UFC
B.J. Penn explains the injury that took him out of UFC 132 in July
Apr 8, 2011 - 3:55:18 PM B.J. Penn explains the injury that took him out of UFC 132 in July

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

B.J. Penn's decision to pull out of UFC 132 this July stems from a shoulder injury he suffered prior to his first bout with Jon Fitch at UFC 127 in February. Penn took Fitch to a draw in that bout, and the two were then matched up for a rematch at UFC 132.

However, with Fitch pulling out of the bout with a shoulder injury of his own, Penn's lingering shoulder issues forced him to bow out as well in order to give himself proper time to heal instead of taking another fight right away. He took to his personal website, BJPenn.com, to discuss the situation.

"I hurt my shoulder before the Jon Fitch fight real bad," Penn said. "Of course, pushing my shoulder really hard during the Jon Fitch fight hurt my shoulder more. I came back and tried to train but every time I would train hard it would just be really inflamed, I couldn't even move it."

Penn said he underwent an MRI, and though he didn't reveal the exact nature of the shoulder injury, he did say he needs six to eight weeks of recovery time before he gets back into training full time. And though there was a possibility he could have stayed on the UFC 132 card, Penn said he didn't want to have to make the UFC scramble should he need to bow out closer to the fight.

"When Jon Fitch pulled out I was waiting around seeing who I was going to fight next but my shoulder kept bothering me," he said. "I didn't want to take a fight immediately and have to pull out closer to the fight, like eight weeks out, because I still couldn't train. The UFC would really have to scramble [at that point]."

For now, Penn will take his time to recover, and while he's still open to the rematch with Jon Fitch, he'll be willing to take another opponent should Fitch's injury keep him out longer.

"If Jon Fitch is ready, we can do it soon, or we'll take a new opponent," he said. "We're keeping in touch with the UFC."

Link to video post at BJPenn.com

Penick's Analysis: The way he was working his wrestling game in that fight with Fitch it's easy to see how he could have aggravated a shoulder injury. It's unfortunate for the UFC from a drawing standpoint that Penn had to pull out of this one, as a bout with Carlos Condit that was certainly being considered would have been very exciting, but Penn was right to sit this one out. He can return in August or September instead, and if Fitch isn't ready there are sure to be a number of interesting and entertaining fight options in the welterweight division. Hopefully he can avoid re-injuring the shoulder further and be good to go once his six to eight weeks of recovery is up.

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