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B.J. Penn announces he will return at UFC 197

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B.J.-Penn-Gregory-Payan-AP

UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn is still planning on coming out of retirement, however, it just won’t be at UFC 196 as originally planned.

Instead, Penn announced on his website that there has been a slight change of plans and he will now square off against an unnamed opponent at UFC 197 on April 23.

Penn said that he was certain that he would return at UFC 196, but that the UFC changed its plans.

“I thought the fight guaranteed was going to happen because the UFC, they set up medicals for me to do,” Penn said. “I did the medicals and they were sending a film crew down and we were getting all that together and I assumed we were setting up the fight, and that might have been what was happening. But, at the end of the day, Sean Shelby (UFC matchmaker) called me and said it would be more convenient for all of us to move the fight to April 23rd.”

The UFC has made no announcement regarding when Penn will return to the octagon nor who he will go up against.

Penn said that he will remain in Albuquerque to continue his training for the upcoming fight.

“You know what? I’m going to stay here the whole way out and train. You have heard ‘what you feed the most, grows the biggest,’ and I’m going to stay here and immerse myself in the martial arts and see how good I can get.”

Penn also apologized to any fans who made arrangements to see him fight on March 5 as he did not expect the UFC to change the date of his return.

“I apologize,” Penn said sincerely. “I thought the fight was going 100 percent on March 5th. This change I can’t control but hope to have the fans support on April 23rd in Las Vegas.

The 37-year-old holds a record of (16-10-2) and will be making his return in the featherweight division. He is one of only two fighters to hold championships in different divisions as he has held belts in both the welterweight and lightweight divisions. Penn last fought in July 2014 against Frankie Edgar and has not won a UFC bout since 2010 when he beat Matt Hughes by knockout.

Penn recently said that he is coming out of retirement in hopes of taking the belt away from Connor McGregor to become the first fighter ever to have won championships in three divisions.

“I want to go get that 145-pound belt. That’s definitely a huge motivation for me,” said Penn. “I believe with Greg Jackson’s help, I can get that done. And I believe that I will be able to walk away as the only man with three titles in three weight divisions.”

Image Credit: (Gregory Payan, AP)


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