brvheart
09-15-2006, 03:08 PM
Call it fate, divine justice or any other proverb you like, but due to a severe groin pull, Georges St. Pierre's will not be able to step into the octagon for his scheduled rematch of UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes on September 23, the UFC announced on its Web site Wednesday afternoon.
Filling the vacated slot to face Hughes is the only man to beat the champion mixed martial artist since March 2001: Hawaii's own B.J. Penn.
Penn returned to the UFC Octagon in March of this year, losing a controversial split decision to St. Pierre, which set-up the Canadian's second shot at Hughes' belt.
The UFC annonced that the decision to go with BJ as the replacement for St. Pierre was a "no-brainer" as fans have been waitin for this rematch for over two years now. BJ eagerly accepted the opportunity to make it 2-0 against Hughes, who is regarded as the premier welterweight of this era.
“I thrive on these big fights, I thrive on pressure, and that’s when I perform my best,” said Penn, who was already in training for an October UFC bout when he got the call to replace St. Pierre.
Hughes has defended his crown eight times over two reigns, dispatching such talent as Renato Verissimo, Frank Trigg, St. Pierre and Joe Riggs and would like nothing better than to settle an old score with Hawaii’s own ‘Prodigy’.
“Now I’ve got something to really look forward to. I’ve already beat Georges and here I get to fight BJ Penn, a guy who’s beaten me. I’m a month out and I can really concentrate on BJ Penn now, and I’m looking forward to it.”
In 2004, BJ, already regarded by most around MMA circles as the best lightweight in the world at the time after his total domination of Takanori Gomi, rose 15 pounds in weight to take on Hughes who had not suffered defeat since 2001. The outcome was a arguably the biggest upset in mixed martial arts history when at 4:39 of the first round BJ forced Hughes to tap out due to a rear-naked choke.
Will history be repeated on September 23rd? MMA fans around the world can hardly wait!
[Only registered and activated users can see links]
Source - bjpenn.com
Filling the vacated slot to face Hughes is the only man to beat the champion mixed martial artist since March 2001: Hawaii's own B.J. Penn.
Penn returned to the UFC Octagon in March of this year, losing a controversial split decision to St. Pierre, which set-up the Canadian's second shot at Hughes' belt.
The UFC annonced that the decision to go with BJ as the replacement for St. Pierre was a "no-brainer" as fans have been waitin for this rematch for over two years now. BJ eagerly accepted the opportunity to make it 2-0 against Hughes, who is regarded as the premier welterweight of this era.
“I thrive on these big fights, I thrive on pressure, and that’s when I perform my best,” said Penn, who was already in training for an October UFC bout when he got the call to replace St. Pierre.
Hughes has defended his crown eight times over two reigns, dispatching such talent as Renato Verissimo, Frank Trigg, St. Pierre and Joe Riggs and would like nothing better than to settle an old score with Hawaii’s own ‘Prodigy’.
“Now I’ve got something to really look forward to. I’ve already beat Georges and here I get to fight BJ Penn, a guy who’s beaten me. I’m a month out and I can really concentrate on BJ Penn now, and I’m looking forward to it.”
In 2004, BJ, already regarded by most around MMA circles as the best lightweight in the world at the time after his total domination of Takanori Gomi, rose 15 pounds in weight to take on Hughes who had not suffered defeat since 2001. The outcome was a arguably the biggest upset in mixed martial arts history when at 4:39 of the first round BJ forced Hughes to tap out due to a rear-naked choke.
Will history be repeated on September 23rd? MMA fans around the world can hardly wait!
[Only registered and activated users can see links]
Source - bjpenn.com