It’s been a whirlwind week for UFC 137 as Nick Diaz’s mind-boggling behaviour has shifted the welterweight landscape and the October 29th card.
Carlos Condit has now been plucked from his 137 contender fight with B.J. Penn to fill the vacant title shot spot and thus has left the future Hall Of Fame legend without a dancing partner on that night.
Rumours and speculation are already running wild in the fan world.
It is all speculation at this point until a replacement is actually named, but here are some of the proposed scenarios making the rounds so far.
Penn can rematch Jon Fitch, who has been patiently awaiting the details of his next mission in the Octagon. Fitch is a top welterweight contender and it would be a seamless transition in terms of pecking order of the division, but president Dana White has already said that that fight will not happen due to Fitch not being fully healthy and ready to compete.
Fans are speculating that it is more about the lack of interest in that rematch than it is about Fitch being ready.
Other names being thrown around to step in include Thiago Alves and, surprisingly, Strikeforce lightweight Gilbert Melendez. Alves is on hard times but is still a Top 15 welterweight, although I don’t see Penn accepting such a step down in the status of his opponent. Condit is ranked between No. 2 and 4 on most lists.
Melendez is yet to make his debut in the UFC and, although this fight would be interesting, Penn has his sights set on the welterweight title right now and I doubt that he sees a switch to lightweight as a viable option in this scenario.
I have my own ideas on what I would like to see happen with B.J. Penn at UFC 137 on October 29th.
My first scenario would see up-and-coming freight train Rory MacDonald step in and get a fight with Penn. We all know he has faced Condit before and is on an incredible roll, and the trick is that he trains with GSP and will probably be in town supporting him anyway.
MacDonald does not deserve this fight yet, but circumstances may be on his side.
My other scenario is to just slot Nick “No Show” Diaz in there to fight Penn. Cut his pay in half and force him to face Penn for his shot at the title. It would be a second chance for Diaz in a way, but I don’t see any better punishment for Diaz than getting beat up by B.J. Penn.
Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA (also a correspondent for MMACanada.net).
Catch him on Twitter @wakafightermma.
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