The main event of tonight's (Sun., July 6, 2014) The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 19 Finale at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, featured legendary former Lightweight Champion BJ Penn getting one more cracking at solving a puzzle that has baffled him twice before in Frankie Edgar. This time, he would do so in his first career bout contested at 145-pounds.
This also may or may not have served as his retirement fight.
If so, he went out on the lowest note possible.
That's because Edgar absolutely dominated him in every way imaginable en route to a third round stoppage victory. Referee Herb Dean had finally seen enough when a bloody and battered BJ was simply eating punches without offering any signs of intelligent defense.
Or life, really.
It was sad. "The Prodigy", a legend in mixed martial arts competition, a great champion who did so much to build the sport while UFC was becoming what it is today, wasn't much more than a bullseye for Edgar to tee off on. This was target practice and Edgar, an elite fighter still in his prime, took advantage of an old man who almost certainly won't ever grace the Octagon again.
"Dana said it was over and I gotta agree with him at this point," Penn said in the post-fight interview.
So long, BJ. It was fun ... until this one.
For more on "Penn vs. Edgar 3" click here, and for complete TUF 19 Finale results and blow-by-blow coverage of all the night's action click here.