He's back: Dana White announces B.J. Penn's return to the Octagon
Posted on May 4, 2012, 01:28 PM by Mike DrahotaUFC President Dana White recently revealed that former UFC champion B.J. Penn will indeed be returning to the UFC Octagon sometime soon, ending the retirement he announced after losing handily to Nick Diaz last October. While many had speculated Penn would not remain retired long, news broke that he declined a fight against Gilbert Milendez for the Strikeforce Lightweight championship. Now Penn is ready to return to battle apparently, in the competitive UFC Welterweight division. White commented on the subject at the press conference for UFC on Fox 3:
"B.J. hit me about a month ago," White said during a news conference to promote UFC on Fox 3, which will be held Saturday night in East Rutherford, N.J. "I saw him in Sweden (during an April 14 event) and he wants to come back." - via espn.com
When asked about the timetable of B.J. Penn's UFC return, White replied:
"That's up to him; whenever he's ready. I don't ever push guys. Guys know when they are ready; guys know when they're ready to come back. Guys let me know when they are ready to fight."
The return of the legendary Penn will be much-anticipated, but many wonder how he will be able to contend in the very stacked Welterweight division that continues to improve at a rapid pace. It will be very interesting to see who he will be matched up against in his returning bout. Penn is no doubt one of the greatest champions in the sport's history, having done so in two different weight classes. He always fought the best talent that the UFC had to offer, facing Matt Hughes, Jon Fitch, and Nick Diaz in his latest return to 170 lbs. Will a return serve to help his already great legacy, or will it bring more believers to the side that views Penn as super-talented but unmotivated?
Further Reading: UFC had hoped for stadium event in Hawaii with B.J. Penn in main event
Comments
Someone at 55 I hope
Have a feeling he'll come in over weight.....like 59 lbs. 8))
Eddie Alvarez maybe?
I would like to see Gil vs Penn in the UFC.
I heard BJ turned down Gil
Penn vs. Pettis? Timing seems perfect for it.
that s cool but i want him to get an easy fight to warm up and to see him win decisively before getting another big fight
That's called a tuneup fight. At least in the world of boxing; that is what an"easy" fight is referred to. After a fighter has been out of action for a while, his management will get him what is called a "tuneup" fight with a far less talented fighter in a safe effort to knock the "ring rust off of their fighter. Only problem is that the formula doesn't always work.
When Mike Tyson was the Heavyweight Champ & got KO'd by James "Buster" Douglas, it was supposed to be a "tuneup" fight for Tyson before stepping into the ring with my favorite boxer at the time Evander "Real Deal" Holifield.
Iron Mike never got past Buster and ended up getting his but handed to him in what was supposed to be an easy win.
Six months later, Evander made Douglas look like a tuneup fight when he took the belt from Buster in less than three rounds!
The point is M1, that I don't believe in the myth of a tuneup fight, because anything can happen once the gate closes, so the fighters should always strife to fight the best, or risk getting beat by those easy fighters in matches they should easily win. I did sharp you on it though, because I would like to see BJ have an awesome return.
Had no idea that would come out as long as it did! Sorry M1, it's proably gonna take a minute to translate!
Bj is no longer a contender but I'll watch his fight whenever he returns.
If he's fighting at 155 he's certainly going to be a contender. I'd love to see him fight guys like Miller, Cerrone, Bendo etc and especially Alvarez if they sign him.
I don't see him doing anything more than keeping gatekeeper status at this point. If he can't beat Frankie its not likely he can take Bendo and its doubtful he'd be able to stand with Pettis either.
The equation of A beats B beats C means A beats C without question has been proven so wrong over the years in MMA I wonder why some still think with that stupid formula. BJ Penn was owned by Edgar 2nd time around but that is partly due to Edgar's brilliance and no plan B from the Penn camp but make no mistake if Penn comes back refreshed and committed then he is a serious challenge to anyone in the LW division.
I agree with Kieth. I think Pettis is an excellent match up. I just hope Penn realises that LW is his true division, not WW.
At this point, he will not be able to hang with the best in 55. But you will never know. Just like what Mike Perryman said, tune up fights don't always turn out the way they thought it would. BJ Penn is the prodigy and he was not given that moniker if he wasn't a bad SOB.
I think if he puts in the work, more so with his cardio, he can still chop some heads in 55, even in 70.
Remember that BJ has one of the best chins and boxing in MMA. Not to mention, that he won the BJJ World Championship after only 3 years of formal training.
WAR BJ!
i say the winner of dos santo and mir!!!
Great news i'm a big fan of BJ but I would rather see him drop back down to LW how bout a rematch with sean sherk or kenny florian to start with?
But I do hope he trains and gets into good shape natural ability alone is not enough.
Why would he want to rematch either of those guys? He mopped the cage floor with both of them.
They left out the part about where he's improved his game.
BJ vs Saturday`s main event loser!
What a poor decision.
It`s a shame his management didnt push harder for him to stay retired.
He`s had a great career and he retired at just the right time.
What a bad decision they`ve made, he won`t be a contender.
BJ v Gilbert?
News yesterday said he turned that fight down.
Actually Evan wasnt joking, thats the truth! BJ wasnt going to chance losing to two Gracie Camp fighters back to back. It would do him zero favors in MMA and lift Gilbert even more.
yea, but BJ could fart and you'de show up lol...just joking. Penn still deserves respect(even if I balk at him sometimes), hes done a lot in MMA.
I'm a big fan of BJs
Me too, I think they're great; I'm also a big fan of BJ's.
Some fighters have great attributes and we all love BJ's. Some MMA classes are painful but BJ's feel great. Some fights you don't know if you want to go but with BJ's you're like "I want to come"......ah, that enough.
bj vs maia @170 would be a good match up, and if he submits maia he can retire as the greatest submission artist next to royce.
BJ Penn has copped some pretty bad beatings against St Pierre and Diaz.
Im happy to see him return, but how much is left in the BJ PENN gas tank?
While I am interested in watching BJ fight, coming back it 170 is a mistake.
His days as a contender are over at welterweight. He could make things at 155 interesting though.
Fight no 1 trains like savage in best shape of life-ko's opponent in 1st.
Fight no 2 no motivation, gasses out stopped via strikes in 2nd.
BJ doesn't quit; whether or not he's in shape or if he is motivated or not. The BJ that we see may not always come in firing on all 4 cylinders, but he never quits! Kid's got heart for days!
BJ could be out muscled, out classed, out sped, outshined, and the kid still don't quit. It's gotta be his competitive nature. he was built with something a lot of other fighters don't have I just can't put my finger on what exactly that is.
Is it his heart, is it his fighter's spirit,or is it his warriors mentality? We may never know for sure.
One thing is for sure, this guy leaves it all in the cage.