UFC 107 - BJ Penn to Defend!

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Grand Master

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After a rumored slot on either UFC 105 in Manchester, England, or at an as-yet-unannounced third fight card in November, UFC president Dana White today announced that lightweight champion B.J. Penn would make his next title defense on Dec. 12.

White made the announcement on a video blog that was today posted on BJPenn.com.

Though not yet officially announced Dec. 12 is the anticipated date of UFC 107, a card expected to take place at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn.

White began the video blog appearance by referencing Penn's constant plugging of his own official website.

"If you want to hear what we talked about, go to DanaWhite.com," White quipped.

The UFC exec then delivered the official message.

"B.J.'s fighting Dec. 12," White said.

While no opponent was named today, White confirmed a matchup with Diego Sanchez at a press conference at this past week's UFC 102 in Portland, Ore.

"It's Penn-Sanchez, but I don't know where yet," White said. "We're working on a deal right now."

That deal is now done, and if all rumored matchups hold true, the UFC's first trip to Memphis could prove to be a star-studded affair.

The full rumored card currently includes:

* Champ B.J. Penn vs. Diego Sanchez (for lightweight title)*

* Rashad Evans vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson*

* Cheick Kongo vs. Frank Mir*

* Thiago Alves vs. Paulo Thiago*

* - Not officially announced

Source: MMA Junkie

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Grand Master

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4 DAYS!

ufc107poster2.jpg

Main Card

* Lightweight Championship bout: B.J. Penn © vs. Diego Sanchez

* Heavyweight bout: Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo

* Welterweight bout: Jon Fitch vs. Mike Pierce

* Lightweight bout: Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida

* Heavyweight bout: Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve

Preliminary Card

* Middleweight bout: Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia

* Lightweight bout: Matt Wiman vs. Shane Nelson

* Welterweight bout: Johny Hendricks vs. Ricardo Funch

* Middleweight bout: Rousimar Palhares vs. Lucio Linhares

* Welterweight bout: DaMarques Johnson vs. Edgar Garcia

* Welterweight bout: Kevin Burns vs. TJ Grant

Grand Master

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Lightweight king B.J. Penn stared into the eyes of his latest challenger, and neither man blinked as they traded verbal barbs upon being separated.

Penn checked in at 155 pounds for his showdown with Diego Sanchez (154.5) in the UFC 107 ?Penn vs. Sanchez? featured attraction this Saturday at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn. Sanchez initially weighed in at 156 but dropped an extra 1.5 pounds upon hitting the scales again. All but one of the 20 other men booked to compete -- including co-headliners Frank Mir (264.5) and Cheick Kongo (239) -- also made weight without incident at Friday?s official weigh-in.

Welterweight Edgar Garcia tipped the scales at 173 pounds for his matchup with ?The Ultimate Fighter? Season 9 runner-up Damarques Johnson (171). The World Extreme Cagefighting veteran was given time to shed the additional weight and made the cut to 171.

The soon-to-be 31-year-old Penn has not tasted defeat at 155 pounds since his majority decision loss to Jens Pulver in January 2002. He last appeared at UFC 101 four months ago, when he successfully defended his lightweight crown with a fourth-round submission victory against Kenny Florian. A decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and gifted stand-up fighter, Penn holds notable wins against former Pride Fighting Championships titleholder Takanori Gomi, one-time UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra and future hall of famer Matt Hughes. He remains one of only two men -- Randy Couture being the other -- to hold UFC titles in two different weight classes.

?I just want to enjoy all of this,? Penn said. ?I want to go out there and do my best.?

In Sanchez, he faces a stern test. Unbeaten as a lightweight, the mercurial 27-year-old will carry a four-fight winning streak into the five-round tilt. Sanchez, the middleweight winner on the debut season of ?The Ultimate Fighter? reality series, has never been finished in 23 career bouts and counts victories against reigning Sengoku champion Jorge Santiago, recent UFC signee Michael Guymon, Strikeforce standout Nick Diaz and perennial welterweight contender Karo Parisyan among his 21 conquests.

?One word,? Sanchez said. ?Destiny.?

Mir, meanwhile, has not competed since his brutal technical knockout loss to UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in July. The 30-year-old has never lost back-to-back fights. Arguably the division?s most feared striker, Kongo has posted three wins in four bouts. He last appeared at UFC 99, when he dropped a unanimous decision to the unbeaten Cain Velasquez.

Here are the full weigh-in results:

UFC Lightweight Championship

B.J. Penn vs. Diego Sanchez (154.5)

Frank Mir (264.5) vs. Cheick Kongo (239)

Kenny Florian (156) vs. Clay Guida (156)

Paul Buentello (255) vs. Stefan Struve (247)

Jon Fitch (171) vs. Mike Pierce (171)

Alan Belcher (195) vs. Wilson Gouveia (193)

Shane Nelson (156) vs. Matt Wiman (156)

Johny Hendricks (171) vs. Ricardo Funch (171)

Rousimar Palhares (186) vs. Lucio Linhares (185)

Damarques Johnson (171) vs. Edgar Garcia (171)

Kevin Burns (171) vs. T.J. Grant (171)

NEWS & NOTES:

-- Five different fighters had to weigh-in more than once, including Diego Sanchez. Everyone made weight at the end.

-- Cheick Kongo refused to do a staredown with Frank Mir. He turned his back on him instead.

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the1himself

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Nah... big name fighters usually have 6 months between fights.. it wont be that soon.

Rampage stated on his blog that he's going to finish his contract with the UFC (2 more fights) and retire as a fighter to continue his acting career. He said he wants to shut Dana, Evans and all the other haters up and exit with a bang...

Don't really know if this is a wise decision but we'll see how it plays out.

p.s. WAR BJ PENN!!!!!!! his toughest fight in the 155 division for sure

Grand Master

iamawesomewicked

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Rampage stated on his blog that he's going to finish his contract with the UFC (2 more fights) and retire as a fighter to continue his acting career. He said he wants to shut Dana, Evans and all the other haters up and exit with a bang...

Don't really know if this is a wise decision but we'll see how it plays out.

p.s. WAR BJ PENN!!!!!!! his toughest fight in the 155 division for sure

Oh I know Rampage will be back.. but I don't see the fight happening before July at least.

Grand Master

Bubbabyte

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Damn i'm excited to see how Mir performs at 265+, he looked in great shape with the extra weight.

My picks are Sanchez, Mir, Guida.

@the1himself: Rampage is a complete ass. I used to be a HUGE fan of his, he's funny, he's always entertaining and he's a great fighter, however he needs to stop this BS already and realize he's turning his back on everything that made him what he is today. So dana has said some ****.. most of it was deserved, ufc 107 was set up in for Rampage to fight in his hometown, and rampage turned it down. Who was with rampage when he went retarded and did a hit and run, the ufc stood behind his crazy ass during the whole thing. He's not only showed that he is a horrible coach and team player, but he's shown just how childish he is and at this point i really don't care if i ever see him fight again, it's not gonna hurt anybody but him and he's yet to realize that.

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the1himself

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Damn i'm excited to see how Mir performs at 265+, he looked in great shape with the extra weight.

My picks are Sanchez, Mir, Guida.

@the1himself: Rampage is a complete ass. I used to be a HUGE fan of his, he's funny, he's always entertaining and he's a great fighter, however he needs to stop this BS already and realize he's turning his back on everything that made him what he is today. So dana has said some ****.. most of it was deserved, ufc 107 was set up in for Rampage to fight in his hometown, and rampage turned it down. Who was with rampage when he went retarded and did a hit and run, the ufc stood behind his crazy ass during the whole thing. He's not only showed that he is a horrible coach and team player, but he's shown just how childish he is and at this point i really don't care if i ever see him fight again, it's not gonna hurt anybody but him and he's yet to realize that.

ya I agree with majority of what you said. I don't think it's smart of him to leave the UFC based on one acting role. He's a fighter and a good one so he should stick with that (dana's said before that hollywood poisons fighters and I think I agree with him). I'm not really impressed with how rampage handled this. If he had handled it like, say, how couture handled it when he s**t talked the UFC...it probably would have been a different story but he is being completely unprofessional and disloyal to his fans (but on the flip side, he's coming back to complete his contract for his fans...*shrugs shoulders*)

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