Three days after he lost the UFC lightweight title to Frankie Edgar at UFC 112, B.J. Penn said he believes he'll get an immediate rematch with Edgar, and that he'll be fighting for an opportunity to get the belt back within the next two months.
"The UFC contacted us yesterday, and I think they want to put a rematch together, so I think a rematch is in the works," Penn said Tuesday morning in an interview with 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C.
Asked when that rematch would take place, Penn indicated that he thinks he, Edgar and the UFC are all prepared to do it quickly.
"I think the next three months, four months at the most," Penn said.
The three or four month range would indicate that Penn vs. Edgar 2 could be the main event at the UFC's tentatively scheduled August 28 pay-per-view show in Boston. If the UFC really wants to give fans a great fight for free, it could also possibly be the main event of the August 1 Versus show in Oakland, although it's a long shot that a title fight would be carried live on basic cable.
But whenever the fight happens, all indications are that Penn will get an immediate rematch, and it's a rematch that makes a lot of sense. Although all three judges gave the fight to Edgar, many observers thought Penn should have won the decision. And the UFC just doesn't have a lot of big-name lightweights who could carry a main event against Edgar. From a competitive standpoint, it's probably not fair to Gray Maynard, who is undefeated and already has a win over Edgar, to make him wait for a title shot. But from a business standpoint, Penn getting an immediate rematch is the right call.
Nah, I don't agree with this one. Don't think Penn was robbed in any way, there was no incident in the fight like a foul shot or freak injury, and Penn hasn't even come out with claims his knee was badly injured going into the fight, so why should he get a rematch? I know the UFC love Penn as a promotional tool (and yes, he is awesome as a fighter), but he just lost a fight to the new champ, so now someone else gets the first title shot. After all, we all complain that Rogers is coming off a loss to get a title shot in Strikeforce, don't we...
Like I said in the after-show thread, I think Florian should get the next shot assuming his Staph is okay, but it may well be Maynard. Either way, it shouldn't be BJ.
Obskewer either you don`t like Penn or didn`t see same fight as me? I've watched it 4 times now think numbers speak for themselves. http://www.fightmetric.com/fights/Edgar-Penn.html . It definitely was a close fight i had Penn winning first 3 rounds personally 4th was close gave to Edgar as well as 5th. He had no knee injury apparently a infected sinus he was on antibiotics for which wouldn't affect much other then cardio(which was already suspect). I don't see how you can dethrone a champ by dancing around for 5 rounds i think rematch is just. One takedown wasn't scored due to fact he didn't even touch him from the time he hit the ground to the time he got up, no effectiveness what so ever. Penn's jab accuracy was pinpoint. Judge Douglas Crosby should be shot 45-50 is just insane and the guy goes on to rant and rave going on about his decision and how he stands by it after reviewing tape.(might i add he also scored Bisping vs Hamill 30-27 Bisping) Compustrike's on-the-fly analysis favored Edgar but is no where near as accurate as Fight Metric's frame by frame analysis.
Meh, not to be blase about it, but stats mean absolutely nothing in fights. It's not how the judges score it, it doesn't give an accurate picture of who won a fight, and the majority of the audience just flat-out don't care about them anyway.
I saw a fight where Edgar stuck-and-moved very effectively. I'd agree with any comments that he looked underpowered and was never going to finish BJ before BJ simply collapsed with exhaustion, but his gameplan was precisely the one it needed to be and he executed it brilliantly. In comparison, BJ stood in the center of the cage and when he wasn't stood still he was plodding around after Edgar. He didn't go for the takedowns his corner were asking him for and in the second half of the fight his boxing wasn't up to the job either.
Do I think that BJ could/would beat Edgar if they fought again? Very likely - I picked BJ to win the first fight. But that's different to agreeing that he should for some reason get an immediate rematch just because he feels like one. I'm just saying it's someone else's turn to fight for the belt next and BJ can get in line.
Btw, going by the stats on that site, Edgar scored higher in 3 of 5 striking catagories and 2 of 2 grappling catagories (whitewashing Penn here), so he won 5 out of 7 categories and somehow stats tell you Penn won? Edgar apparently still came out with a worse "performance rating" simply because BJ was more accurate with his leg kicks and body power shots (what little of them he actually threw).
Ya i agree stats don`t mean much but Penn won 3 of 5 rounds in striking on that site and they only counted 1 take down on that site also i don`t know where the 5 out of 7 categories comes from. Sherdog`s poll showed 33% thought Edgar won 11% thought Draw and other 56% of people who viewed and voted thought penn won including out of 4 staff scoring the fights(Total Votes : 22959).http://www.sherdog.com/search.php?Searc ... rchCat=all (midway of page) All notable sites i`ve viewed has similiar stats with majority of people scoring it for Penn, I`m not saying Edgar didn`t go a good job he did great. I`m just saying i feel a rematch is just and the scoring was ludicrous.
A rematch of last Saturday’s UFC 112 lightweight championship tilt between Frankie Edgar and B.J. Penn is looking likely for late summer or fall.
Representatives in both fighters’ camps told Sherdog.com on Tuesday that UFC officials have approached both sides to lock down a second bout between the lightweight fighters. No date or venue has been solidified yet. Edgar earned a unanimous decision over Penn at UFC 112 on April 10 in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., to become the promotion’s lightweight champion.
Edgar’s victory, which delivered Penn his first loss in the 155-pound division since 2002, did not come without controversy. Both the media and fans were split on the bout’s outcome, as the 28-year-old New Jersey fighter was awarded 50-45, 48-47 and 49-46 scores in a tight contest some thought Penn had won.
Edgar told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “It’s Time” show host Bruce Buffer on Tuesday that he’d agree to the rematch.
“If anybody’s earned a rematch, it’s B.J.,” said Edgar. “He’s a legend at 155. I’m ready for it if that’s definitely going to happen. I’m the champion. I don’t get to pick who I fight; they tell me who I fight.”
Edgar, who trains under UFC middleweight Ricardo Almeida and others in the tri-state area, said he’d watched the fight on Monday and had given himself three rounds. Edgar said he felt the first round could have gone to him as well.
“It was definitely was a close fight, but I truly do feel I won,” said Edgar, “There’s going to be people that think one way and people that think the other, but all three judges felt I won.”
Sherdog.com has learned that two dates are being considered for the championship bout -- Aug. 28 at the TD Garden in Boston or Aug. 7, possibly in New Jersey.
“Honestly, I’d like a little bit more time,” Edgar said of an August rematch. “My wife’s due (with a second son) in mid to late June. And again, I want to improve, I want be different every fight. I want to be ready. I know if I get a rematch, B.J.’s going to be coming better than ever, so I want to be able to make sure that I can too, for me and the fans.”
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Rematch! Rematch!! 
