LOS ANGELES -- Seventeen years after his pro debut, UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn experienced something for the first time: a submission defeat.

The former two-division champion, in his first bout in 18 months, suffered his sixth straight defeat in a first-round submission loss to Ryan Hall. The lightweight bout served as the preliminary card opener in Saturday's UFC 232 card from The Forum in Inglewood.

The 40-year-old Penn extended his continued fall from competitive grace that began in 2010. Penn (16-13-2) is 1-8-1 since a 2010 lightweight title loss to Frankie Edgar.

"Just to compete against BJ is a surreal experience," Hall said. "I've learned so much from him and honestly he is one of my heroes."

Penn took the fight to his opponent from the opening horn. Hall (7-1), who was making his first appearance in two years, repeatedly fell to the ground in hopes of luring Penn into his guard. After a short right hand midway through the round dropped Hall, the plan worked to perfection.

UFC president Dana White doesn't sound very keen on seeing Penn fight in UFC again.

"I would love to see B.J. retire," White said at the UFC 232 post-fight news conference. "B.J. has nothing left to prove. I always say fighting is a young man's game. Fighting isn't for older men. B.J. is a multiple-time world champion in multiple divisions and he's got nothing to prove. People love him, he's a legend and he has nothing left to prove."

Hall, 33, immediately dove to the ground to grab Penn's leg and applied a heel hook to force the instant tap at 2:46 of the opening round.

"That's something that my coach Firas [Zahabi] and UFC commentator Kenny Florian have been working on with me for some time all this year," Hall said. "I haven't been fighting for a while but I have been working hard. I'm just glad it worked out since BJ kicked my leg hard a couple of times.

"Ultimately, no one wears an 'S' on their chest, no one is Superman but everyone can be caught. If I ever get the opportunity, I'd love to train with him because he has taught me everything via video."

For complete coverage of UFC 232, please click here.