BJ says final run could be in WW

[tn94z]

Tweet

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – With a stunning 21-second knockout of Matt Hughes in their long-awaited rubber match at Saturday's UFC 123 event, former lightweight champ B.J. Penn has become relevant once against at welterweight.

He knows people have questioned his commitment to the sport, and Penn is determined to put that behind him.

That's why the 31-year-old wants to make one final run and then call it quits, likely at age 35.

Penn pounced from the opening bell of the fight, which co-headlined Saturday's UFC 123 event at The Palace of Auburn Hills in suburban Detroit. He let his hands fly, and though Hughes attempted to do the same, Penn connected first with a right hook. Hughes hit the canvas, and Penn followed with a series of blows to force the swift knockout stoppage.

"I wanted him to hit me, and I wanted to hit him," said Penn, who moved up a weight class after losing his belt and a rematch to current champ Frankie Edgar earlier this year. "I was just in the mindset to fight like a kid. I got into this to fight, and I know a lot of people have been questioning if I was motivated or I wanted to do this. I really wanted to come out and show everyone my fighting spirit."

For UFC president Dana White, the performance harkened back to the days of vintage B.J. Penn, the intense and fiery Hawaiian who once ruled the lightweight division with iron fists (and rubber legs).

When White first pitched Penn on the rubber match with Hughes, he jumped at the opportunity. Now White thinks Penn can make a serious run at welterweight. And as he revealed after UFC 123, White already has pitted Penn (16-7-1 MMA, 12-6-1 UFC) against top contender Jon Fitch (23-3 MMA, 13-1 UFC) at February's UFC 127 event in Australia.

"I think he looks good at 170 (pounds)," White said of Penn. "When he walked into the octagon tonight, he had that crazy, talking to himself, swearing to himself, hyped up (mentality). He had that energy, and he looked hyped up."

Still, Penn is taking the win in stride. He knows luck played a small part in it, and he's not about to claim his dominance over one of the sport's true legends.

"It's just something that happens," Penn said of the victory-sealing punch. "Who knows how it would have played out if it went longer?"

So what's next for Penn? With a retooled fight camp and the help of traditional Eastern medicine, does he want to stay at 170 pounds? Does he want to return to lightweight at some point?

"You know what? For the first time in my career, I'm going to let Dana make that call," Penn said. "Whatever Dana says, we'll go with that."

That left the boss in shock.

"Holy [expletive]," White gasped.

But regardless of the weight class, Penn just wants to stay busy. He used to balloon up in weight between fights, and questions about his commitment to the sport usually were justified.

Recently, though, Penn has remained in year-round camps. To compete at a higher level, his God-given talents are no longer enough, and he learned that in recent years.

Additionally, he knows his time is limited. So with Fitch and all his future opponents, he wants to line up the fights and cut out the off time.

"I want to get back in there as soon as possible," he said. "I'm 31 right now. I want to fight a lot more until I'm 35 and then maybe call it quits."

I hope he makes a good solid run!

[FUZO]

TweetWouldnt that be something if he got a title shot against KOZ,lol

[tn94z]

TweetI will just be happy if he works his way to a title shot. That would be great!! But I would LOVE to see BJ put a whooping on Kos

[FUZO]

Tweetyes indeed.Bj could do this.And if he does get a title shot and wins at 170 again there will be no doubt he is the greatest of all time. Even if he gets the title back at 155 he could be labeled the best. Its to bad BJ cant get motivated for fights sometimes

[Strella]

TweetBJ Fitch should be interesting to see. I think BJ needs a bit more time at 170 before jumping in with KOS but who knows. I really dont see him winning the WW belt as long as GSP remains healthy and keeps the "ry-dum". I really think he is the best at LW though and should fight a top contender then win the belt back. Although if he wants to fight till hes 35 he might as well stay at WW for 2-3 fights just for the hell of it. I really just think if he ran like 5 miles a day for a month he could go in and smash Frankie. I think thats what pissed me off about him; hes more talented but obviously just didnt prepare well for those fights.

[tn94z]

TweetI think that BJ won't get another crack at GSP, but I think it's because Dana is banking in GSP moving to MW before that comes up. If that's the case, then BJ has a shit at the WW belt...assuming he can win his next few fights. BJ did say that he is leaving the fight decisions to Dana now.

[tn94z]

TweetSorry for the spelling errors...I'm on my IPhone and it puts in what it thinks I'm trying to say

[O2BESOHUGE]

TweetIF HE WOULD COME INTO EVERY FIGHT WITH THE MINDSET HE HAD LAST SATURDAY...HE WOULD BE AWESOME! I LOVE WATCHING HIM FIGHT LIKE THAT!