Hall caught Penn in a heel hook from seemingly out of nowhere and Penn was shocked by how the whole sequence came about.
“I was shocked at how deep Ryan was able to sink in the leg lock right off the hop,” Penn said to BJPenn.com. “The timing was perfect. I tried to run and pull my leg out, but I wasn’t going anywhere as my knee was still stuck inside his hips. So I tried to defend my knee and turn it up towards the sky. By the time I looked back he had already switched to the heel hook and my ankle just popped. It is swollen. There’s some bruising and what not. But it wasn’t my knee. It was my ankle that popped. It is what it is. Hats off to Ryan Hall, that submission was the perfect storm.”
That submission loss was the first for Penn, who has been a professional MMA fighter for almost 18 years.
Penn, who has been fighting for the aforementioned 18 years, doesn’t know what his future holds in the sport.
“I just got back home to Hawaii,” Penn said. “I’m going to let my ankle heal up and then I will contemplate what is next for my life.”
The former two division champion hasn’t picked up a win in over eight years and is in the midst of a six fight losing streak.
