Penn still in limbo, says he never should have fought at 145 pounds
If BJ Penn ever straps on the 4-ounce gloves again, it won't be at 145 pounds.
The former UFC two-division champion hasn't decided whether he'll fight again, but can state with absolute certainty that his days as a featherweight are over.
"I should have never fought at 145," Penn recently told Chris Taylor of BJPenn.com. "It was a bad decision to move down in weight at my age. Maybe if I had made the move in my early 20s it would have been different. But I did not feel good at 145."
The 39-year-old Penn, a former UFC lightweight and welterweight titleholder, fought at 145 pounds in each of his last three walks to the Octagon - all of them losses. The latter two defeats came opposite Yair Rodriguez and Dennis Siver this year upon his return from retirement, and extended his winless drought to six fights and seven years.
The luminary has since stated he doesn't "feel the fire to compete right now." After rumors of a February date with Suman Mokhtarian at UFC 221 began circulating online, he told Taylor a return to action wasn't in the proverbial cards at the moment.
"I wish," Penn said. "But as of right now there is no plans of me fighting."
However, should the promotion visit his native Hawaii this year - as featherweight champion and fellow Hawaiian Max Holloway has campaigned for - Penn said he'd love to fight in what would be the UFC's maiden voyage to the state.
- With h/t to MMA Fighting