UFC: BJ Penn’s coach, ‘gun to his head,’ says his fighter won’t retire

BJ Penn. AP

After his comeback attempt once again fell short, many believe that UFC legend BJ Penn does not have anything else to prove in the octagon and should just ride off into the sunset.

In a bid to come out of retirement, the 38-year-old Hawaiian fighter suffered yet another lopsided beatdown, this time against top prospect Yair Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 103 last Sunday (Monday in Manila).

The once invincible fighter looked like a shell of his former self and did not mount much offense against his young and up-and-coming foe, who easily dispatched him in less than two rounds.

Jason Parillo, the man who has coached Penn through the years, said he’s also uncertain whether the former two-division champion will ever fight again. But if he follows his gut feeling, the longtime mentor believes Penn won’t stay retired for long.

”I can’t give a straight answer, like yes or no, because I’m not a mind reader,” the boxing coach told MMAFighting. “But again, if you put a gun to my head and you say: ‘If you answer wrong, I’m gonna shoot you in the head. Do you think BJ Penn will fight again?’ I would say yes,” he revealed.

The veteran coach also did not mince words regarding the obvious disparity between Penn—who was coming off a long lay-off—and Rodriguez, who has remained active in the UFC’s 145-pound division.

“[Expletive] no, that wasn’t the right matchup,” Parillo said, referring to the obvious age gap between the two. “One fight, five years. Give me the no. 35 guy. Who’s ranked no. 35?”

Despite the apparent mismatch with Rodriguez, Penn is beloved by many because he is the type of guy who does not turn down fights—a trait which Parillo believes could lead to his own undoing.

“BJ is the type of guy that is never gonna want to not fight. BJ, he’s gonna fight until he dies. That’s where he’s gonna die—he’s gonna die in that cage,” he boldly proclaimed.

The longtime coach added that it’s not his place to make a decision regarding Penn’s career, and he would support his fighter whichever path he chooses to go on.

If Penn does fight again, Parillo hopes that it would be against someone not ranked as highly, unlike with Rodriguez who was rated at number 10 in the division prior to their fight.

“Not only did he not fight in two and a half years, he’s only fought once in five years,” he again described his fighter’s long lay-off.

“The one time he fought in five years, he lost. He got stopped,” Parillo explained. “So as far as ring rust, I say 1,000 times it’s the real deal. Especially when you’ve fought once in five years, that’s just insane.” Khristian Ibarrola