After taking a serious beating at the hands of Nick Diaz at UFC 137, a bruised, bloody and swollen BJ Penn stood in the Octagon and told Joe Rogan that it was probably the last time we would see him in the Octagon, saying, “I don’t want to go home looking like this,” as the camera showed his rearranged mug. Penn’s retirement didn’t last long as a call out from the up and coming Rory MacDonald was enough to bring Penn back to the fighting game.
If MacDonald has his way, Penn will leave the Octagon on September 22 looking as bad or worse than he did after spending three rounds absorbing a UFC record 178 significant strikes at the hands of Diaz. MacDonald, attending Tuesday’s UFC 152 press conference, seemed a wee bit peeved at Penn:
“I’m training for the best BJ, you know what I mean? I’m preparing to be the best version; I’m going to come out evolved. I’m going to come out in good shape, explosive, exciting like I always do, and I’m going to be very technical. I’m going to be on point. I don’t know where B.J.’s at. He didn’t even show up to this. He’s dropping out of the VADA testing. The last time I saw him he looked really out of shape. I don’t know where his head is at in this, but he better get serious or I’m going to hurt him very badly.”
In reply to Penn’s absence, UFC Director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright acknowledged that Penn had been invited to Toronto for the press conference but had to decline due to family commitments.
While implying that Penn was not taking the fight serious, MacDonald came across as dead serious at the press conference. While other press conference attendees, specifically Michael Bisping and Joseph Benavidez joked with each other, MacDonald sat stone faced throughout much of the presser, coming across as already completely focused on his fight with Penn.
MacDonald, who just turned 23, is 13-1 during his professional career, with his only loss coming to current interim UFC welterweight champion Carlos Condit at UFC 115. Since that loss, MacDonald has run off three straight wins with his last being a second round TKO win over Che Mills at UFC 145.
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