UFC great BJ Penn targets one last run at featherweight title

PHOENIX — When BJ Penn texted Dana White just over a year ago to express his intention to return to competition, the UFC president’s response was about the same as anybody else who watched Penn’s subpar performance in his last fight.

“He texted me back, ‘Are you crazy?’ ” Penn recalled with a laugh.

It was a fair question.

Penn, a former two-division champion and one of the first superstars in mixed martial arts, came out of retirement to deliver a disappointing, and frankly sad, effort in a knockout loss to Frankie Edgar in July 2014.

He retired again and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2015.

But that awful performance kept gnawing at him. That was not the way it was supposed to end for one of the most beloved fighters in UFC history.

“Weren’t you embarrassed for me?” he asked Thursday. “You saw me crying after the fight. I was embarrassed, yeah.”

So Penn decided in early 2016 to give it one more shot. He had several fights postponed or changed due to a variety of circumstances, but insists he was never deterred.

On Sunday night, he will finally step in the cage again when he takes on rising star Yair Rodriguez in a featherweight bout that will headline UFC Fight Night 103 at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Penn, 39, doesn’t plan on making it a one-time deal. He has his eyes on making one last run at a featherweight title after capturing the lightweight and welterweight belts earlier in his career. He would be the first fighter to win a title in three different UFC weight classes.

That’s all down the road. The first goal is to erase the memory of what happened last time he stepped in the cage and he believes he is ready to do just that even though Rodriguez is a big favorite and one of the most exciting young fighters in the organization.

“I hope my opponent watches that tape (of my last fight) and thinks that’s who he’s fighting,” Penn said. “Every time BJ Penn gets embarrassed he comes back 10 times better.

“Drain your bank account and put all your money on me. I don’t blame (the oddsmakers for making me a plus-350 underdog). I’ve had some bad fights. Maybe I’m one of the most well-known fighters and all the hardcore fans love me, but I’ve made some mistakes in the past. It’s time to come back and fix what we can.”

Penn actually spent a great deal of time over the last year working on his game at famed coach Greg Jackson’s camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His longtime striking coach Jason Parillo is still by Penn’s side as he prepares for another comeback, however.

He said he never thought Penn would allow the loss to Edgar to linger as his final moment in the cage.

“Anybody at that level; any legend, any Hall of Famer, any world champion really, wants to go out on their own terms,” Parillo said. “ He doesn’t want that to be the last memory, especially when he has more in the tank. He didn’t even bring a tank to that fight, to be totally honest. He was a shell of himself. That’s not the fighter BJ is and that’s not the fighter BJ wants people to remember as his last fight, That’s not how he wants to go out. He feels really good this time.”

Penn hasn’t thought about an ideal scenario that would allow him to walk away in peace.

“A thousand times I’ve thought I just didn’t have it anymore,” he said. “When you lose a fight, it’s just natural. But I haven’t thought about how I want to go out. I just see a goal and I try to run as fast as I can toward it.”

Right now, that means setting his sights on the featherweight belt and sprinting ahead. Parillo has seen Penn at the top of his game and in the depths of despair.

He believes Penn is ready to compete at a very high level, but acknowledges it’s all speculation until the bell rings.

“We’ve got to find out,” Parillo said. “In the gym, yes, we’re looking like we can absolutely be at that level. But the truth is in the pudding. I see him showing up in this fight and then we’ll have every answer.”

There’s no doubt Penn is relishing the chance to change the narrative on the end of his career. He spent the better part of an hour at Thursday’s open workouts posing for pictures with every fan who wanted one. The smile never left his face.

“I’ve been so focused on getting ready for the fight, I forgot this part,” Penn said of the interaction. “They fuel me. I feed off of them. They’re everything. That’s why I’m back. I do love the competition and all that stuff, but I love the fans. That’s why I’m here.”

He’s also here to show he can still compete, even against the young stars of the sport. Penn summed it his attitude best with his final comments at Friday’s weigh-ins.

“They say it’s old school versus new school,” Penn said. “Kicking ass is timeless.”

The bout is part of a 7 p.m. main card on Fox Sports 1 that also includes a lightweight bout between Joe Lauzon and Marcin Held. Four fights from the preliminary card will also air on the network at 5 with the remainder of the fights streaming live through the UFC’s online platform, Fight Pass, at 3.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.