White – More UFC for Penn after street fighting

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – It seems that BJ Penn's tenure at UFC is finally over.

UFC President, Dana White, told ESPN Thursday that he would not offer the 40-year-old legend another bout in the Octagon, as a result of two videos which were published on the Penn Fights in the streets of Hawaii.

The UFC was preparing Penn (16-14-2) to fight Nik Lentz before the end of the year, but these plans are now canceled, according to White.

"He will not fight anymore, that's all," White told ESPN. "It's perfect.It's not even the last straw.I did not like to keep fighting anyway, but with the relationship we have with him, he's calling me at phone and beg me to participate in another fight.It is difficult to refuse.

"After what I've seen in this video, BJ has to do it, you know, he has to focus on his personal life before he thinks of fighting."

White said that he had not personally contacted Penn, but that the promotion had informed Penn of his decision not to reserve another fight for him.

Last week, two videos on TMZ showed Penn's involvement in a street fight in Hawaii. In a video, an unidentified man knocks Penn on the floor with a punch. Another video shows Penn, apparently after being knocked down, placing the man on the ground and hitting him on the side of the head.

Penn and his representatives have since said that he was trying to defuse the situation and had finally acted in self-defense. He was not charged.

Penn, of Hilo, Hawaii, retired in 2014, but returned to competition in 2017. He has lost seven straight bouts since 2011.

Known as perhaps the greatest lightweight martial artist of all time, Penn is a former two-weight champion of the UFC. The UFC has been criticized for allowing it to compete in recent years, but White added that he had begged to compete, which has garnered him a lot of thought. His willingness to do so, however, has come to an end.

"I do not want to stay here and choose BJ Penn apart," said White. "I think we all know what BJ Penn needs to do and hopefully BJ Penn knows what BJ Penn needs to do, what I saw in this video was sad and I love the kid. I hope he's living his life together. "If BJ Penn needs me, all he has to do is pick up the phone and ask."