Georges St-Pierre vs. B.J. Penn III in 2012?

MMA legend B.J. Penn is knocking on the door for a third bout with UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.

The vast majority are probably scratching their heads right about now.

At first glance, this fight doesn't really make much sense. St-Pierre has already defeated Penn twice.

Penn lost back to back bouts to UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. Surely, it isn't because of his win over Matt Hughes, who is well beyond his prime.

A multitude of factors have played in Penn's climb back into welterweight title contention, but pleads from MMA fans for the former two-division champion to face Carlos Condit could be looked back on as the primary reason.

Riding a four fight win streak, Condit has looked like a destroyer as of late. He is coming off back to back devastating first round knockout victories over Dan Hardy and Dong Hyun Kim. With perennial contender Jon Fitch sidelined with a shoulder injury, many thought Condit would be the obvious choice as the next contender for the welterweight title.

Now, he'll put everything on the line against Penn, who is one of the best strikers and grapplers the sport has ever seen.

As much momentum as Condit has built on his way to title contention, what happens if Penn breezes to a victory? What if he finishes?

Outside of Condit, the only other standout contenders are Fitch, Anthony Johnson, Jake Ellenberger and possibly even Jake Shields again.

After drawing even with Penn at UFC 127, Fitch will likely need a win before he gets the nod to challenge for a world title. Johnson has an intriguing bout against Charlie Brenneman coming up at UFC on Versus 6, but he is still a big fight or two away from title contention.

Ellenberger will face Shields at UFC Fight Night 25. If Ellenberger wins, it should thrust him to the top of the 170-pound heap. A win for Shields would be great, but he would need another win over a quality opponent before he gets a second crack at UFC gold.

Penn is in a great spot as a welterweight hopeful.

After he crushed Hughes in 21 seconds of the first round at UFC 123, the media and fans alike became infatuated with "The Prodigy's" return to greatness. People didn't care that the victory was over an aging Hall-of-Famer, or that it was Penn's first win at 170-pounds in over six years.

The past was erased, and fans wanted to see Penn compete against welterweight title contenders.

At UFC 127, most thought Fitch would use his superior wrestling to hold Penn down and grind out a unanimous decision. It was shocking to see Penn come out and test Fitch's takedown defense with shots of his own.

The fact that the bout ended in a draw was more damning for Fitch than it was for Penn.

The majority expected Fitch to win, and when he couldn't close the deal, it put a damper on his title aspirations.

To top it all off, his shoulder injury forces him to sit and watch as Penn and Ellenberger both get shots at two of the division's most notable contenders.

Penn was the underdog against Fitch, and a draw was more than enough to convince the masses that he was a viable contender at welterweight.

Other than St-Pierre, there isn't a single fighter in the welterweight division with the pay-per-view draw of Penn. If he defeats Condit, "Baby Jay" could be well on his way to another UFC title shot.

As for a third bout with St-Pierre, it will all depend on the outcome of the French Canadian's highly-anticipated UFC 137 showdown with Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz. If welterweight gold is in Penn's plans, he should be rooting for Diaz.

A world title bout pitting Diaz against Penn would make for an instant classic.

Whether it's against St-Pierre or Diaz, don't be shocked if you see Penn competing for the welterweight title in 2012.