Former UFC champion BJ Penn expects a November return
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship Lightweight champion BJ “The Prodigy” Penn expects to be back in the Octagon for his next fight sometime in November.
Penn reports that he and UFC President Dana White have been in contact, “Dana White’s been texting me the last couple days and it looks like I’m probably going to be back in the ring in November sometime. This is gonna be good.”
Penn is coming off back-to-back losses to Frankie Edgar.
Penn lost his lightweight title to Edgar on April 10 this year at UFC 112. Edgar, the underdog in the contest, defeated Penn via unanimous decision. Many observers were critical of Penn’s style in this fight, claiming he should have avoided a stand up fight. It was suggested that Penn had a much better chance at victory if he would have taken the fight to the mat, using his superior Brazilian Ju-Jitsu skills on the more inexperienced Edgar.
A rematch took place between Edgar and Penn at UFC 118 on August 28. While some saw Edgar’s victory at UFC 112 as a fluke, he proved he was for real with a dominant victory in this fight. Edgar won in convincing fashion. The final score cards of all three judges read 50-45 for Edgar. The loss put Penn’s Mixed Martial Arts record at 15-7-1.
Penn made no excuses after the fight. “I got nothing bad to say. I fought him twice. He walked away with the decision twice.” Penn then added, “I’ve really got to go back and think about things.”
Penn is seen as an individual that calls his own shots as far as his career, training and conditioning are concerned. These aspects of Penn’s career have often been called into question. As he evaluates his future in MMA it would not come as a surprise to see Penn working with a new group of handlers and training partners.
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