The media conference call for UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida took place on Thursday with the four main event fighters on the line for the call. Taking part were Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyto “The Dragon” Machida, Matt Hughes and BJ Penn.
TheGarv.com put together several highlights from the media call, but we’ve just grabbed the BJ Penn quotes. Be sure to check out what each fighter has to say by hitting the link.
BJ Penn on what keeps him motivated:
“I think what keeps me motivated is I don’t want to go in the bar and drink. There’s not much to do in Hilo. There’s nothing to do. I’d way rather be training to fight in the Octagon. I think once you’ve been where me, Lyoto, Rampage and Matt have been, a lot of other stuff, it just seems boring. This is the only thing that keeps me feeling like I have something to live for. As soon as Dana gave me that text, he said, you want to take a fight with Matt Hughes, I got chicken skin all over my body and I was like, I gotta a reason to live for a couple more months. I think fighters are just used to that adrenaline.”
BJ Penn on moving back up to welterweight:
“I feel good. I feel like I haven’t missed a beat. I feel like it was just yesterday when I was fighting in the welterweights. So as far as that, nothing drastic. Just preparing for the legend. Preparing for Matt.”
“Coming off two losses I probably would have accepted anyone Dana offered me. But in offereing Matt he kind of offered me a gift, because I always hoped me and Matt would do it again.”
Penn makes his move back to welterweight when he meets Matt Hughes for the third time on November 20th at UFC 123. Each fighter has won a win over the other, with Hughes winning their last meeting by TKO at UFC 63 for the welterweight title, and Penn winning the first meeting at UFC 46 by rear-naked-choke.