UFC 137: 4 Reasons B.J. Penn vs. Nick Diaz Was the Right Move to Make

Dana White just announced on twitter that Nick Diaz will take on BJ Penn at UFC 137.

Diaz was pulled from his fight with Georges St-Pierre at the same event for missing two press conferences.

The UFC chose to replace Diaz with Carlos Condit, leaving the door open for the BJ Penn fight.

Diaz went from being the top welterweight contender to possibly getting cut by the UFC to now having a chance to redeem himself. 

Here are the reasons why this was the right move to make.

The Fight is more exciting and intriguing than the original one

Condit vs. Penn would have been a great fight.

But Diaz vs. Penn is a little more intriguing.

Both Penn and Diaz are known for their boxing skills as well as being black belts in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Both guys have also been known to be pretty cocky and tend not to have a filter on their thoughts. 

Another interesting point to this match is will the winner get a title shot. 

We see how Diaz has handled being in the spotlight and Penn has already lost to Georges St-Pierre twice. 

It keeps the UFC from finding a lack luster replacement.

When it was announced that Carlos Condit would be replacing Nick Diaz in the title fight, we wondered what would happen with the Penn fight.

Thanks to all of the injuries that have happened this year, the UFC has changed many cards around.

In some cases, the fights were subpar (Take Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt Hamill for example).

In other cases, fights were dropped from the card all together.  

Diaz vs. Penn was the most logical thing to do, especially if the company was not going to cut Diaz. 

It keeps us from seeing Jon Fitch vs. BJ Penn II

Penn and Fitch were originally supposed to have a rematch at some point.

Their first fight, which took place at UFC 127, ended in a majority draw much to everyone’s disappointment.

Injuries kept both men out for a while and other plans had to be made.

While their first fight wasn't bad by any means, it got pretty dull towards the end of the second and third rounds when Fitch gained control of the fight.

Fitch is arguably the second best welterweight in the UFC. But he’s arguably the most boring UFC fighter as well.

Putting Diaz in the fight with Penn is a way to prologue another Fitch fight for a little bit longer. 

It Keeps Diaz from Getting Fired

Despite all of the baggage that Diaz can bring with him, he still puts on a good show.

Dana White had every right to fire Diaz after dropping him from the title fight with St-Pierre.

But being the businessman that he is, White knows that Penn vs. Diaz would be the best possible match to make right now.

The fans want to see it, it doesn't involve the hassle of pulling a fighter off of another card, and Diaz and Penn are two guys who really don't care who they fight. 

This was the right move to make.