Matt Serra weighs in on BJ Penn’s fighting future following UFC 237

Last saturday wasn’t a easy night for BJ Penn as he suffered his seventh straight loss at UFC 237 after being defeated by Clay Guida via unanimous decision. And while there’s a lot of fans and even fighters calling for the legend’s retirement, Mr. Penn has received a backup on his cause from a notorious former opponent.

Matt Serra, a former UFC welterweight champion, spoke about Penn’s last fights on the “UFC Unfiltered Podcast”. The headcoach for Serra-Longo’s Team showed some love to “The Prodigy” and didn’t join those who want to see him hanging up his gloves – for now.

“I don’t know. It’s not like what’s happening to Rashad Evans or somebody like Chuck Liddell where you’re like, ‘Man, i don’t want to see him get hurt anymore’. I don’t know. I’ve known B.J. for so long, I love the dude, he’s a really good person. The guy’s a legend. He can do whatever he wants. I wish him best. I don’t want to… i’m not sitting here saying he should retire. It’s not like he’s getting destroyed, and it looked like he was having a great time, as far as leading up to it. And he did look good in he beginning, you know?”, Serra said.

Matt Serra praised BJ Penn for his efforts and for doing what he loves the most: fighting. The former champ explained that one of most difficult parts about retiring is knowing what you should do next and quitting the professional routine.

“Dude, let me tell you, i’m 44. I fought him when i was 28. The guy has been around, man. The guy has been around. It’s not about money either with B.J. I just think that guys do this for so long, when it comes down to what’s next. It”s just what you’re used to. It’s like a routine. It felt weird i stopped. Like, ‘Oh i don’t have a fight coming up, even after a few months? Now what the f*** is going on?'”.

BJ Penn’s most recent win came back in 2010, where he defeated Matt Hughes via knockout in just 23-seconds at UFC 123.