MMA News: BJ Penn pulls out of his 'Thrilla in Manila' fight
The ‘Prodigy’ BJ Penn is set to make his return to the Octagon. The comeback, however, appears to be put to a halt citing injury according to mmajunkie.com. The details on the injury are yet to be disclosed but as of now nothing has been publicly announced.
Penn was scheduled to fight fellow featherweight fighter Ricardo Lamas at UFC Fight Night 97 in Manila, Philippines. As he will remain out of action once again, the UFC is yet again in search of a new opponent for the headliner of the event against Lamas.
This won’t be the first time Penn’s fight has been cancelled. The veteran has had 2 bouts cancelled since he announced his return to the UFC, making this the third.
Original plans for the Hawaiian superstar was to fight at UFC 197, but a criminal investigation that involved him delayed the bout. Penn was then matched up with Dennis Siver to fight at UFC 199, which was eventually shelved as the German pulled out citing an undisclosed injury.
Penn was flagged out by the UDASA for the usage of medical IV infusion during a non-fight period. This resulted in a brief suspension for the former champ.
After this series of cancelled fights, he was scheduled to fight Lamas at Manila but once again it looks like he isn’t going to fight.
Penn is a former UFC Lightweight Champion and Welterweight Champion, and also a UFC Hall of Famer. The only fighter to hold titles in two weight classes next to Randy Couture. While he was the then lightweight champion, he became the first fighter to attempt to hold UFC titles in two weight divisions at the same time at UFC 94 when he faced Georges St. Pierre in a losing effort.