BJ Penn Should Have Stayed Retired

BJ Penn’s latest attempt to stage an MMA comeback is already going down the toilet. Earlier this year, BJ Penn announced his intentions to return to MMA and try and make a comeback. I covered more of that in this column here. Why was this supposed to be different from Penn’s last disastrous comeback attempt against Frankie Edgar? This time he was apparently going to take his training seriously under the tutelage of Greg Jackson at Jackson MMA in New Mexico. He was still going to fight at featherweight to try and pick a fight with Nik Lentz, who has since moved back up to lightweight, but whatever. Penn was scheduled to fight Cole Miller at UFC 199, but now that’s been tossed out as Penn was pulled due to a USADA violation over use of an IV. It’s just another example of why Penn should’ve just stayed retired and why his latest comeback attempt was foolish.

Penn might take this as a sign of adversity, but really, it seems more like the universe trying to tell him that fighting again at featherweight is a dumb idea. If Penn is truly serious about a comeback…why is he fighting at featherweight. His one fight at featherweight, he looked absolutely awful. He looked depleted and malnourished against Frankie Edgar. No matter what the excuse was, and there were was a lot of back and forth over how that went between Penn and nutritionist Mike Dolce, Penn looked horrible after the featherweight cut. So why Penn would force himself to go through that again is a mystery. If he’s that serious, what is wrong with fighting at lightweight? That was always Penn’s ideal weight class anyway. At welterweight, he was generally undersized against most of the prime competitors. Lightweight was where Penn was at his best.

Penn’s been pulled from the card due to the admission of a use of an IV, which is a violation of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s policy for the UFC. Penn disclosed the usage of an IV in excess of 50 ML in a six-hour period during a March 25 out-of-competition sample collection. As a result, Penn has received a provisional suspension and was pulled from UFC 199 against Cole Miller.

Penn is claiming innocence because he voluntarily disclosed the IV usage to USADA. However, the problem with his explanation is that he is once again claiming ignorance that IV use was banned 365 days a year. The IV ban has pretty much been common knowledge for last year. Not only that, a simple Google search for USADA in just seconds turned up this page where USADA provides all the details regarding IV use. Just so everyone knows, USADA does not provide a wholesale ban on IV use year-round. There are exceptions. Here is what the website plainly states regarding IV use:

“Chemical and Physical Manipulation), all IV infusions and/or injections of more than 50mL (~3.4 tablespoons) per 6-hour period are prohibited, except for those legitimately received in the course of hospital admissions, surgical procedures or clinical investigations. IV infusions and/or injections of more than 50mL per 6-hour period are prohibited at all times, both in- and out-of-competition unless the athlete has applied for and been granted a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) under the applicable anti-doping rules. Further, if a prohibited substance that is administered intravenously or via injection, a TUE is necessary for this substance regardless of volume.”

So right off the bat, the IV ban does not apply to ones received during a hospital admission, a surgical procedure, or clinical investigations. In other words, Penn’s violation did not include any of those. In addition, an athlete can receive a therapeutic use exemption for IV infusions/and or injections of more than 50ml per 6-hour period. People have commented on this saying Floyd Mayweather got a retroactive IV use exemption. Honestly, I don’t really care, this is about looking at Penn’s violation. The point is, Penn’s IV use did not meet the criteria for a viable usage in the eyes of the sport’s regulator. If he really needed it, he could’ve requested a TUE, but he didn’t. I discovered this information in just seconds using Google. It was one of the top search results. It’s not buried under pages and pages and clicks. There’s no excuse for BJ Penn’s ignorance. This is the fighter’s responsibility.

All of this could’ve been avoided if BJ Penn did not come out of retirement. Just like the way Wanderlei Silva could’ve just avoided all of his recent problems had he retired after beating Brian Stann. That would’ve been the best course of action for his career. Penn really has nothing to prove anymore, other than fighting is what he knows and he’s probably addicted to it. What is the point of Penn returning to fight, at featherweight, to fight Cole Miller of all people? Miller is far from a relevant fighter at featherweight. Miller’s featherweight record is 3-4, 1NC. His run as a featherweight in the UFC has been mediocre to say the least.

On an emotional level, I see why some people are enabling BJ Penn for this comeback. I see why people want to believe he can do it. It’s BJ Penn. He’s still one of the greatest fighters of all time. He’s one of only two men to win UFC titles in two different weight classes. I would still put him as the greatest UFC lightweight champion of all time and maybe the greatest lightweight fighter ever. Even if you consider how maybe Penn didn’t take his training seriously enough for many years, even with all that in mind, he still accomplished more in his career than most men will in their entire lifetimes. That’s something to be proud of. However, his latest actions are tarnishing his legacy. It’s time to let go and accept that the MMA part of your life is over.