Dream Fight Brought BJ Penn Out of Retirement

It will have been nearly a year when BJ Penn finally steps foot back in the Octagon at UFC 152 in September to face Rory MacDonald. That’s because Penn had called it quits after losing at the hands of Nick Diaz last October.

“This is probably the last time you’re ever going to see me in here. I want to perform at the top level. That’s it,” he declared after losing to Diaz. “I’ve got a daughter, another daughter on the way, I don’t want to go home looking like this. I’m done.”

But recently, a fight that Penn considers a dream fight, a fight that many other didn’t think would be all that enticing to the Hawaiian MMA legend, pulled him back into the Octagon.

In Rory MacDonald, Penn faces a stiff challenge from one of the hottest rising talents in the welterweight division, but more importantly to him, he faces a teammate of his arch-rival Georges St-Pierre.

Penn recently talked about his decision to return: why now and why MacDonald?