Rory MacDonald: 'Not only will I beat BJ Penn, I'll probably end up killing him in the process'

There's that k-word again.

Not long after Strikeforce Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey threatened to murder Sarah Kaufman at last weekend's Showtime event in San Diego, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight contender Rory MacDonald warned mixed martial arts (MMA) fans he may end up killing B.J. Penn.

The same B.J. Penn who once told MacDonald's mentor, Georges St. Pierre, they would fight to the death.

"Ares" is expected to face off against "The Prodigy" at the upcoming UFC on FOX 5 event scheduled for Dec. 8, 2012 after their initial match-up at UFC 152 was postponed thanks to a huge gash the Canadian suffered in training camp, which the Hawaiian claims was just an excuse to get out of fighting because "he knew he was gonna lose."

After the jump, MacDonald tells the Tim and Sid show on SportsNet.ca how Penn is full of crap and why he may end up dead on fight night.

Check it out.

"That's just a bunch of bullshit. Not only do I know I'm going to win, but I'll probably end up killing him in the process. He can't get me riled up. I just think he's a joker, he's trying to get attention and get his fans hyped up."

Them fightin' words.

Penn specifically came out of his self-imposed retirement to fight MacDonald, after calling it quits in the wake of his unanimous decision loss to Nick Diaz at UFC 137 last October. He's a heavy underdog against TriStar's top prospect and may not have much of a future with another high-profile defeat.

But will he get out of the cage alive?

Let's get some feedback on the resurgence of death threats as they pertain to MMA. Anyone think they're in poor taste in light of the recent tragedy in South Carolina? Or just poor taste, period?

Thoughts?