B.J. Penn Says UFC Doesn’t Want Him to Rematch Jon Fitch

BJ Penn and Jon Fitch at the UFC 127 weigh-ins

Nobody likes a draw.

Fans don’t like it. Fighters don’t like. Promoters don’t like it.

So when B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch fought to a draw at UFC 127 in Australia earlier this year, it was assumed that the rematch was a foregone conclusion.

If fact, a rematch was nearly set to go at UFC 132, but he had to withdraw from the proposed bout due to an injury suffered in their first fight. Fitch tore a rotator cuff muscle and had to have surgery to repair it and clean up his labrum.

Penn was also recovering from a shoulder injury, although less severe than Fitch’s, so he dropped off the UFC 132 fight card as well.

Most people assumed that once the two healed up, they would step into the Octagon again and finish what neither could the first go-around.

The fighters have been egging each other on via Twitter, which culminated in Fitch saying he’d be good to go by October and Penn said that was fine by him.

Reliable MMAWeekly.com sources even said that speculation was that the two would headline a fight card sometime in late fall or early winter.

Despite all the build-up and the desire of Fitch and Penn to settle the score, a hiccup in the plan surfaced… the UFC apparently doesn’t want the fight, at least, according to Penn.

The Hawaiian tweeted on Monday, “@jonfitchdotnet tried to make it happen but Joe Silva said ‘the fans don’t want it & I’m not interested.’ Not much more I can do on my end.”

Fitch has often been criticized for a fighting style that isn’t considered fan friendly. True to form, Fitch consistently took Penn down and controlled him on the ground, but couldn’t really put the screws to him to finish the fight or get the judges’ nod. But if the UFC is going to have him fight, it’s surprising that they wouldn’t put him back in the Octagon with Penn to declare a winner.

Of course, UFC president Dana White has often said he makes the fights that fans want to see. So if fans don’t want to see Penn vs. Fitch 2, then he’s not likely to go there.

Is the Twitter chatter wrong? Do you want to see these two go at it and determine a winner or should the fight just fade away?