UFC
Rory MacDonald wants to be B.J. Penn's opponent in "The Prodigy's" UFC return
Jun 5, 2012 - 11:15:17 AM Rory MacDonald wants to be B.J. Penn's opponent in "The Prodigy's" UFC return

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

There continues to be a push to bring B.J. Penn back into the Octagon. The UFC used Josh Koscheck as a proxy to try to goad him out of his hiatus last month, but Penn at the time said he wasn't coming back anytime soon. Then, in a recent interview, Penn said he was "warming up" to the idea of a comeback.

Now he's got another fighter calling him out for a return fight: 22-year-old Rory MacDonald.

"Right now I feel there's a guy that I want to fight before he leaves the sport and that's B.J. Penn," MacDonald said in an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. "That's a guy I really want to fight. I respect him a lot. He's a legend and I think it'd be a really good matchup for me to have that fight in Toronto."

"I think it'd be a great opportunity. I'd love the opportunity to fight a guy I've looked up to for a long time and watched since I've been a young kid, so we'll see if he accepts. I'm throwing the idea out there. If he'd like to do it, I'm more than ready to accept."

MacDonald has come on strong in the UFC's welterweight division, though his level of competition has regressed since his second bout in the organization. He came close to defeating now-Interim Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit before being taken out in the third round, suffering his only defeat to date. Now, after notching his third straight win since then, MacDonald wants the chance to fight one of the sport's legends.

"It's more of the idea that he may be retiring, so how many opportunities am l going to get to fight a guy like B.J. after he's gone?" he said. "I think it'd be a great fight. I know I'm going to fight all these guys in the top 10 eventually. I'm a young guy and these guys are going to be around for a long time and I know I'm going to get my shot against all these guys, and maybe I'll be missing my opportunity if I wait too long with B.J."

Penick's Analysis: It's a fight that would certainly mean a lot to a young up and coming fighter like MacDonald, but that doesn't mean it would make sense for Penn. "The Prodigy" is more than likely not going to be making a run at a title shot again, so his return is going to necessitate a fight against a big name that can sell. While MacDonald is a great young fighter, he's not that name right now, and I don't think he's going to be the one to bring Penn back to the Octagon. It's a fight I'd be highly interested in watching, but Penn may not be up for that type of a matchup.

[B.J. Penn art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]