On July 7th, 2014, BJ Penn announced following his third straight loss “this is the end.” He bid farewell to his adoring fans in Las Vegas and parted ways with the promotion that saw him claim two titles in separate weight classes.
Now, less than two years later, Penn appears to have newfound motivation to step into the Octagon, and that motivation comes in the form of a nutritionist whom Penn wants to teach a lesson.
“I’m sick and tired of hearing about Mike Dolce,” Penn said on UFC Tonight (h/t Fox Sports). “You know what Mike Dolce, I’ll put a challenge out right now — you go grab Nik Lentz, that’s your boy, bring him down to 145, I’ll run right through him in one round and then I’ll find you in the back and I’ll smash you.
“Let’s do that right now. I’m ready.”
Penn’s bitter history with Dolce dates back to his final Octagon showing, after which Penn was critical and claimed that he should never have hired Dolce. ‘The Prodigy’ also revealed that he paid Dolce $22,000 for exactly three weeks of work, which he clearly regret.
“I’m ready for something like that. I’ve been hanging out, I haven’t stepped in the gym for two years. I would come out for the grudge match and see what happens after that. There’s new fighters out there.”
While he now believes he has a score to settle with Dolce and his client Lentz, Penn believes he would draw against the new crop of featherweights in the UFC, including brash Irishman Conor McGregor.
“When I’m at my best, I think we can pull some pretty good numbers. He says he’s the guy out there. I think we’d have some stuff to say.”
Transcription taken from Fox Sports.
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