BJ Penn is still trying to earn his first UFC win since 2010. “The Prodigy” hasn’t won a fight inside the Octagon since knocking out Matt Hughes in just 21 seconds at UFC 123. Since, Penn has gone on a five-fight losing streak since 2011. He suffered a majority decision defeat to Dennis Siver in June of last year.
Now the UFC Hall Of Famer is set to return at UFC 232 next month (Sat. December 29, 2018). He’ll face jiu-jitsu ace Ryan Hall on the FS1 preliminary card for the event. Hall is a former Ultimate Fighter winner and is 6-1 in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career. Many believe the young Hall might be too much for the 39-year-old Penn to handle.
MMA legend Bas Rutten seems to agree with that sentiment. Speaking on The MMA Hour recently, Rutten said he thinks Hall will be a tough fight for Penn (via MMA Fighting):
“That’s going to be a tough fight for him as well,” Rutten said. “Let’s face it, man, these young guys right now, they’re so good, they’re so in shape, and they know everything. In my time, there were still guys, I was good on the ground, I was good on the feet, and in my time, you could get away with that.
“There were a lot of guys who were strikers, or they were submission guys, but not a lot of fighters had all three components, I never was a good wrestler by the way. But now all these guys are phenomenal everywhere, they have a full gas tank. Nobody runs out of gas anymore like the old times.”
However, Rutten feels that if Penn has someone in his camp who is calling the shots in regards to his training, he might have a good performance:
“BJ is a guy that, if he goes to a camp and he has a guy that he listens to, who tell him no, you’re going to have to do an extra round, as long as he is not in control of the training, I think, maybe in this fight he’ll do really good and perform really well,” Rutten said.
What do you think about Rutten saying Hall will be a tough fight for Hall?
