BJ Penn isn’t done with the octagon just yet.
BJ Penn isn’t done with the octagon just yet.
The Hilo UFC Hall of Famer has elected to continue his career and will fight Denis Siver on June 25 in Oklahoma City, several media outlets reported Wednesday.
The 38-year-old Penn (16-11-2) was to come out of retirement to fight Siver (22-11) last June at UFC 199, but Siver pulled out with an injury.
After taking a six-month ban for illegal IV usage, Penn fought for the first time in 30 months in January and was taken apart by Yair Rodriguez early in the second round, falling via TKO in what was his fourth consecutive defeat.
The announcement of another fight will no doubt leave some fans wondering why Penn wants to continue. He hasn’t won a mixed-martial arts bout since November 2010.
Penn addressed the inevitable naysayers before his fight with Rodríguez.
“I don’t blame them,” he said. “I’ve had some bad fights and I’ve made some mistakes. It’s time to fix what we can.”
He couldn’t then, but he’ll try again in June.