It's becoming increasingly clear that BJ Penn will not let his second loss to welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre go. Just today, he announced on his video blog that he is no longer willing to fight in Las Vegas, which hosts most UFC events.
So should the UFC give in to BJ and set up a third match? I've been against the idea until now, but there is a way to do it and actually have it make sense for the fans, the fighters, and the UFC.
UFC 94 did huge business on the back of BJ/GSP 2. And prior to UFC 94, neither guy was regarded as a major PPV draw - it always took other fighters to help bring in the masses. Think Brock's fight at UFC 87 and Tito's at UFC 84.
BJ and GSP became PPV draws by fighting each other. And if the UFC was willing to do a third Tito Ortiz/Ken Shamrock match, you better believe they'd do a third BJ/GSP match to cash in on bitter rivalry.
Getting BJ to cooperate would be far from easy and may require taking members of his family hostage, but here's how BJ/GSP 3 could happen:
1) Have BJ drop the lightweight belt and exit the division permanently if he beats Kenny Florian at UFC 101. Have two top contenders fight for the LW belt this December.
2) BJ fights at welterweight in December against a top 10 guy like Josh Koscheck or Jon Fitch - or even Hughes if he beats Serra.
3) Agree to give BJ another shot at GSP with two additional wins over top welterweights. Barring injuries, the match could happen in December 2010 in Montreal - a great way to close out the year.
This plan could work out for everyone:
1) The lightweight division would gain a champion that actually gives a damn about the belt.
2) BJ would fight more often and would be forced to work hard for another shot at GSP.
3) The UFC makes tons of money.
What do you guys think?


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