For a brief moment, the B.J. Penn who won world titles in two divisions made an appearance at UFC Fight Night: Oklahoma City on Sunday.
A right uppercut midway through the second round dropped Dennis Siver to the mat. Victory looked attainable until the round ended and it quickly became apparent it was all Penn had left.
Siver came back to dominate a lifeless Penn in the third round, winning 10-8 on two judges’ scorecards to earn a majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 29-28) in the first main card bout of the night broadcast on Fox Sports 1.
Penn, who had headlined 16 of the past 17 UFC events he appeared in, dropped to 12-11-2 in the UFC and 16-12-2 overall with his fifth consecutive loss dating back to a November 2010 TKO of Matt Hughes, who was 37 at the time.
Penn, 38, avoided a third straight stoppage loss but couldn’t outpoint Siver, who landed 120 total strikes, according to ufc.com.
Penn landed 65 total strikes of his own, including the uppercut in the second that sent Siver to the mat.
Penn won the round 10-9 on all three judges’ scorecards and was ahead 20-18 on one and tied 19-19 on the other two entering the final five minutes.
Penn threw just 27 strikes in the final round while Siver landed 56 of 117 strikes thrown. All 56 were considered significant as he pelted Penn with kicks to the legs, body and head.
Siver, who is 39, improved to 23-11 overall and 12-8-1 in the UFC with his first victory since October 2014.
He hadn’t fought in the UFC in two years since losing a unanimous decision to Tatsuya Kawajiri in June 2015.
He is currently ranked outside of the top 15 in the UFC at 145 pounds.
