Penn Rushes It
Jake Rossen Sep 2, 2010
The natural tendency in reaction to failure is to fix it -- to do
something that washes out the miserable feeling of having come up
short. This is fine if you’re a landscaper; it’s ridiculous if
you’re a fighter.
Having suffered consecutive defeats to Frankie Edgar, B.J. Penn told fans on his Web site that he was looking to get back in the ring “as soon as possible” and that he can “build off of what I built in the last camp.” A normal frame of time would be to see him return around Christmas: If he’s expediting things, an October return is more likely.
The problem with Penn’s ambition is that he’s allowing his emotions to get the better of reason. Downtime between fights isn’t necessarily about healing up -- something Penn says he doesn’t need to do following Edgar’s swarming, nonviolent attack -- but letting your nervous system come down from a stressful event and allowing yourself time to peak for the next time.
If Penn is so desperate to get back in the ring that he ignores the schedule that gives him the best possible chance of winning, then he’s become reckless. He has long been the captain of his own ship, calling the shots, the workouts and the time off. Who’s there to push him when he doesn’t want to be pushed? In fights with Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian, it was the Marinovich brothers: Penn has since separated from them.
I’m not of the mind Penn is in the last act of his career. He looked sensational in pre-Edgar bouts and he’s hardly been damaged to the point where he’s aged beyond his 31 years. What he has always lacked is direction, both in his career and in his gym. If someone were in charge, they’d shoot down his request for an immediate return. The problem is that no one has ever been able to tell B.J. Penn what to do.
Having suffered consecutive defeats to Frankie Edgar, B.J. Penn told fans on his Web site that he was looking to get back in the ring “as soon as possible” and that he can “build off of what I built in the last camp.” A normal frame of time would be to see him return around Christmas: If he’s expediting things, an October return is more likely.
The problem with Penn’s ambition is that he’s allowing his emotions to get the better of reason. Downtime between fights isn’t necessarily about healing up -- something Penn says he doesn’t need to do following Edgar’s swarming, nonviolent attack -- but letting your nervous system come down from a stressful event and allowing yourself time to peak for the next time.
If Penn is so desperate to get back in the ring that he ignores the schedule that gives him the best possible chance of winning, then he’s become reckless. He has long been the captain of his own ship, calling the shots, the workouts and the time off. Who’s there to push him when he doesn’t want to be pushed? In fights with Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian, it was the Marinovich brothers: Penn has since separated from them.
I’m not of the mind Penn is in the last act of his career. He looked sensational in pre-Edgar bouts and he’s hardly been damaged to the point where he’s aged beyond his 31 years. What he has always lacked is direction, both in his career and in his gym. If someone were in charge, they’d shoot down his request for an immediate return. The problem is that no one has ever been able to tell B.J. Penn what to do.
