(Whether you’re a Muay Thai fan or a foot-fetishist, that is one sexy kick.)
When BJ Penn turned down fights against Gilbert Melendez and Josh Koscheck, we figured it was because he was holding out for…well, a third fight against Matt Hughes, if you want to get specific. You know how it is with these old legends. They take a couple losses to younger contenders, and all of a sudden they’ll only consider fights that “make sense,” which usually means big-name opponents who are also on the downside of their careers.
In other words, we just assumed that Penn felt Melendez and Koscheck were too dangerous, and that facing either of them could be harmful to his legacy. So it comes as a bit of a surprise that Penn has now accepted a fight against young welterweight killer Rory MacDonald, who is not a superstar, but is one of the most dangerous sons-of-bitches in the UFC.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour earlier this week, MacDonald expressed his desire to face the Prodigy before it’s too late: “That’s a guy I really want to fight. I respect him a lot. He’s a legend and I think it’d be a really good matchup for me to have that fight in Toronto…I’d love the opportunity to fight a guy I’ve looked up to for a long time and watched since I’ve been a young kid, so we’ll see if he accepts…how many opportunities am I going to get to fight a guy like BJ after he’s gone?”
Rory’s offer spurred BJ Penn to make a brief statement on his website: “Rory, I accept your challenge!”
The fight would likely take place at UFC 152, September 22nd in Toronto. MacDonald has won his last three fights in dominating fashion, scoring a unanimous decision win over Nate Diaz at UFC 129, then notching TKO wins over Mike Pyle and Che Mills. The GSP protege is still just 22 years old and would take a large step in the public consciousness with a beatdown of Penn. Does anybody think BJ can stop that from happening?