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#4) UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture
Dana White made an interesting revelation during his post-event press conference following UFC 227. He recalled a past conversation and mentioned that B.J. Penn refused to fight Randy Couture when asked to face him at heavyweight.
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The thought of Penn fighting Couture wouldn’t have been out of the ordinary. In fact, ‘The Prodigy’ has competed against much larger opponents while competing in K-1. He fought Rodrigo Gracie at middleweight, a 225-lb Lyoto Machida in an openweight bout, and Renzo Gracie at light heavyweight.
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“B.J. Penn is old school from the old mold and B.J. literally wanted to fight everybody that was out there and I respect that, but there are limits." – Dana White to the media during UFC 227 post-event press conference
Penn vs. Couture would have been a spectacle had the promotion booked it. Perhaps if it wasn’t a heavyweight bout, light heavyweight would have been more realistic. ‘The Prodigy’ would’ve been the underdog and fans would've definitely been interest in watching these two legends compete in the cage.
#3) Rematch with Jon Fitch
It's surprising that the UFC never booked an immediate rematch between B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch. Since welterweight bouts were on the horizon at the time, it would have been logical to book a rematch.
Their first encounter saw them both fight to a draw with the judges scoring the bout 28-29, 29-28, and 28-28. It was a technical battle between two elite fighters. Based on what transpired in the first and second rounds, Penn looked to the edge going into the final round. But, Fitch’s strong performance in the final round was enough to earn the draw. The round saw Fitch maintain ground control and he didn’t allow the former champion any opportunity to return to the standup.
‘The Prodigy’ was competing in his second welterweight bout since his 21-second knockout win over former champion Matt Hughes. Another win could have made a strong case for ‘The Prodigy’ earning a trilogy bout with Georges St-Pierre.
