B.J. Penn’s return to the UFC is “guaranteed” for March 5th, and his opponent could be Dennis Siver.
Former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion B.J. Penn is looking to capture gold in the featherweight division, and he’s put an end to his retirement to do so. “The Prodigy” says he’s going to fight on March 5th at UFC 196, although no opponent has been named yet. According to UFC Tonight’s Ariel Helwani, Dennis Siver is one of the options on the table, although details beyond that are unknown.
The 37-year-old Penn (16-10-2) hasn’t won a fight since November 2010 against Matt Hughes. He announced his retirement after three straight losses, including a lopsided 3rd round TKO to rival Frankie Edgar in Penn’s featherweight debut back in July 2014. Penn was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015 before announcing his comeback in January, along with confirmation that he was training at Jackson-Winkeljohn in Albuquerque.
Siver (22-11, 1 NC) is on a two-fight losing streak and has just 1 win in his last 5 bouts. His 2015 saw him lose to Conor McGregor by 2nd round TKO in Boston, then unable to snag a decision in his home country of Germany against Japan’s Tatsuya Kawajiri. Siver’s last victory was a unanimous decision in Sweden over short-notice replacement Charles Rosa.
UFC 196 is headlined by a doubleheader of big championship fights, as current featherweight champion Conor McGregor seeks to do what B.J. Penn couldn’t achieve, and that is to simultaneously hold UFC belts in two different weight classes. McGregor will fight lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in the main event, while women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm makes her first defense of her title against Miesha Tate.