Surprise! What’s former champ BJ Penn doing in Boston for UFC 292?!?

Former UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn is in the house.

The retired “Prodigy” will be on the sidelines cheering for his longtime training partner Marlon Vera at the upcoming UFC 292 pay-per-view (PPV) event, scheduled for this Sat. night (Aug. 19, 2023) at TD Garden in Boston.

“Chito” battles fellow bantamweight veteran Pedro Munhoz.

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MASSIVE MIDDLEWEIGHT MATCH! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) makes its highly anticipated return to Sydney, Australia, for the first time in five years on Sat., Sept. 9, 2023, with a 185-pound world title fight inside Qudos Bank Arena. In the ESPN+-streamed pay-per-view (PPV) main event, Middleweight roost-ruler, Israel Adesanya, plans to silence No. 5-seeded contender, Sean Strickland. In UFC 293’s hard-hitting Heavyweight co-main event, No-6-ranked fan favorite, Tai Tuivasa, locks horns with towering Russian, Alexander Volkov (No. 8).

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“I always train with ‘Chito’ but this time, he took care of this by himself,” Penn said on Episode 1 of the UFC 292 “Embedded” video blog. “A big boy now, you know? A contender. He does have all the championship qualities and what it is, is the work ethic. He wants it.”

Vera is ranked four spots above Munhoz in the official UFC rankings.

“Chito” (20-8-1) was originally expected to face off against former champion Henry Cejudo; however, “Triple C” withdrew due to injury, paving the way for Munhoz to step in. No question a victory for either fighter will help shape the future of the 135-pound title chase.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 292 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 292: “Sterling vs. O’Malley” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.