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BJ Penn caused a stir recently when he revealed that he has been discussing a potential return to welterweight with UFC president Dana White. Now Penn has gone even further, stating the move could be permanent.
Penn is less than a month away from defending his UFC lightweight title against Frankie Edgar at UFC 112, and while he's quick to say that he's not looking past Edgar, he's also clearly motivated by the chance to challenge himself against bigger fighters.
"Yeah, I think there is a possibility of that," Penn told IGN.com. "I don't, in no way, want to look past Frankie Edgar. He's a good fighter; you never know what could happen. But if I go back to welterweight, maybe I'll try to give it a run, maybe fight a couple of fights there. We'll see how it goes. I might try to do it permanent. We'll see, I just don't want to rush anything, just take my time and go out there and do my best."
Penn won the UFC welterweight title earlier in his career by defeating Matt Hughes at UFC 46, but then left the UFC over a contract dispute before defending the belt. He had a chance to fight Hughes to regain the title when he returned to the UFC, but suffered a controversial TKO loss in the third round of their fight at UFC 63.
More recently, Penn made a bid to dethrone current welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre at UFC 94, but found himself physically dominated in a lopsided defeat.
Since the loss, Penn has returned to lightweight with a vengeance; defending his title with dominant back-to-back victories over Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez, two fighters who once fought as heavy as middleweight.
However, if Penn does decide on a permanent move to welterweight, he'd do so at a significant size disadvantage. Despite that face, Penn was confident when asked how he thought he matched up against top contenders Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves.
"I think I could do good against some of the top welterweights," Penn said. "Yeah, pretty big guys, but you gotta live some times. You gotta step up sometime, huh?"
Penn is also open to the possibility of a rubber match with Matt Hughes.
"Yeah. Yeah, you never know what could happen. Let's see how him and Renzo go, let's see what happens there."
Penn is 15-5-1 in his career, but four of those five losses have come when competing against heavier opponents outside of the lightweight division.
Penn is less than a month away from defending his UFC lightweight title against Frankie Edgar at UFC 112, and while he's quick to say that he's not looking past Edgar, he's also clearly motivated by the chance to challenge himself against bigger fighters.
"Yeah, I think there is a possibility of that," Penn told IGN.com. "I don't, in no way, want to look past Frankie Edgar. He's a good fighter; you never know what could happen. But if I go back to welterweight, maybe I'll try to give it a run, maybe fight a couple of fights there. We'll see how it goes. I might try to do it permanent. We'll see, I just don't want to rush anything, just take my time and go out there and do my best."
Penn won the UFC welterweight title earlier in his career by defeating Matt Hughes at UFC 46, but then left the UFC over a contract dispute before defending the belt. He had a chance to fight Hughes to regain the title when he returned to the UFC, but suffered a controversial TKO loss in the third round of their fight at UFC 63.
More recently, Penn made a bid to dethrone current welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre at UFC 94, but found himself physically dominated in a lopsided defeat.
Since the loss, Penn has returned to lightweight with a vengeance; defending his title with dominant back-to-back victories over Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez, two fighters who once fought as heavy as middleweight.
However, if Penn does decide on a permanent move to welterweight, he'd do so at a significant size disadvantage. Despite that face, Penn was confident when asked how he thought he matched up against top contenders Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves.
"I think I could do good against some of the top welterweights," Penn said. "Yeah, pretty big guys, but you gotta live some times. You gotta step up sometime, huh?"
Penn is also open to the possibility of a rubber match with Matt Hughes.
"Yeah. Yeah, you never know what could happen. Let's see how him and Renzo go, let's see what happens there."
Penn is 15-5-1 in his career, but four of those five losses have come when competing against heavier opponents outside of the lightweight division.
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