• UFC 118

Penn and Florian could give UFC a dilemma - Zelaznik

ESPN staff
August 19, 2010

To guarantee your front-row seat for UFC 118 on August 28, subscription details can be found here.

Marshall Zelaznik has confessed BJ Penn could well be forced into the welterweight division if he and Kenny Florian are successful at UFC 118.

Zelaznik, the UFC UK president, cast his eye over the state of the lightweight division during a recent interview with ESPN.co.uk. August's UFC 118 card features something of a 155lb tournament, with Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard fighting for the right to become No. 1 contender, before Penn attempts to reclaim his title against Frankie Edgar.

A win for Edgar would make matters simple, with Florian or Maynard earning the title shot. A victory for Penn and Maynard would also hand the Prodigy a new challenge, having never beaten Maynard before. However, triumphs for Penn and Florian would set up a rematch of their clash 12 months ago, when the Prodigy dominated Florian, and Zelaznik admits that scenario might not prove so straight-forward.

"Penn and Florian only recently happened, and it was a pretty overpowering performance from BJ," he told ESPN.co.uk.

"Depending on the BJ v Frankie fight, if BJ takes a narrow victory there is the potential for a trilogy between them.

"If Frankie were to win, it's very easy to say the winner of Florian v Maynard fights for the championship.

"But if BJ wins and Florian wins, then it puts pressure on the match-making. That then puts the possibility of BJ stepping up a weight class back on the table."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close