BJ Penn would much rather fight young guys than already established UFC title contenders, at least according to Jon Fitch.In an interview on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani, Fitch was asked if he felt Penn was ducking a potential rematch with him.The…
BJ Penn would much rather fight young guys than already established UFC title contenders, at least according to Jon Fitch.
Penn officially announced his retirement from MMA in October 2011, but he recently agreed to a return bout against rising welterweight star Rory MacDonald at UFC 152.
Fitch has plenty to be bitter about. He is coming off a first round knockout loss to Johny Hendricks, and he was recently forced to pull out of his July 11 bout with Aaron Simpson after suffering a knee injury in training.
Even though he has fallen on hard times, Penn is still a quality opponent in the welterweight division, and a win could’ve expedited Fitch’s climb back up the top-10 ladder.
“VADA anti-doping has offered to sponsor our upcoming fight. I’ve accepted and invite you to help me clean up the sport. VADA results will be released after the fight to ensure that the fight happens. Lets get started asap!!”
“VADA anti-doping has offered to sponsor our upcoming fight. I’ve accepted and invite you to help me clean up the sport. VADA results will be released after the fight to ensure that the fight happens. Lets get started asap!!”
And how about this “results will be released after the fight to ensure that the fight happens” business? Translation: “Even if you decide to use steroids during this training camp, nobody has to know until after the fight, and we can both still get paid, so it’s totally cool.” Is that supposed to make us feel better about VADA’s legitimacy, or Penn’s commitment to fair competition? How is this going to “clean up the sport” if the fight could theoretically still proceed with at least one of the fighters using performance enhancing drugs? What’s Penn’s angle here, outside of self-promotion?
Luckily, MacDonald has already responded to this mess: “already worried BJ? honestly i think its a great idea 2, and im ready to do the testing for our fight as well.”
Now, whether or not the UFC will actually allow Penn and MacDonald to go rogue and conduct their own drug testing outside of the athletic commissions is beside the point, I guess. But it’s nice to see MacDonald call Penn’s bluff. Once again, I’m reminded of the eerie prophecy that Penn made at the end of this classic clip. MacDonald is that 12-year-old kid, finally meeting up with the original “Prodigy” at the end of his career. No amount of fight-stipulations in the world are going to prevent the inevitable from happening.
Penn vs. MacDonald is slated to go down at UFC 152, September 22nd at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
B.J. Penn has never been the conservative type when it comes to speaking his mind.Penn usually says exactly what he feels, regardless of the consequences. It’s gotten him in trouble with Dana White in the past, but it’s also one of the things that ende…
B.J. Penn has never been the conservative type when it comes to speaking his mind.
Penn usually says exactly what he feels, regardless of the consequences. It’s gotten him in trouble with Dana White in the past, but it’s also one of the things that endears him to his legions of fans around the world.
Penn is scheduled to return from a short-lived retirement to face rising prospect Rory MacDonald at UFC 152 in September. On Tuesday afternoon, Penn made a proposal to MacDonald: he wants to get the Voluntary Anti-Doping agency involved:
. @rory_macdonald VADA anti-doping has offered to sponsor our upcoming fight.I’ve accepted and invite you to help me clean up the sport
Here’s a quick primer on VADA for those of you who aren’t quite sure what I’m talking about. It’s a non-profit organization created to promote clean athletes in boxing and mixed martial arts. In short, VADA handles extensive Olympic-style drug testing for athletes who request it.
MacDonald responded to Penn’s challenge a short time later:
@bjpenndotcom already worried BJ? honestly i think its a great idea 2, and im ready to do the testing for our fight aswell @danawhite
There’s one thing that both Penn and MacDonald are not considering here, though. I can’t imagine a scenario in which Dana White or Zuffa would sign off on the idea of VADA testing its athletes. The promotion prefers to allow local commissions to handle all drug testing of the fighters, and they’re not going to allow VADA to get involved simply because it would open the door for future involvement.
VADA has no regulatory control over the UFC. They can’t issue suspensions or fine fighters. So what happens if, god forbid, Penn or MacDonald fail a pre-fight drug screening handled by VADA? The UFC would quite obviously have to cancel a major fight for UFC 152, and they’d have to do it without official word from the Ontario commission.
It’s hard to imagine the era of “cage-fighting” in which Tito Ortiz made his name. Back then, when he made his mixed martial arts debut at UFC 13, the sport could still call itself “no holds barred” fighting, as it pro…
It’s hard to imagine the era of “cage-fighting” in which Tito Ortiz made his name. Back then, when he made his mixed martial arts debut at UFC 13, the sport could still call itself “no holds barred” fighting, as it promoted itself as a brutal, animalistic spectacle.
Those were the men, back then, who entered the Octagon not as athletes but as brawlers fired by nothing but bravado, interested only in proving their toughness and cashing a fat check at the end of it.
However, when Ortiz emerged as a star at the turn of the century, MMA was already transforming, and he led that charge as a complete athlete educated in all the disciplines that became the bedrock of the sport.
He became light heavyweight champion in 2000 and defended the belt an unprecedented five times, a feat which has earned Ortiz a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame.
His coming retirement after his match against Forrest Griffin at UFC 148 in two weeks is the end of an era and will call to question other fighters from that period who will also be thinking about bowing out of the fight game.
Here’s a speculative list of those men who might be following Ortiz into retirement.
The UFC has grown recently into one of the most known sporting organizations in the world, but it hasn’t always been that way.When the Ultimate Fighting Championship first started, it was only known to diehard fans who really went out of there way to f…
The UFC has grown recently into one of the most known sporting organizations in the world, but it hasn’t always been that way.
When the Ultimate Fighting Championship first started, it was only known to diehard fans who really went out of there way to find out more about the sport.
While most fans these days think of guys like Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, and Dan Severn from the early days or guys like Chuck Liddell, B.J. Penn, and Forrest Griffin when they think of the legends of the sport, none of these men held a UFC belt first.
Now, a key note to remember in this article is that the list doesn’t officially start until post-UFC 31 due to the fact that UFC 31 was the first event to feature the same weight classes that we have today. Also, the recently included featherweight and bantamweight divisions will be listed as well.
So, who were the first UFC champions in the weight class era of the UFC? Here they are, power ranked from the worse to the best first champions in UFC history.
At UFC 148, the UFC Hall of Fame will open it’s doors to welcome their ninth member: Tito Ortiz. The Huntington Beach Bad Boy is a list-topping fighter, and he holds three major records inside the Octagon. No one else has ever defended the UFC Lig…
At UFC 148, the UFC Hall of Fame will open it’s doors to welcome their ninth member: Tito Ortiz.
The Huntington Beach Bad Boy is a list-topping fighter, and he holds three major records inside the Octagon. No one else has ever defended the UFC Light-Heavyweight championship five times, let alone done it in consecutive bouts. Additionally, Ortiz will improve upon his record for most career fights in the UFC, as his battle with Forrest Griffin marks his 27th appearance.
Ortiz is also a member of the elite group of fighters who have collected the Fight Night Trifecta: Fight, Submission and Knockout of the Night. This unofficial honor is rare, as less than five men hold the distinction. Ortiz is the first man to enter the Hall of Fame with this accolade.
Although we could spend many an afternoon debating the merits of Ortiz, this article isn’t about him. It is merely inspired by him. This is a look at 10 individuals who should be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
B.J. Penn has never been the conservative type when it comes to speaking his mind.