Penn poised to restore his UFC legacy

SEATTLE - If there was a Mount Rushmore depicting the greats in mixed martial arts history, BJ Penn probably wouldn't make the cut.

That's not how his story was supposed to go. He was supposed to be a legend.

Penn was an instant sensation when he first appeared in the Ultimate Fighting Championship during its infancy. He reeled off three straight wins to start his career in 2001 before getting a title shot at 23 and quickly earned the nickname "The Prodigy" for his immense natural ability.

He was as physically gifted a fighter as the sport had seen at the time.

Not long after learning jiujitsu, he earned a black belt and became the first American to win a world title in the discipline. When trying to supplement his ground skills by learning to box, he earned high praise from none other than noted boxing trainer Freddie Roach, who called him "by far" the best striker in mixed martial arts.

That vast physical talent, however, might have contributed to whatever struggles he has had in his career. Penn is the quintessential genius to whom things came so easily that he never fully applied himself in the classroom and failed to meet his potential.

While he has had a great career, being one of two fighters to hold a UFC title in two weight classes, Penn seems to be grasping the realization of what could have been had his work ethic and dedication matched his natural talent.

He's not ready to accept that as a final fate, however. Penn decided to come out of a pseudo-retirement that few believed to fight fast-rising welterweight contender Rory MacDonald on the UFC on Fox 5 card Saturday at Key Arena.

"I actually texted (UFC president Dana White) a couple months back, and I told him, 'Dana, I watch all these interviews and all these people talking, and nobody ever says my name when they talk about the greatest fighters anymore,' " Penn said. "I really don't like that. It bothers me, and I know it's my fault. I know I'm the reason why people don't talk about me when they talk about (Georges St. Pierre) or Anderson Silva. My name was always in the mix, but it's never in the mix anymore.

"I've got a real problem with that, and that was actually a big part of my motivation to come back strong and do a good fight here."

White agrees the toughest opponent for the 33-year-old native Hawaiian has been Penn himself.

"He's taken a few beatings, and I blame him for that, not his talent. The times you've seen BJ Penn take a beating, he was the reason why," White said. "He was so talented he never took this thing seriously, never trained and applied himself the way he could have. If he would have, he would have been the guy with the 10-, 15-fight win streak, and he would still be talked about as one of the greatest ever."

If Penn is to have a second chance at becoming a legend, he will have to get by a difficult test in MacDonald. The 23-year-old Canadian's lone career loss was a last-minute knockout at the hands of Carlos Condit in a fight MacDonald was winning in 2010. MacDonald enters the fight as better than a 2-1 favorite.

He says he is not about to allow Penn to cement any sort of legacy against him and questions whether that is a proper mentality.

"He said he's fighting to get his legacy back. I don't know if that's truly his motivation or not," MacDonald said. "If that's true, if you're fighting for someone's opinion or status, you're fighting for the wrong reason. If that's his motivation, I believe it's going to get him hurt."

Penn knows he is running out of chances. He has had these sorts of revelations before, but this time he says his time is nearly up.

"I never lost my old mentality, but I think I did lose the desire to prepare properly," he said. "But I won't be able to do this for the rest of my life, and I want to give it a good shot with this fight coming up."

The bout is part of a card headlined by a lightweight title fight between Nate Diaz and champion Benson Henderson that airs live on Fox at 5 p.m.

■ NOTE - White officially presented Ronda Rousey with a UFC title belt at a Thursday news conference, making the Olympic bronze medalist the first women's champion in the organization's history. He also announced she will headline UFC 157 in Anaheim, Calif., on Feb. 23 with a title defense against Liz Carmouche, who also will make history as the first openly gay fighter in the UFC. White said Rousey was signed to an eight-fight UFC deal.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.