UFC
B.J. Penn says delaying Rory MacDonald bout only to UFC 153 "more than reasonable"
Aug 5, 2012 - 9:45:18 PM B.J. Penn says delaying Rory MacDonald bout only to UFC 153 "more than reasonable"

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

With Rory MacDonald suffering a cut in training this weekend, the UFC's plans for B.J. Penn's return have been thrown for a loop. The cut location hampers MacDonald's ability to effectively train, and because of that his camp asked to have their bout moved back to UFC 154 in Montreal this November.

Penn is willing to delay his return to action for this fight, as it's the one that got him to come out of retirement. However, he said on Sunday that he's not willing to wait an extra two months beyond what they had originally scheduled with UFC 152.

"Rory, with all due respect you challenged me to come out of retirement and I accepted," Penn said in comments made to his personal site, BJPenn.com. "Then, you back out of the fight!"

"Now you want to put our fight off for two-more-months, but this fight should happen as soon as the cut heals. 10-weeks from now is plenty of time. Let's fight on Oct. 13, that's more than reasonable."

October 13 is the UFC's return to Rio de Janeiro with UFC 153. Penn-MacDonald would make for another fantastic fight on what has already become a very stacked event, but it's now dependent on MacDonald and how quickly he can bounce back from the cut.

Penick's Analysis: MacDonald's gash was pretty nasty, and in the location it happened - above his right eyebrow - it's something that can be opened up much more easily in training or in a fight. It comes down to how much time off he needs from that type of training, and whether he's willing to take a shorter training camp to fight in October rather than November. If Penn's not willing to wait longer than October 13, the UFC could easily find him an entertaining replacement in Brazil, and though he wants the MacDonald fight, that's the path he may take if MacDonald's camp doesn't or can't accept that date.

[B.J. Penn art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]