BJ Penn breaks his silence on Diaz, retirement, and more

PC: OK, let’s expand on that a bit. After the fight you announced your retirement. First of all, what was going on in your mind when you made that call and is that something that you are really going to stick to? Is BJ Penn retired?

BJ: You know what, me and the team have talked about this for a long time and we talked about this after the first Frankie Edgar fight. In Fighting you really get a lot of motivation and a lot of fire when you’re out there trying to prove yourself and going out there being all you can be.

There’s nothing else more that I like than fighting, but every once in a while you need to take some time away. As of right now I don’t feel that burning desire, that burning urge to compete and I’m just going to hang out. If I feel that desire again than I will be back, but if I don’t feel it than there is no reason for me to make a return.

You really gotta feel it, there can be nothing else, when you’re standing in the ring across from your opponent he is thinking there is nothing else more important in the world than winning this fight and you have to be thinking the same thing. No matter if you’re better than him or not you have to be thinking the same thing. He’s got a dream and only a dream can kill a dream and your dream has to be bigger than his.

If your just there because you’re better than the opponent than you’re not in the right frame of mind. Fighting is one of the only sports that a guy not as good as you can beat you… Why? Because he wants it more.

PC: So just to be clear, you’re not committing to retiring 100% but you’re not yet committing to return to fighting either is that right?

BJ: That’s just the truth, I would love to fight again, I’d love to fight all these guys. Right now I don’t have that burning desire to compete so as I sit down and just enjoy life, when and if that desire comes back I will be ready to fight again. I’m sure it will.

read entire interview…