UFC 127 Results: Is Now the Time for 5-Round Non-Title Fights?

At UFC 127, BJ Penn and Jon Fitch fought to a majority draw in a three-round fight. Many fans have been lobbying the UFC for main events and other important non-title fights to be extended to five rounds. Could an extra two rounds have prevented this uneventful finish to UFC 127?

In the third round of the fight, Fitch held Penn down and dominated for the majority of the five minutes. The round appeared to weigh heavily on Penn physically and mentally. It is possible that Fitch could have used this momentum to win a fourth and fifth round decisively.

We have seen Penn quit in a five-round fight before, when he did not answer the bell for the fifth round of his second fight with Georges St. Pierre. Penn is an emotional fighter and another dominant round by Fitch could have been all that would have been needed to put an end to this fight.

On ESPN's MMA Live, Brian Stann mistakenly predicted that Fitch would win "via ground-and-pound in the third or fourth round." While it was a head-scratching moment at the time, perhaps Stann was on to something. Fitch's ground-and-pound was relentless in the third round and Penn had no answer. Maybe, Fitch could have put an end to the fight in a fourth round with more of the same.

Supposed to determine a new top contender in the welterweight division, this fight was too important to end in a draw.

Anything and everything should be done to prevent decisions like this from happening in high-profile fights in the future. Aside from an "overtime" round, extending these fights to five rounds might be the best possible solution.

At a recent event promoting UFC 129, Dana White hinted at a possible addition of five- round, non-title fights in the future. After the stir and disappointing finish to the event that this decision caused, now might be the best time for the UFC to begin implementing those five-round, non-title fights.

UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch Results, News and More

Sean Smith is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @BR_Sean_Smith