During Saturday’s UFC 123 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White made the announcement that BJ Penn (16-7-1) would face Jon Fitch (23-3) in the main event of UFC 127 in Australia.
Penn just finished Matt Hughes that evening in the co-main event of UFC 123, knocking out the UFC Hall of Famer in just 21 seconds of the first round which also earned him the “Knockout of the Night” award.
Penn’s brother and manager, JD Penn, has since confirmed the offer to face Fitch in Australia.
“Dana came into our locker room after the fight and offered us Jon Fitch at UFC 127. We immediately accepted the match and think it will be a good challenge and a step in the right direction for BJ”
Penn found his motivation after losing back-to-back fights, as well as the UFC lightweight title, to Frankie Edgar in April and August of this year. Before that, the former champ had won two straight earning decisive wins over Diego Sanchez at UFC 107, and Kenny Florian at UFC 101. Hopefully Penn will stay motivated for this fight, as the fighter has stated he wants to fight as often as possible.
Fitch meanwhile, had been scheduled to take on Jake Ellenberger at UFC 126 on February 5th, a step down in opponents for the welterweight division, but a fight with Penn would certainly keep his status among the elite. Fitch has won five straight since his loss to Georges St-Pierre for the title at UFC 87. All five of those wins have come via unanimous decision with victories over Thiago Alves, Ben Saunders, Mike Pierce, Paulo Thiago, and Akihiro Gono.