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Title-chasing Penn has no plans to retire

BJ Penn still believes he can conquer at 155lbs and 170lbs © Getty Images

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• Profile: BJ Penn

BJ Penn has allayed fears over a potentially imminent retirement, insisting he still plans to win the UFC lightweight and welterweight titles.

Penn has owned both belts in the past, and he is one of only two men (along with Randy Couture) to be a two-weight UFC champion.

However, following an energy-sapping draw with Jon Fitch, Penn hinted it might be time for him to walk away from the sport. Two months on, The Prodigy has got the bug once more, insisting he still has big plans to win back both his titles.

"Those are definitely two dreams of mine," Penn told The MMA Hour. "I know those are big aspirations, but I guess you've got to shoot for the stars.

"I guess in a little bit of a way, I feel my clock ticking. But I don't feel it ticking like it's going to be over real soon, but ticking like I want to accomplish a few more things. I want to fight. I want to be active. I want to make money. I want to get better and have more of these life experiences, and that's it. I want to stay busy. I don't want to sit on the shelf."

The Hawaiian has currently been forced onto the shelf by injury, and he knows he faces a long wait to return the Octagon if he is to rematch Jon Fitch, who could be out for six months after shoulder surgery. Penn admits his evident disappointment after their first duel was purely due to the errors he had made in the fight.

"I knew I could do it, and I ended up making some mistakes," he said. "Whether it's in the training camp or in the fight, there's things that have to be fixed, and I was just at a point where I was like, aren't I past making these mistakes already? But I guess you just keep learning, and things keep changing. ...You just try to find what works for you at the end of the day."

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