Penn retires after TUF finale loss to Edgar

LAS VEGAS — Former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn retired from professional mixed martial arts at the age of 35 on Sunday.

Widely considered the best lightweight of all time, Penn announced his retirement following a third-round TKO loss to Frankie Edgar at “The Ultimate Fighter” finale.

Prior to the loss, Penn (16-10-2) had not fought since dropping a lopsided unanimous decision to Rory MacDonald in December 2012. The intrigue of a third fight with Edgar, whom he had twice lost to previously, talked Penn back into competition in 2014.

After losing to Edgar (17-4-1) for the third consecutive time, Penn said he knew it was time to hang up his gloves.

“This is the end,” Penn said. “I’m thinking to myself, ‘Why did you step back in the Octagon after the beating Rory MacDonald gave you?’ The reason is I really needed to find out. If I didn’t make this night happen, I would have always wondered.

“I would have complained to everyone, ‘I could have done it again! I could have done it again!’ Now, I know for sure that I can’t.”

Penn remains one of only two fighters in UFC history to win titles in multiple weight classes. He won the UFC 170-pound title by submitting Matt Hughes at UFC 46 in January 2004. Four years later, Penn added the 155-pound title to his résumé in a submission victory over Joe Stevenson at UFC 80. He defended that title three times.