat, but he’s not getting crushed.”

What do you think of the comments made by Joe Rogan regarding BJ Penn? Sound off in the comments section PENN Nation!


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BJ Penn Joe Rogan UFC