BJ Penn vs. the World: 6 Rumored Opponents for Him at UFC 137

This week has been absolutely crazy for MMA news, but we may be adding one of the biggest things yet as BJ Penn has apparently found a replacement opponent for UFC 137.

Though the opponent is reportedly being secured at this time, the UFC and BJ Penn himself are remaining hush-hush about the news, opting to make us fans sweat even more than we already have this week.

BJ’s brother JD Penn spoke on Twitter regarding the fight:

"nothing concrete yet, but it will be huge!"

As is to be expected, there are quite a few rumors floating around the Internet surrounding who the opponent might actually be. Without addressing specifically where these rumors are coming from (because who really knows?), it is interesting to look at some of the most rumored possibilities that are being discussed by fans. 

Thiago Alves

Thiago Alves was on pace to make another run at a UFC welterweight title shot before he was surprised by Rick Story who grinded him out for a unanimous decision victory at UFC 130 this past May.

Alves has the talent to compete with just about anyone in the welterweight division, but his struggles have consistently been against top level wrestlers like Jon Fitch, Georges St-Pierre and the aforementioned Story.

Penn vs. Alves would be an interesting stylistic matchup between two fighters who can do some serious damage on the feet. Penn does have the wrestling skill to take him down, but it seems unlikely that he would.

Gilbert Melendez

The Strikeforce welterweight champion has not officially been signed to a UFC contract, but it wouldn’t be the first time that a Strikeforce fighter’s signing would run together with a huge fight announcement this week, would it?

Melendez would be a very interesting opponent for Penn, but the big question would obviously be surrounding what weight the fight would take place at? Would it be at 155 pounds? Would Melendez move up to 170 pounds? Or could the fight take place at a catchweight somewhere in-between?

One thing is for sure, these two superstars would put on an absolute show in the UFC 137 semi-main event. 

Nate Marquardt

That’s right, the same guy who was fired from the company just a short while ago could already be back as soon as UFC 137.

Marquardt completely screwed up the main event between himself and Rick Story at the most recent UFC on Versus fight card, but it later turned out that he was unable to pass a drug test due to incorrect information provided to him from his doctors.

Testosterone replacement therapy is legal between fights, but the fighter’s testosterone levels must be low enough to pass the test. His were not. As such, Marquardt was forced out of the fight and replaced by Charlie Brenneman.

But BJ Penn has not been willing to give Marquardt a pass. The two fighters have been going at it on Twitter with Penn asserting that Marquardt is a cheater.

This would be a great “bad blood” fight and a welcome return to the UFC for Nate Marquardt.

Nick Diaz

This one is rather shocking to some considering that he was just dropped from the main event against GSP yesterday, but Nick Diaz vs. BJ Penn is already being rumored.

Once Diaz was found to be healthy, he posted a video proclaiming that he “just wants to fight,” so perhaps this is his chance to get back in the good-graces of the UFC by taking a fight lower on the card. It would mean less media promotion from him, but Penn would still be the first top-10 welterweight opponent Diaz has fought since he left the UFC. 

Jon Fitch

One of the most likely options for Condit’s replacement could be BJ Penn’s previously scheduled UFC 132 opponent, Jon Fitch.

Fitch and Penn fought to a draw in the main event of UFC 127, with Penn narrowly escaping the third round after taking a thorough beating in the final five minutes of the bout. Penn himself even admitted that he thought he was going to lose a judges’ decision.

The two fighters quickly agreed that they needed to settle the score, but both were removed from the scheduled UFC 132 rematch with injuries. Penn was already healthy enough to fight as he was scheduled to fight at UFC 137 against Condit, but Fitch had not yet been cleared.

Fitch did tweet today, however, that he would be cleared to fight by the time UFC 137 rolls around, which leaves open the possibility that this rematch may finally happen.

Anderson Silva

What?!

That’s right, one of the biggest rumors floating around is that BJ Penn’s UFC 137 opponent may just be the consensus No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Anderson Silva.

Silva currently fights at 185 pounds, so this would obviously be a case of Penn moving up in weight class to fight at middleweight. But that’s nothing new for the Hawaiian who has even fought Silva’s teammate, Lyoto Machida, who fights all the way up at 205.

Penn has repeatedly stated throughout his career that he just wants to fight the best. He has made a career, win or lose, by fighting the absolute best that the world has to offer regardless of the weight that the fight is taking place at. This is another chance for him to prove that he is willing to fight anyone, any time.

Penn believes Silva is the greatest in the world today and Silva himself has also stated that he believes BJ Penn is truly the greatest fighter of all time. The “bromance” between these two would likely lead to very little trash talk, but it could still be a very interesting fight.

It is true that Silva is coming off a fight just a couple of weeks ago, but he took practically no damage in that fight and he is the kind of fighter who would likely jump at the opportunity to compete against someone whom he believes is one of the best ever.