Matt Hughes vs. B.J. Penn III slotted for UFC 123
With another lightweight title shot not on the horizon, B.J. Penn (15-7-1 MMA, 11-6-1 UFC) will return to the welterweight division to complete a trilogy of fights with Matt Hughes (45-7 MMA, 18-5 UFC).
The fight takes place in November at UFC 123 and could serve as the night's co-main event, a source close to the negotiations told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
Hughes first hinted at the matchup in a Tuesday blog post, which prompted reports of the Penn booking.
UFC 123 takes place Nov. 20 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in suburban Detroit. A light-heavyweight bout between former champs Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Lyoto Machida headlines the pay-per-view portion of the show.
Penn and Hughes, of course, have met twice before. Penn won the first meeting via submission at UFC 46, but Hughes got his revenge at UFC 63 and scored a third-round TKO. Hughes lost his long-held welterweight belt for the first time with the UFC 46 loss. Prior to UFC 63, he reclaimed the title with a win over Georges St-Pierre and successfully defended it with the Penn victory.
Hughes, who was once on the verge of retirement in recent years, has found new life in the UFC's loaded welterweight division. After a 1-3 skid that saw him lose his belt and a vacant interim title, the recent UFC Hall of Fame inductee has rebounded with consecutive wins over Matt Serra, Renzo Gracie and Ricardo Almeida.
Penn, meanwhile, looks to gain some traction at 170 pounds following his quick descent at lightweight. Once the world's universal No. 1 ranked 155-pounder, Penn lost his belt to Frankie Edgar at UFC 112 and then suffered another decision loss to "The Answer" at UFC 118 in an August rematch. Perhaps surprisingly, Penn hasn't fared well at 170 pounds and owns a career 1-3 mark in the division.
For additional coverage of UFC 123, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
