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News out of BJ Penn camp this week confirms that the current UFC lightweight champion has chosen to push a proposed fight against Kenny Florian that many believed would take place at UFC 99 in June has indeed been scratched. One of the main reasons for this has to do with Penn, who prefers to fight Florian either in late July or early August.
In an interview with Sherdog, Penn's older borther and mangaer J.D. Penn said,
"No, it's too close to BJ's last fight. He wants to spend time with his baby. ... We are still negotiating the fight. No date [is] scheduled, but we are thinking late July or early August."
No one can fault the lightweight champ for wanting to spend time with his family and heal the wounds from his latest lost to Georges St. Pierre back at UFC 94, but given the fact that he did not defend the lightweight title against GSP, Penn will now have gone over a year with a title defense. However, maybe it's best to let the Greasegate controversey die down a bit before Penn heads back into the Octagon, but that's not stoping GSP from competing at the highest level.
When reached for comment, Florian has this to say
“For me, it’s the fight that I want and it’s the fight he wants and we both need to come to terms on it, so if that’s what I need to do to make it happen, if I have to wait, then I have no choice,” he said.
"Schedule-wise it makes it a little difficult because money-wise, you expect a certain amount to come in and I've been trying to budget things accordingly," Florian told Sherdog. "It might be a little tougher now."
While it's unclear when this proposed fight will take place, all we know is Florian deserves a title shot regardless of if he loses another fight here or there, and Penn is doing a diservice to UFC fans by playing the family card.
In an interview with Sherdog, Penn's older borther and mangaer J.D. Penn said,
"No, it's too close to BJ's last fight. He wants to spend time with his baby. ... We are still negotiating the fight. No date [is] scheduled, but we are thinking late July or early August."
No one can fault the lightweight champ for wanting to spend time with his family and heal the wounds from his latest lost to Georges St. Pierre back at UFC 94, but given the fact that he did not defend the lightweight title against GSP, Penn will now have gone over a year with a title defense. However, maybe it's best to let the Greasegate controversey die down a bit before Penn heads back into the Octagon, but that's not stoping GSP from competing at the highest level.
When reached for comment, Florian has this to say
“For me, it’s the fight that I want and it’s the fight he wants and we both need to come to terms on it, so if that’s what I need to do to make it happen, if I have to wait, then I have no choice,” he said.
"Schedule-wise it makes it a little difficult because money-wise, you expect a certain amount to come in and I've been trying to budget things accordingly," Florian told Sherdog. "It might be a little tougher now."
While it's unclear when this proposed fight will take place, all we know is Florian deserves a title shot regardless of if he loses another fight here or there, and Penn is doing a diservice to UFC fans by playing the family card.
