BJ Penn speaks out on street fights: “I know how bad it looks”
The career of former UFC champion BJ Penn is not looking good as of late. Aside from his record setting losing streak in the UFC, he’s also had his fair share of controversies. Penn has been involved in street fights, more specifically. In the spann of about three months, he’s been involved in three altercations on two separate occasions. The most recent incident occurred while Penn was at the club The Lava Shack, where Penn was first knocked down, and he later wound up in mount on the assailant later on.
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In an interview with TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter, Penn addressed the incident. The former UFC champ claims that he was out for a good time at the Lava Shack when an acquaintance of his became angry, and things escalated.
“He wants to fight about it, and I’m like, ‘No, no, no, I don’t want to fight,’” Penn said. “He even walks outside. I thought I would go and calm him down, and I would walk outside to give the guy a hug.
“I thought the guy would eventually be just, like, ‘Forget it, B.J, whatever.’ Give me a hug or whatever and walk away. And he hit me, hit me good, and knocked me down. When I got back up, he tried it again, and then I had to defend myself. And that’s what you see in the second video.”
The two videos do, however, seem to be shot at slightly different locations, though it’s hard to tell just how tightly connected the two altercations are.
The MMA community has been openly concerned after seeing Penn involved in these fights on Hawaii’s streets. Some have asked for the UFC to cut Penn or to cancel his upcoming bout with Nik Lentz.
“I know how bad it looks”
It can be a red flag for personal issues that have spilled out. Penn downplays the severity of these street fights, saying he didn’t intend for things to get violent.
“I know how bad it looks,” Penn said. “I’ve got to take responsibility for the position that I’m in. I’ve got to take responsibility for when I was getting punched to not let my adrenaline go and start saying other stuff, because I really didn’t want nothing to do with that.
“I feel real unfortunate for the people who believe in me and follow me, and I feel bad for them that I was in these situations.”
Penn will face Lentz at a yet to be determined event. It gives Penn the opportunity to bounce back from a historic seven fight losing streak. His last win was in november 2010, when he knocked out Matt Hughes, ending their trilogy.
