Penn vs Hughes III set for UFC 123
Welterweight mixed martial arts legend Matt Hughes is set to take on a fellow great in long-time lightweight phenom B.J “The Prodigy” Penn at UFC 123. The fight, put on by the Ultimate Fighting Championships, is a long-awaited rubber match between two of the biggest names in the sport.
The news was broken by MMA reporter Ariel Helwani on Twitter. On late Monday he wrote “BJ Penn and Matt Hughes have agreed to meet at UFC 123 in Michigan. Welterweight bout.”
The history between these two men started at UFC 46 when Penn, formerly a lightweight, moved up to challenge for Hughes’ welterweight bout. In a shocking upset, he choked out Hughes in the first round. Though he won the belt, he vacated it to fight for other promotions, and Hughes won the vacant title back.
Upon Penn’s return to the UFC he was given a chance to challenge Hughes once again at UFC 63. Hughes didn’t seem to be doing much better, losing the first two rounds cleanly. Then something happened. Penn wilted in the third, and Hughes dominated the round and finally managed to secure Penn helplessly in a crucifix position, and rained down blows until the fight was stopped.
Supporters of Penn maintain he lost only because he suffered a rib injury in the dying moments of the second round, and would take a rematch. Others say he simply became tired out, a victim of his questionable cardio.
The issue of who would win a rematch has been a source of debate for years. Hughes slowed somewhat in recent times, losing his title and looking slower, while Penn looked invincible after having dropped back down to lightweight. But with Hughes’ recent impressive first-round win over Ricardo Almeida, and with Penn having lost his own lightweight title to Frankie Edgar and the subsequent rematch, Hughes may be coming into this one as a favourite, when that would have been difficult to fathom just months ago.
The fight is set to take place on 20 November, in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
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