Let the record reflect that, when it comes to Cesar Gracie’s request for a five-round fight between Nick Diaz and B.J. Penn at UFC 137, Penn isn’t scared, homie.
On Wednesday’s pre-fight media call Penn responded to questions about Gracie’s comments to MMA Fighting by saying he was “happy to do a five-round fight” with Diaz on October 29, as long as his paycheck increases along with the bout duration.
As for who might be responsible for coming up with the extra cash, Penn’s open to suggestions there.
Initially, Penn said that while he’d gladly up the bout from three rounds to five to reflect its main event status, “this is a job and I want to be compensated accordingly.”
If UFC president Dana White wants to alter the bout agreement, Penn said, “he can give me a call and he can compensate me right now.”
On the other hand, since it was Gracie, Diaz’s manager, who first asked for a five-rounder when talking with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on Tuesday, Penn suggested that maybe he should be the one to come up with the extra cash to make it worth his while.
“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.”
Though White has made no public remarks about the possibility of upping the bout to five rounds, Gracie insisted on Tuesday that the UFC boss was “good with it.” As for Diaz, he seemed unconcerned about the bout length, regardless of what his own manager would like to see happen.
“It’s whatever, you know,” Diaz said. “It’s really not up to me. Either way I guess is fine. It’s going to be okay for me.”