Penn Humble Following Hughes Destruction

The two rivals locked horns Saturday in the co-main event of UFC 123, fighting for a third time in front of a raucous crowd at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Mich.

In the pair's first meeting, heavy underdog Penn (Pictured) shocked the world by choking out the dominant champion in the opening round at UFC 46 in 2004. The rematch nearly three years later belonged to Hughes, who outlasted Penn's early offense to finish the fight in the third period by TKO. Tonight, the rubber match was over before it started, as the Hawaiian unleashed a dynamite counter right hand, flooring Hughes before following up with punches from top position to seal the deal.

At the post-fight press conference, the jiu-jitsu black belt was humble in victory.

“I felt fired up as soon as I got the phone call to fight Matt. Me and Matt put on great fights, and I’m just happy it went that way [tonight],” said Penn. “Matt Hughes is my idol, and he'll always be my idol.”

When asked to describe how he set up the lighting-quick right hand that spelled the beginning of the end for his opponent, the former two-division UFC champion was frank in his reply.

“I don't think that I really even set it up. I was just in there to fight. I wanted him to hit me, and I wanted to hit him,” he said. “I just wanted to go out there and fight like a kid.”

It's been nearly seven years since Penn first clashed with Hughes. Over the course of that time, says Penn, a lot has changed for both men.

“I think we both evolved very much over the years,” he said. “When a fight goes the way it did tonight, it's just one of those things. Who knows how it would have played out if it had gone longer. I’m sure Matt was in great shape.”

After the fight, Hughes was clearly upset by the outcome and the manner in which he was defeated. UFC president Dana White chimed in regarding Hughes' commitment to the bout at the post-fight presser.

“I know Matt Hughes trained hard for this fight and he was motivated. It's very rare for him to go train somewhere away from his family, and he trained for this fight in Utah with Jeremy Horn,” said White. “He took this fight very seriously. This is a big win for B.J.”

Regarding Hughes' future, White would not comment other than to remind the press in attendance how important the hall of famer has been in developing White's brand.

“Listen, there are guys I’ve talked about for years who helped build this company, and Matt is one of those guys,” said White. “We'll talk and we'll figure it out.”

Following the jaw-dropping knockout, Penn exited the cage almost immediately and began heading back toward the locker room, sparking the memory of his 11-second knockout over Caol Uno at UFC 34 in 2001.

“For the last 10 years, I was trying to recreate the Caol Uno fight,” said Penn. “But [after I ran out of the cage], I thought, 'I can't be disrespectful to Matt. I gotta go back in there and give Matt the honors.'”

In regards to the remainder of his UFC career, the Hawaiian is leaving the big decisions up to the powers that be.

“I want to get back in as soon as possible. I’m 31 and want to fight a lot more until I’m 35 and then maybe call it quits,” said Penn. “For the first time in my career, I’m going to let Dana make that call. Whatever Dana says, we'll go with that.”

White looked on with approval, saying “it only took 10 years.”