GSP out of fight with Hughes, but guess who steps in...

[Quil]

BJ freakin Penn. I'm sure he's chomping at the bit for this fight. I was disappointed as hell when I found out that GSP got hurt and couldn't go, but BJ is almost as good a matchup. Thoughts?

[Hunter]

Poor choice, St.pierre has every right to take the belt( I know some people think he is a paper champ) I say let give him a up comer to run through and then let st.pierre take the belt if he does the rematch bj and matt for the number 1 contender spot if he doesnt rematch st pierre and bj. Give him like drew frickette or someone along those lines

[Hunter]

double post

[Hunter]

I want matt to win, just becouse I am not a huge fan of penn personality wise but love to watch him fight. Deffiantly will get this card to see if hughes really undertrained,it was fluke or if bj is that much better then hughes

[rar1015]

Yeah i just read that too. This sucks i think GSP should get that title shot. Oh well either way he'll get it. I hope Matt beats the piss out of Penn. I am not a big fan of him either.

[Tedbear981]

heres a taste of the whippin BJ gave Hughes the first time..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajXptf21IUc

[Quil]

GSP will get the title shot, it'll just be another couple months down the road. I personally think he is on top of his game right now and can take either Penn or Hughes. I just hope they don't do him like they did Karo and make him fight his way back to the top again, although a matchup with Diego Sanchez would be an exciting fight.

[rar1015]

GSP would beat Sanchez if ya ask me.

[rar1015]

Here is what Penn has to say about all of this:


As soon as the rumors started to circulate that Georges St. Pierre was dealing with an injury sustained during training for his upcoming title fight with champion Matt Hughes, just about everyone in the sport started talking about possible replacements. None were higher on the list than the last fighter to defeat Hughes, “The Prodigy” BJ Penn. Now with St. Pierre officially being out, the rematch that everyone was already hoping for is going to happen. At UFC 63, BJ Penn will get his shot to take back the title he never lost when he faces Matt Hughes for the welterweight championship.

For BJ Penn this is the culmination of a very long journey after leaving the UFC under a cloud of controversy and then returning recently to the company where he started his mixed martial arts career. Stepping in on just 4 weeks notice for a title fight is hard for any fighter, but Penn is just happy to get the shot and says it was his plan all along.

“I get to do what I came back to do in the UFC,” said Penn in an exclusive interview with MMAWeekly. “I got an amazing opportunity to come back. I was going to come back to kick St. Pierre’s ass and then kick Hughes’ ass and it got derailed. Now I get to correct that and kick Hughes’ ass and then go and kick St. Pierre’s ass.”

The fight with St. Pierre still sticks with Penn who lost a close decision. It was only the third of his professional career and his only loss at 170 pounds. Penn takes nothing away from St. Pierre, but still feels a rematch in the future is necessary.

“He spent the night in the hospital, I spent the night at the bar,” said Penn about the fight with St. Pierre. “I mean, he’s one of the best guys and I want to fight the top guys and he’s in line for a title shot. There’s no doubt about that. I mean, he’s a good guy and I don’t have anything bad to say about him.”

While the rematch with St. Pierre is sure to happen at some point, the only thing on BJ Penn’s mind right now is Matt Hughes and the chance to win back the UFC welterweight title. Penn was originally slated for a possible move down to 155 pounds with the re-launch of the UFC’s lightweight division, but the opportunity to fight Hughes again and prove that the first win was no fluke is something Penn is looking forward to.

“I’m just happy I’m going to be the champ again,” said a confident BJ Penn. “I don’t even care about any of that other stuff. I mean, if people say that was a fluke or whatever, it doesn’t really mean anything to me. I was just so happy I got that phone call.”

BJ Penn will now get his shot to take back the 170-pound crown when he faces Matt Hughes in the main event of UFC 63 in Los Angeles on September 23rd.

[rar1015]

They last time they went at it it was almost three years ago and im sure Matt is training his ass off for this fight (or at least i hope he is).

[rar1015]

I've been trying to find some info on Matts reaction to this and see what he has to say about it.

[sonar1234]

Yeah he pulled a groin i think, well we will just have to wait longer i guess.

I wouldnt count out Matt Hugues just yet, remember when CroCop was set to face Fedor, everyone said he would beat him and Fedor came up on top.

I got a strong feeling that when Matt Hugues and St-Pierre meet again Hugues is gonna win again.

Even if i am a huge GSP fan.

[rar1015]

Yeah i think Hughes would beat GSP again but who knows whats gonna happen when he fights BJ Penn again.

[sonar1234]

Yeah i think Hughes would beat GSP again but who knows whats gonna happen when he fights BJ Penn again.

This time BJ is gonna get it i am pertty sure, Hughes wants a rematch and he wants to make a point.

Little fatty BJ aint gonna repeat what he did last time for sure.

[rar1015]

Im kinda thinking the same thing but i would rather see Hughes beat him and even up the score ya know.

[Hunter]

Bj always has problems in matches coming off losses a excellent example of this after his loss to pulver he didn't fight well against matt serra and then fought uno the same man he had knocked out in seconds to a draw. This is the time for matt to beat bj. Bj has some of the most raw talent when it comes to fighting but this thick skull can be a problem. Also people need to stop bringing up fight from 3 years ago, We all know rampage beat liddell, penn beat hughes and here is another interesting fact Babulu beat shogun just about three years ago. This fights are down with look in three years look at how much rampage has dropped and how much liddell has improved I cant say that about penn and hughes becouse both have continued to improve, 3 years is alot of time for improvement so really it doesn't have a strong basis in up coming fights

[rar1015]

Thats true man, they both have had plenty of time to improve and they all have.

[sonar1234]

BJ gave GSP one hell of a run for is money, he had GSP number for 2 rounds, he was countering all is punches, great fight he even had him in an omolatath at one point.

I tought the GSP was gonna tapout.

Its just that Matt Hugues is still improving too and is on a class of is own. Against Gracie he stricked a lot more and he showed some amazing stricking skills which before he didnt have.

[rar1015]

Ive noticed Hughes has been working a lot more on his striking and thats a good thing. If he became more of a striker he would be unstoppable IMO.

[theurge]

BJ was kicking GSP's ass util he gassed a little bit....skill wise he is better than either, in a league of his own...but those are big strong boys he's fighting!! BJ will do it again, unless Matt tries to win by lay and pray/GNP...if he engages BJ he will loose!!

[twosocks40]

Three years is a long time to improve. I look at my own training and think how much I improve over a few months, much less THREE YEARS. Penn will not be fighting the same Hughes. Should be a good fight though. My money is on Hughes.

[Quil]

Hughes will have something to prove in this fight after losing to Penn the first time, which gives him more motivation than in a fight against GSP, who he's previously beaten. I think it's going to be a war.

[rar1015]

Yep its definitely gonna be a war and i hope matt pulls it off this time.

[sandan]

BJ just needs to work on his conditioning and he will be unstopable at 170 in my opinion.

[Dangerdan]

I cant wait to see this fight altough I felt the same way when it was GSP and Hughes.

[rar1015]

i would rather see GSP and Hughes fight.