B.J. Penn Releases Statement Following Record-Setting Seventh Straight UFC Loss

B.J. Penn came up short again this past weekend at UFC 237 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil when he took on fellow UFC veteran Clay Guida on the ESPN preliminary card.

The 40-year old “Prodigy” had his moments, especially in the early going, but was eventually beaten by a mixture of Guida’s relentless pressure and his effective leg kicks.

Penn released the following statement after the loss and said while the decision didn’t go his way, he felt good inside the Octagon:

“Clay came in great shape like we expected. He didn’t go for many takedowns,” he said to his website, BJPENN.com. “He was able to land some good punches and some hard kicks. I thought it was a good fight, he got the better of round three. But I honestly felt better than I have in a while out there. I was able to find him with my punches. It was a good scrap.”

Penn then added that he was made aware of his record-setting losing streak but said it didn’t bother him because he’s still enjoying what he’s doing:

“I know I am on a losing streak. I think they said it is the longest in UFC history or something. But that being said, I am not going out there and getting knocked unconscious. There are ton of guys, who would be considered in their prime, who still get knocked out cold – even this past weekend. I still feel good and the desire to compete is still there. It was a good scrap with Clay, who is a really tough fight for anybody at 155. You know what they say Chris [Taylor, who was interviewing Penn], Babe Ruth set a record for most strikeouts too right.” BJ said with a laugh. “But in all seriousness, I do this because I love it. Anderson Silva said it best. Never feel sorry for the Lion, because the Lion doesn’t feel sorry for himself when he is surrounded by a bunch of Hyenas ready to die.”