Embracing One Last Hurrah for BJ Penn

You can't help but feel a little flutter of excitement when you see one of the legends of the game considering a comeback. Don't get me wrong there is such a thing as being beyond the point of a legitimate return, and Bellator 149 headliners Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie might personify that, but in the case of 37-year-old BJ Penn, it's not really the same situation.

Having announced his desire to fight at UFC 197 against Nik Lentz, there has been some negative reactions to the aspirations of 'The Prodigy'. One of the best-loved champions in the history of the promotion, a lot of fans are concerned that, should the fight be made, a negative result could ramifications on the jiu jitsu phenom's legacy.

Often in cases of fighters returning to action after announcing their retirements, there can be similar opposing outcries, and justifiably so. The idea of an athlete trading leather because they have no alternative means to a financial gain does not sit well with anyone, despite it being a common occurrence in combat sports.

BJ Penn, on the other hand, has already made his money in the fight game. Not only that, the Hawaiian comes from a very wealthy family. Given his financial stability, we can quite safely say that his hopes of returning to the Octagon are completely based on his desire to compete.

And that's not too surprising.

The gameness of the Hilo native was one of his key selling points. There was no opponent too big for Penn, he fought as light as 145 lbs and as heavy as 191 lbs. He became the second of only two men, the other being Randy Couture, to win two UFC belts when he claimed the vacant 155 lbs crown against Joe Stevenson in 2008. Penn had already secured the welterweight strap against Matt Hughes in his first endeavor into the bracket back in 2004, which he was stripped of when he signed for K-1.

Penn was in pursuit of being the first man to hold two UFC titles simultaneously before he lost to Georges St-Pierre in their welterweight title fight back in January 2009. The fact that this feat has not been reached to this day shows that 'Baby-Jay' was well ahead of his time, with UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor in search of the same Holy Grail on March 5 against Rafael Dos Anjos.

In comparison to the potential bout with Lentz, his last appearance in the Octagon made a lot less sense in terms of a matchup. Fresh off getting back in the win column against Charles Oliveira after he fought featherweight champion Jose Aldo to one of the closest decisions of his reign, a third fight with Frankie Edgar was called for after a 20-month absence from competition for 'The Prodigy'.

We all seemed to be filled with hope based on Penn dropping down to featherweight despite the fact that he had lost on two previous occasions to 'The Answer'.

For the blood lickin', 'Just Scrapin' Penn, his last soiree with Edgar must be a tough one to watch. From his bizarre upright stance to the way Edgar methodically picked him apart and eventually finished him with devastating grounded shots in the third round, it just didn't feel like the right way to go out for the Hawaiian legend.

It was Penn pointing the finger at celebrated nutritionist Mike Dolce for his lack-luster performance, and his calling for a fight with Dolce's former client Lentz that began the hype train for the proposed March 5 bout. Lentz responded with a well-thought out poem in October that scoffed at Penn's call-out, asking "what's the point?" of a matchup between the two.

Things have changed since then.

On Tuesday social media sites exploded after Penn was pictured with arguably the best coach in the world, Greg Jackson, in his facility in Albuquerque, and it wasn't long before the former champion took to Instagram to call out Lentz again for a meeting at UFC 197:

"This is a formal challenge for Nik Lentz to meet me in the octagon March 5th in Las Vegas. Nik you wrote a silly poem about me making fun of me, you said stuff about me and my parents, and you been making a #bringpennback hashtag, I ask you today to be a man and back up everything you said, talk the talk walk the walk , uncle BJ is mad already," he wrote.

Lentz fired back via a statement he released through MMAFighting.com, where he outlined three conditions that Penn must meet if he wants the bout to go ahead. According to Lentz, the fight must be contested at lightweight, it will not happen on March 5 and Penn must pay $22,000, a fee he claims 'The Prodigy' "still owes" Dolce, to the Hawaiian Dog Foundation out of his purse.

With a definite angle to sell the fight from, all we're waiting on now is the green light from UFC. While some aren't bowled over Penn's intentions to get back into the Octagon, there are some things to be excited about if the clash is officially announced.

With Greg Jackson telling Ariel Helwani that he is "optimistic" with regards to training Penn for his comeback, we can guarantee that Penn will be the best version of his current self he can possibly be under the MMA master's watchful eye. After his last four bouts being contested at either welterweight or featherweight, we will also get a chance to see Penn back at his old stomping ground of 155 lbs.

Although his hands will undoubtedly be full with Nik Lentz, it is not quite the same task that was in front of him in 2014 when he took on a man who had beaten him twice, in a division that he had never competed in before. With Lentz just re-introducing himself to the lightweight bracket with a decision win over Danny Castillo on December 19, he has yet to really establish himself in the division, so a win over a former champion should bolster his stock too.

Finally, there is definitely an appeal to seeing a legend go about his business, and Anderson Silva's top billing against Michael Bisping on February's London card is proof of that. After his last showing against Edgar, Penn could possibly be looking at one last hurrah and to leave the game with a performance that he can be proud of. And as one of the best to ever enter the Octagon, that's the least we owe him.