Carlos Condit has been lobbying to replace Jon Fitch against BJ Penn at UFC 132 pretty much from the minute it was announced that Fitch was out, and while both fans and us keyboard warriors are wholeheartedly down with that, the UFC and Penn have been eerily quiet. And there may be a reason for that.
Now it appears that not only will Penn not face Condit, he's off the card entirely. MMA Junkie reported yesterday that the UFC had been working on a replacement, but BJ elected to reschedule for a later date instead, though who that rescheduled fight would be against is unclear. However, other sources are claiming it wasn't so much a matter of choice, and that BJ suffered an "undisclosed injury" that forced him off the card. Dave Meltzer says (via BloodyElbow):
B.J. Penn's next fight is up in the air. Penn suffered an undisclosed injury and is getting it looked at and getting an MRI done this week. Depending on how that goes will depend if he?s moved back a show or given a new opponent for 7/2.
The likes of us will probably never know for sure if BJ's injury is legit or just an excuse, but that sure as shit won't stop folks from venturing into conjecture about it. Did BJ decide that Condit represented too small of a name for too much risk? Or did he really pull his groin while "running the rock" or some shit? Either way, all I know is that just when I thought we'd traded a snoozer for a barn-burner, BJ went and dashed my dreams to pieces.
UPDATE: BJ posted a video on his website to expain himself, and says he's had a nagging shoulder injury since before the first Fitch fight that's been getting steadily worse. He'll need 6-8 weeks to recover, and sounds like he wants Fitch when he comes back, but will take someone else if Fitch isn't healed yet.
Meanwhile, Carlos Condit has already scored another date for UFC 132, although not nearly as hot as Baby J. The UFC has announced that Condit will now face technically-undefeated Dong Hyun "Stun Gun" Kim, who we last saw when he pulled off a stinker of a close decision win over Nate Diaz at UFC 125.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/fightlinker/~3/UvWN28ye3Gw/bj-penn-pulled-out-of-ufc-132-updated
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