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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
B.J. Penn is returning to the UFC in 2014, and he's going to do so in the featherweight division against a man who defeated him twice in UFC Lightweight Championship fights, Frankie Edgar.
The two fighters were revealed as the coaches on the 19th season of The Ultimate Fighter during Wednesday's UFC Tonight program on Fox Sports 1. The show will debut in April 2014 on Fox Sports 1, and they'll fight at the end of the season.
UFC President Dana White revealed that the original plan was to pit Urijah Faber and Frankie Edgar against each other, but neither wanted to move to the other's division. Penn tried to get into a fight with Benson Henderson in order to get a fight with Edgar, and White gave him the opportunity at featherweight.
Furthermore, Penn has signed a new deal with the UFC, and plans to make a run for the title at 145 lbs. If he made that run and captured the title, he'd become the only fighter ever to win a belt in three weight classes.
Edgar and Penn fought twice back in 2010, with Edgar capturing the title at UFC 112 in a fight most felt Penn should have won. However, Edgar left no question in the rematch at UFC 118, defeating Penn in a clear and one-sided decision.
Penn hasn't fought since getting manhandled by Rory MacDonald last December on Fox, and he'll be dropping two weight classes for this return fight.
Penick's Analysis: I'm intrigued by Penn attempting to cut to featherweight, but I don't know that it's something he's going to be able to do in a healthy manner. He's fought at 170 lbs. for his last several fights, and he's had issues at times with his weight during his career. That said, if he's already started working towards that weight class, and comes into TUF filming walking around closer to 155 lbs., then making that cut might not be a big deal. That said, I don't expect Penn in 2014 to beat Edgar, who remains one of the best in the world.
Update: At the end of UFC Tonight, they corrected the air date for TUF 19. The show will debut in April, not January, meaning Frankie Edgar will be out of action for a year in between fights to take this third fight with Penn.
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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