It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that B.J. Penn was considered one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters who ever lived. Maybe he still is, in some circles.

But there's no denying his star has fallen quite a ways, especially after his three-round beatdown at the hands of Nick Diaz on Oct. 29, 2012, at UFC 137 in Las Vegas, Nevada. In fact, he was so dejected by his defeat, Penn retired from the sport and vowed to spend more time at home with his family.

Now, "The Prodigy" has popped up once again to give us an update. Is he really retired?

"At the moment, I don't have any plans to fight. I have nothing scheduled, I'm just taking it easy, kind of enjoying life. So as of right now, I'm not entering the Octagon anytime soon. I've thought about (retiring) a lot over the years. I've been with the company for almost 11 years, probably 11 years now. It's definitely come up in my head before. The fight (against Nick Diaz) was a tough fight but I don't think it was just that fight. I've been thinking about this for a while and thinking about getting away from this sport. But I know everybody's constantly trying to pull me back in. ... We'll see. No one knows what the future holds."

So the jury is still out.

If Penn were to retire from mixed martial arts (MMA), he would likely go down as the most talented fighter in the history of the game who got the least out of his considerable abilities. With as skilled and gifted as he always was athletically, it's damn near criminal that he has a career record of 16-8-2.

Then again, you get what you put in.

Hear more from Penn after the jump, including whether or not he would come back as a lightweight or a welterweight in the event that he was to return to the cage.