Tony Ferguson is out of his UFC on Fox 19 headline bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov and BJ Penn wants to take his place.
Ferguson may have saved his life by pulling out of the fight after he revealed that
blood/fluid in his lung forced him out of the April 19 event.
Donald Cerrone and
Rafael dos Anjos have both offered to fight Khabib and it is expected that Cowboy will get the
call to take on the undefeated Dagestani in a welterweight bout on the same card.
However, another man who has thrown his hat into the ring is former lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn. According to MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani, the legendary fighter has let the Zuffa big wigs know that he wants his crack at the Eagle.
https://twitter.com/arielhelwani/status/717544176364158976
Last time we saw Penn inside the Octagon, he was getting his ass handed to him by Frankie Edgar in a featherweight clash at the TUF 19 finale in July 2014. Penn retired shortly after the Answer losing via third round TKO but in January 2016, he announced his intention to return to the fight game.
However, fans have made it clear that they do not want to see the Prodigy fight Khabib. The general consensus is that the Hawaiian is past his prime, made known by his 0-3-1 record in his last four fights, while Khabib, who's never been beaten and holds a win over RDA is very much on the rise.
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