• UFC 127

Fitch has picked the wrong guy to mess with - Penn

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BJ Penn has warned Jon Fitch that he has picked the wrong man against whom to prove he is worthy of another UFC welterweight title shot.

Fitch is just about the most consistent performer in the UFC, winning 13 of his 14 bouts since joining MMA's premier organisation in 2005. Only Georges St-Pierre has beaten the AKA fighter, the only defeat suffered by Fitch in his last 22 career fights.

Now he wants a second crack at the welterweight title and, due to a fighting style that is not always easy on the eye, Fitch knows he must beat star names like Penn to turns the heads of the UFC bosses.

However, Penn is a former two-weight champion, coming off a 21-second knockout of Matt Hughes, and he warned Fitch that he has picked the wrong man.

"I really feel like I'm the most dangerous guy out there," said Penn. "A two-time world champion... I'm definitely the wrong guy to go up against right now.

"The reason I took the fight is because Jon Fitch is that good. I want to see what he has. No disrespect to Jon Fitch, but show me, show me how good you are."

Fitch is a grinder, with his last eight fights going to a decision, while Penn's cardio has been questioned in the past. However, the Prodigy rejects the theory that the fight belongs to Fitch the longer it goes.

"I can see him wanting to make this a chess match and a grind. But what can be done in the third round can be done in the first. I am going to just try and beat him as soon as the fight starts.

"He can formulate his gameplan and think, 'all I have to do is weather the first round and then I've got him in the second and third'. But to Jon Fitch, and everybody coaching him, go ahead and do that. Because I'm coming there to fight, and to win, not the other way around."

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