Tag: BJ Penn

BJ Penn: Has the Hunter Become the Hunted Among the UFC’s Welterweight Division?

We have not seen BJ Penn inside the Octagon since he walked out of the cage at UFC 137 a beaten, bloodied and bruised man. That night, Nick Diaz used his distinctive fighting style to pick apart the former UFC champion, landing a record 178 significant…

We have not seen BJ Penn inside the Octagon since he walked out of the cage at UFC 137 a beaten, bloodied and bruised man. That night, Nick Diaz used his distinctive fighting style to pick apart the former UFC champion, landing a record 178 significant strikes during the fight.

Those strikes led an emotional Penn to tell Joe Rogan after the fight, “Joe, this is probably the last time you see me in here. I want to perform at the top level. … I’ve got a daughter. I’ve got another daughter on the way. I don’t want to go home looking like this.”

For a while it seemed as if Penn would stay retired; in May, he rejected an offer to face Josh Koscheck.  After turning that fight down, it seemed as if Penn would remain retired, that is until up-and-coming welterweight Rory MacDonald appeared on The MMA Hour in early June and offered the following:

It’s more of the idea that he may be retiring, so how many opportunities am l going to get to fight a guy like BJ after he’s gone? I think it’d be a great fight. I know I’m going to fight all these guys in the top 10 eventually. I’m a young guy and these guys are going to be around for a long time and I know I’m going to get my shot against all these guys, and maybe I’ll be missing my opportunity if I wait too long with B.J.

To which, Penn replied, “Rory, I accept your challenge!” and just like that, Penn’s retirement ended.

The MacDonald vs. Penn bout was booked for UFC 152, which is set to take place on Sept. 22 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Unfortunately a training injury has knocked MacDonald from the card. 

MacDonald detailed the injury via twitter, “i was cut at sparring i needed 3 layers of stitching in total i needed 38 stitches i’m very sad right now that i willl not be healed in time to fight sept 22 I am hoping that @bjpenndotcom will agree to have the fight on a later date in november.”

The injury to MacDonald has left Penn without an opponent for UFC 152, but that doesn’t mean the 33-year-old Penn has been without suitors.

Siyar Bahadurzada got things rolling by tweeting that he would gladly step in to face Penn and donate his purse to charity:

The only reason I wanna fight @bjpenndotcom is to test my will and warrior spirit vs his. I’m not fighting for money! I’m willing to donate my fight purse to a charity to prove that it’s not for financial reasons & will take VADA tests!

Sean Sherk, a fighter that we haven’t seen in the Octagon since September 2010, came out of the woodwork to call Penn out:

 

 

 

And finally, Jon Fitch, a fighter that already has a fight booked for UFC 153 in Rio asked to face Penn on that card. Perhaps he is forgetting that he is scheduled to face Erick Silva that night?

 

 

 

These call outs all seem to point in one direction. Why would a fighter who has one UFC fight to his name, a former champion who has not fought in almost two years and a fighter that has a fight booked look to call out Penn? 

The answer is simple, they see themselves as predators and Penn as a wounded animal. What better way to advance a career, resuscitate a career or get your name back in the mix with a victory over a future UFC Hall of Famer?

It’s not that hard to see the logic here and no one can blame the three fighters for looking for a fight with Penn, but Penn’s been down this road before and it would be very surprising to see him accept any of these fights, as there’s no benefit in any of them to Penn.

Penn gains nothing from any of those fights, Bahadurzada’s name recognition isn’t there yet for him to be matched up with Penn, and I doubt you’ll find many fans screaming for Penn to face Sherk or Fitch at this point.

An intriguing bout has become possible for Penn as Jake Ellenberger has found himself without an opponent. Ellenberger had been booked to face Josh Koscheck at UFC 151, but a bulging disk has knocked Koscheck from the bout. 

Ellenberger, like MacDonald, is a highly ranked welterweight and he may be enough to keep Penn on the UFC 152 card.

At this point, it’s pure speculation and maybe wishful thinking to imagine Penn versus Ellenberger, but it’s probably more realistic than a fight with Bahadurzada, Sherk or Fitch.

All we know for certain is that for now, Penn is back on the shelf.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Jon Fitch Says BJ Penn Is a Coward, and He’s Not Welcome at AKA

So much for the idea of BJ Penn heading back to his old American Kickboxing Academy stomping grounds for a little bit of training before his bout with Rory MacDonald, whenever it happens.Penn, who worked with Dave Camarillo and Bob Cook at AKA back in …

So much for the idea of BJ Penn heading back to his old American Kickboxing Academy stomping grounds for a little bit of training before his bout with Rory MacDonald, whenever it happens.

Penn, who worked with Dave Camarillo and Bob Cook at AKA back in the mid 90s, recently said he was interested in getting in a little bit of training time at his former gym, but hinted that one AKA stalwart wasn’t keen on the idea, as reported by Tim Burke of bloodyelbow.com. Penn said:

We’re over here in Honolulu right now, training. We’re gonna be here for a month, and then we’re gonna see where we’re gonna train next month. We’re trying to get up to AKA, but Fitch is trying to give me some problems about that. And all Jon Fitch has to do is look on the wall [at AKA]. Whose picture is on the wall holding the belt? That’s all Jon Fitch has to know.

Why does Fitch have a problem with the idea of Penn coming in for training? Well, it seems there are some bad feelings still lingering from the controversial and closely-contested draw between the fighters back at UFC 127 in early 2011. 

And make no mistake about it. There are indeed bad feelings lingering about, especially from Fitch. Check out his comments from Tuesday’s conference call designed to promote the new AKA reality show Fight Factory, which debuts August 15 on NuvoTV:

Here at AKA, we’ve got fighters who come out to fight, fighters who will face anyone and don’t hide from any opponents. You’ve also got cowards out there like BJ Penn who say they want to fight people, but then they run and hide.

He’s a coward. He wouldn’t be welcomed here.

Well, then. It looks like Penn won’t be returning to AKA any time soon, or at least as long as Fitch is around. We rarely hear Fitch turn up the heat like this. 

And it sounds to me like Fitch still wants that do-over with Penn. He might get the chance down the road, but he first needs to get past Brazilian super-prospect Erick Silva at UFC 153 in October. That’s far from a sure thing, of course. But if Fitch can do it, perhaps we’ll see him line up across the cage from Penn one more time.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

With Rory MacDonald Out, Jon Fitch and Siyar Bahadurzada Rally for BJ Penn Fight


I don’t always go to weddings. But when I do, I am almost interesting.

When it was announced that Rory MacDonald had suffered an injury and pulled out of his upcoming bout with BJ Penn at UFC 152, Penn seemed content to sit out and wait for MacDonald to heal. Because the fight against MacDonald was Penn’s motivation to come out of retirement, BJ Penn appears to be, dare I say, determined to fight the heir apparent to Georges St. Pierre. Yet despite Penn’s plans to wait for MacDonald, both Jon Fitch and Siyar Bahadurzada have volunteered to step in on short notice to fight BJ Penn.

It’s not hard to figure out why either man wants this fight, yet it’s doubtful that we’ll be still seeing BJ Penn across the cage from one of them any time soon.

Perhaps the more transparent – and also less likely to come to fruition – callout of the two is Jon Fitch’s casual suggestion that he should be fighting BJ Penn at UFC 153. I say this because Jon Fitch already has an opponent for UFC 153, and it is none other than Brazilian wrecking ball Erick Silva. As we’ve pointed out when the fight was booked, Silva is anything but a rebound fight for the thirty four year old AKA product. Considering that Fitch hasn’t won a fight since he beat Thiago Alves two years ago, a loss to Silva – which is certainly not outside the realm of possibility – can easily end his hopes of ever earning another title shot in the UFC.


I don’t always go to weddings. But when I do, I am almost interesting.

When it was announced that Rory MacDonald had suffered an injury and pulled out of his upcoming bout with BJ Penn at UFC 152, Penn seemed content to sit out and wait for MacDonald to heal. Because the fight against MacDonald was Penn’s motivation to come out of retirement, BJ Penn appears to be, dare I say, determined to fight the heir apparent to Georges St. Pierre. Yet despite Penn’s plans to wait for MacDonald, both Jon Fitch and Siyar Bahadurzada have volunteered to step in on short notice to fight BJ Penn.

It’s not hard to figure out why either man wants this fight, yet it’s doubtful that we’ll be still seeing BJ Penn across the cage from one of them any time soon.

Perhaps the more transparent – and also less likely to come to fruition – callout of the two is Jon Fitch’s casual suggestion that he should be fighting BJ Penn at UFC 153. I say this because Jon Fitch already has an opponent for UFC 153, and it is none other than Brazilian wrecking ball Erick Silva. As we’ve pointed out when the fight was booked, Silva is anything but a rebound fight for the thirty four year old AKA product. Considering that Fitch hasn’t won a fight since he beat Thiago Alves two years ago, a loss to Silva – which is certainly not outside the realm of possibility – can easily end his hopes of ever earning another title shot in the UFC.

And honestly, I’m sure I speak for most of us when I say I’d be okay with that. Even though BJ Penn and Jon Fitch are still tough fights for anyone to draw, they represent the past, not the future, of our sport. Watching Fitch attempt to avenge a recent draw on his record to BJ Penn, who would later call him a “glass jawed poser,” is nothing more than a regression. Like Ben asked about the “Bringing back your old self” ban, does the old Jon Fitch/BJ Penn really excite you more than the new Erick Silva? Didn’t think so, so let’s not bump the Brazilian prospect off of a card in his home country to relive a fight that, frankly, wasn’t worth remembering in the first place.

As for Siyar Bahadurzada, he recently began campaigning for the BJ Penn fight via his Twitter account, going so far as to offer to donate his entire purse to charity to prove that he isn’t fighting BJ for the money.

Siyar certainly is an intriguing enough fight for BJ Penn to consider. “The Great” impressed fans with a quick, brutal knockout over Paulo Thiago in his UFC debut at UFC on FUEL TV 2. Fans have been patiently waiting for more of him, and even though Penn recently retired, he’s still a big enough name to make this a marketable fight.

There’s just one problem: While Rory MacDonald is widely regarded as the future of the welterweight division, Bahadurzada is still only known for his lone UFC appearance. If Penn is coming out of retirement to see if he can compete against the next generation, a victory over Siyar The Great will not prove this. This isn’t to say that Siyar Bahadurzada won’t be an exceptional talent – or even that he isn’t already – but rather he isn’t nearly as established of a name as Rory MacDonald currently is.

That all being said, what do you think? Are you okay with BJ Penn waiting for Rory MacDonald? Would you like to watch Jon Fitch redeem himself against Penn? Would you like to see Bahadurzada prove his greatness? Let us know.

@SethFalvo

It’s Official: Diego Sanchez is a Lightweight…Again


(Who knew that “The Dream” was actually short for “The Wet Dream Brought on by Auto-Erotic Asphyxiation”?) 

After going 2-2 in his return to the welterweight division, which began back in 2010 and included wins over Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann, as well as a most recent loss to Jake Ellenberger at the inaugural UFC on FUEL event, it looks like Diego Sanchez is headed back down to lightweight. We have been told by an anonymous source that the move has nothing to do with the fact that B.J. Penn a.k.a the man who handed Sanchez the worst beating of his career has returned to the welterweight division, but rather because BJ Penn a.k.a the man who handed Sanchez the worst beating of his career has left the lightweight division. So rest assured, Sanchez is definitely not ducking B.J. Penn.

Sanchez made the announcement over his Twitter account earlier today in a conversation with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan:

@joerogan there isn’t anyone out there that understands Mma as a whole like you do! Thanks Joe, its back to 155 for me… Should be good!!


(Who knew that “The Dream” was actually short for “The Wet Dream Brought on by Auto-Erotic Asphyxiation”?) 

After going 2-2 in his return to the welterweight division, which began back in 2010 and included wins over Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann, as well as a most recent loss to Jake Ellenberger at the inaugural UFC on FUEL event, it looks like Diego Sanchez is headed back down to lightweight. We have been told by an anonymous source that the move has nothing to do with the fact that B.J. Penn a.k.a the man who handed Sanchez the worst beating of his career has returned to the welterweight division, but rather because BJ Penn a.k.a the man who handed Sanchez the worst beating of his career has left the lightweight division. So rest assured, Sanchez is definitely not ducking B.J. Penn.

Sanchez made the announcement over his Twitter account earlier today in a conversation with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan:

@joerogan there isn’t anyone out there that understands Mma as a whole like you do! Thanks Joe, its back to 155 for me… Should be good!!

There was little denying that, upon his return to welterweight, Sanchez looked a little doughy around the middle, so perhaps this move is for the best. Sanchez also hinted at the drop in weight and called out top contenders Nate Diaz and Anthony Pettis a couple of months ago, so expect him to announce his drop to featherweight in the near future if either of those matchups ever come to fruition*.

We’re obviously just having a little fun at Sanchez’s expense, because the man always makes for entertaining fights regardless of what weight said fights are held at. The power of crazy, and Jesus Christ, also allow Sanchez to absorb tremendous amounts of punishment without ever being knocked out, which is fun for us as well. But you gotta admit, keeping track of what weight Sanchez feels like fighting at these days is as easy as remembering the name of the Filipino prostitute you ordered while on vacation last weekend that turned out to be a dude who in turn refused to leave your hotel room and threatened to call “Big Ron” after that lemur you stole from the zoo bit his face off while he was “tripping balls.”

We’ve all been there, right?

Anyway, who would you like to see Diego face off against now that he’s a lightweight once again? Pettis? Lauzon? Big Ron?

*Clearly, the Pettis matchup is the more likely of the two considering Diaz is next in line for a title shot. But just go with it. 

–J. Jones

UFC News: Rory MacDonald Wants Penn at UFC 154, BJ Prefers Bout at UFC 153

To the chagrin of MMA fans worldwide, UFC president Dana White announced at the UFC on FOX 4 post-fight conference that Rory MacDonald would be forced to withdraw from his UFC 152 bout with BJ Penn due to a deep cut he sustained during training.&n…

To the chagrin of MMA fans worldwide, UFC president Dana White announced at the UFC on FOX 4 post-fight conference that Rory MacDonald would be forced to withdraw from his UFC 152 bout with BJ Penn due to a deep cut he sustained during training. 

Shortly afterwards, “Ares” tweeted a long message to his fans:

“2day i was cut at sparring i needed 3 layers of stitching In total i needed 38 stitches Im very sad right now that i willl not … be healed in time to fight sept 22 i am hoping that will agree to have the fight on a … later date in november.”

MacDonald is hoping for the fight to be rescheduled for UFC 154 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The 23-year-old rising star is a native of Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada. 

While “The Prodigy” has no issue postponing the fight, he isn’t going to wait until November if he has his way. Penn released a response on his website responding to MacDonald’s injury.

“I am sorry to hear about the injury to Rory, this is a fight that got me out of retirement and one that I was looking forward to. I would like to wish Rory a speedy and healthy recovery and request a postponement of our fight to the Rio card. To Rory, let’s stay with VADA and continue through with the program from now until we fight! …Rory, with all due respect you challenged me to come out of retirement and I accepted. Then, you back out of the fight! Now you want to put our fight off for two-more-months, but this fight should happen as soon as the cut heals. 10-weeks from now is plenty of time. Let’s fight on Oct. 13th, that’s more than reasonable.”

MacDonald has not responded to Penn yet, but as always, the final decision lies with the UFC’s higher brass. 

The fight has received additional coverage since both fighters agreed to Voluntary Anti-Doping Association testing last month. 

What do you think fight fans, is Penn’s request unreasonable or is MacDonald just trying to ensure this bout takes place in his home country?

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Rory MacDonald Suffers Major Cut in Training, Out of UFC 152 Fight With Penn


(Photo courtesy of @Rory_MacDonald)

Depending on what type of BJ Penn fan you are, the following news is either unfortunate or great – Rory MacDonald has pulled out of his UFC 152 fight with Penn due to a cut he’s sustained in training. The young Canadian has received more than forty stitches, according to MMA Weekly, and is not allowed to have any contact for a month.

No doubt that all MacDonald fans are bummed their guy will have to wait a bit longer before he can fight again but we can imagine a certain non-foaming-at-the-mouth type of Penn fan that is perfectly fine with their fighter not coming out of retirement after being pummeled by Nick Diaz last year to face the division’s strongest-looking prospect.

UFC President Dana White told MMA Weekly the news before he says he even told Penn, Saturday night. But it appears that the former two-division champion took to his @BJPennDotCom Twitter account later to express his displeasure at the development and taunt MacDonald.


(Photo courtesy of @Rory_MacDonald)

Depending on what type of BJ Penn fan you are, the following news is either unfortunate or great – Rory MacDonald has pulled out of his UFC 152 fight with Penn due to a cut he’s sustained in training. The young Canadian has received more than forty stitches, according to MMA Weekly, and is not allowed to have any contact for a month.

No doubt that all MacDonald fans are bummed their guy will have to wait a bit longer before he can fight again but we can imagine a certain non-foaming-at-the-mouth type of Penn fan that is perfectly fine with their fighter not coming out of retirement after being pummeled by Nick Diaz last year to face the division’s strongest-looking prospect.

UFC President Dana White told MMA Weekly the news before he says he even told Penn, Saturday night. But it appears that the former two-division champion took to his @BJPennDotCom Twitter account later to express his displeasure at the development and taunt MacDonald.

“@Rory_MacDonald , with all due respect you challenged me to come out of retirement and I accepted. Then, you back out of the fight!

Now you want to put our fight off for two-more-months, but this fight should happen as soon as the cut heals. 10-weeks from now is plenty of time. Let’s fight on Oct. 13th, that’s more than reasonable,” a recent tweet reads.

What do you say, nation? Do you want Penn to fight someone else since mini-GSP is out or do you want him to wait for MacDonald to heal?

– Elias Cepeda