Why was B.J. Penn so quick to accept a fight against Nick Diaz at UFC 137, despite spending most of his training camp preparing for Carlos Condit?
Because UFC President Dana White made him an offer he couldn't refuse. That's according to a "compensated" Penn, who tells 5th Round that his pot is now sweet.
"Dana sweetened the pot for me and he made it worth my while, for sure, to take this fight. He compensated me."
Having a barrel of cash delivered to your door in Hilo can take some of the sting out of being "hoodwinked," which is how "The Prodigy" explained the genesis of the re-worked main event for Oct. 29 in Las Vegas.
Penn elaborates to MMA Fighting:
"Dana called us and said that Cesar just called us and said they would love to fight B.J. Penn and that's the fight they want so I texted Cesar and said, 'Dana just texted us and told us that's the fight you want.' I don't know, maybe Cesar didn't want to say that he said that, he texted back LOL, Dana just told us the same thing, so I ended up thinking Dana was trying to set me up and get me into a personal thing but it was really Cesar, Cesar hoodwinked me I guess."
Diaz was demoted from his fight against Georges St. Pierre in the UFC 137 main event after failing to uphold his media responsibilities, which led to Condit being moved up to take his place.
When St. Pierre was injured, Diaz was elevated back to main event status to fill the void after "The Natural Born Killer" opted to wait on the sidelines for "Rush" to get better. All part of Cesar Gracie's master plan? Or just dumb luck?
Would anyone out there have handled this thing any differently?
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