Will B.J. Penn / Georges St. Pierre III Happen?

B.J. Penn has "accepted" a challenge from Georges St. Pierre and Greg Jackson for a fight in the summer of 2009, according to a recent posting on B.J. Penn's personal website. He says "Let's call Dana now and set it up".

Many people that I talk to are pretty divided as to whether or not they want to see Georges St. Pierre / B.J. Penn III.

Sure the fight would undoubtedly do huge numbers for the UFC, but the question is: would Dana White and the UFC really want to put on this fight, especially in the summer of 2009? The answer might not be as clear as you think.

In the aftermath of "Greasegate", many people feel as though St. Pierre / Penn III has to happen, and as soon as possible. The obvious choice, they argue, would be for Penn and St. Pierre to square off in the main event of UFC 100.

The fight would do huge numbers for the UFC and allow St. Pierre, one of the UFC's biggest stars, to save some face after being publicly questioned about his corner's use of Vaseline in his recent fight with Penn. Another epic beatdown of B.J. Penn would allow the matter to be dropped, and both fighters could continue destroying their respective weight classes.

Here are the issues that that UFC has to consider when it comes to St. Pierre / Penn III:

1. An immediate rematch between the two fighters would cause havoc in their respective divisions. Ok, let's say that Penn / St. Pierre III happens at UFC 100. What about Kenny Florian and Thiago Alves, who are both patiently waiting for their shot at B.J. Penn and St. Pierre? They would have to wait until the winter of 2009 to get their shots - that is almost a year away.

2. The Lightweight title situation. If Dana White OKs a Penn / St. Pierre III fight in the summer of 2009, then Penn's next lightweight title defense would likely take place in late 2009. His last title defense came in May of 2008, against Sean Sherk at UFC 84 - this would mean that there would be a 16 to 17 month gap between title defenses. There is just no way that the UFC will allow this to happen.

3. Georges St. Pierre / Anderson Silva. The UFC is building towards this "super" fight in 2010. They have publicly stated that they want St. Pierre to continue to clean out the Welterweight division before they would agree to a match with Silva. Another match with Penn would presumably delay this "super" fight from happening.

4. B.J. Penn and retirement. Penn has already publicly stated that he would have retired if he had beaten St. Pierre at UFC 94. Would the UFC really want to take the chance on a fighter holding two titles and retiring?

5. B.J. Penn and his legacy. What would another beatdown do to B.J. Penn and his status as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world? I'm not sure that the UFC wants to see one of their best fighters take another one-sided beating.

Having said all of that - I don't think that there is any chance that we will see St. Pierre / Penn III, especially this summer. Do you basically put two divisions on hold to put on this fight?

B.J. Penn will probably thrown a tantrum if he doesn't get an immediate rematch, but that's his problem. I just don't see how Dana White goes ahead with this match-up anytime soon.

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