UFC
No decisions made on fights for B.J. Penn, Jake Shields and Jon Fitch as UFC waits on injuries
Jun 10, 2011 - 11:45:09 AM No decisions made on fights for B.J. Penn, Jake Shields and Jon Fitch as UFC waits on injuries

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The top of the welterweight division is a bit cluttered with fighters that have all been defeated by UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre, and for a trifecta of fighters in B.J. Penn, Jake Shields and Jon Fitch, all are looking to fight one or another.

Fitch stated in a recent interview that he wants his rematch with Penn or a fight with GSP, and he's willing to wait out a fight with either of them. However, recovery from shoulder surgery likely has him lowest on the list to get a fight of the three.

For Penn and Shields, the two of them are willing to take a fight with each other. Both essentially agreed to the fight in exchanges on Twitter, but UFC President Dana White says nothing has been set for any of the three men as of yet as they wait out the injuries being dealt with by Penn and Fitch especially.

"No, we don't have anything yet," White said in an interview with MMAWeekly.com when asked about the status of the three fighters. "B.J.'s been calling [Shields] out, B.J.'s chomping at the bit to fight right now, he wants to fight."

"Right now [injuries are] what we're waiting on. As far as a lot of these fights go, guys that are injured, guys that are not, guys that are coming back, once all these guys heal up we're going to have a crazy roster."

If Penn is healed up and ready to go, a Penn-Shields bout could potentially take place as early as September or October, but nothing has yet been determined on that front by the UFC.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: I think a Penn-Shields fight will end up coming together if both are healthy and ready to go for September or October. The Fitch-Penn rematch could still happen if Fitch's recovery is ahead of schedule, but I think Penn will be ready to return a lot sooner than Fitch, and he'll probably not want to wait that fight out. They could still match up against each other again if Penn were to defeat Shields, but I don't think we'll see the resolution of that draw anytime soon. Still, I am very intrigued by a fight between Penn and Shields, and the winner against Fitch in December or early 2012 would be a very good welterweight fight as well.