Image via UFC.com
With the Ultimate Fighting Championship set to begin featuring five-round non-title main event bouts next month with UFC 138, manager Cesar Gracie feels that with the bout between his fighter Nick Diaz and BJ Penn being promoted to the main event for UFC 137, that it should be five rounds.
Gracie issued the challenge to Penn’s camp on Tuesday via MMAFighting.com.
“Dana is good with it. We’ve agreed to it. If BJ agrees to it, we’ll make it happen.”
During Wednesday’s live media call for UFC 137, Penn was given a chance to respond to Gracie’s challenge, telling the media that he’d be “happy to do a five-round fight”, but since this is a business he wanted “to be compensated accordingly.”
Not knowing where that money may come from the former two-division UFC champ said maybe Gracie should come up with the money if it’s something they really want (transcription via MMAFighting.com).
“Cesar’s a strange guy. I don’t know why he did that in the first place,” said Penn. “I think Cesar should have to be the guy to compensate me to take it, not Dana. But at the end of day, no, I don’t mind. I’d love to do a five-round fight. If I’m compensated, this is a job…there’s nothing wrong with a main event being five rounds.”
Penn and Diaz were promoted to the headliner of UFC 137 after the previous main event bout, a UFC welterweight title fight between champ Georges St-Pierre vs. Carlos Condit, fell through after GSP injured his leg.
The event is scheduled to take place on Oct. 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.