Jon Fitch: B.J. Penn is a coward, wouldn't be welcome at AKA

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"Here at AKA, we've got fighters who come out to fight, fighters who will face anyone and don't hide from any opponents. You've also got cowards out there like B.J. Penn who say they want to fight people, but then they run and hide... Yes. He's a coward. He wouldn't be welcomed here."

-Jon Fitch goes after onetime opponent B.J. Penn during a conference call to promote the upcoming "Fight Factory" program on Nuvo TV (transcribed by MMAFighting.com).

Penick's Analysis: Fitch is still sore about not getting a rematch with Penn after their draw last year. One almost came to fruition last summer, but injuries kept them both out of action until later in the year. Fitch wouldn't return until UFC 141 in December, and as Penn didn't want to wait that long for him, he took a bout with Nick Diaz in October, losing and subsequently retiring. With Penn returning to action, Fitch would clearly still like to fight him, and calling him out as a coward might be his way of throwing his name into contention for a fight with Penn now that Rory MacDonald's out with a nasty gash over his eye. Will it work? Probably not, but it will likely garner an eventual response from Penn.

[Jon Fitch art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_14063.shtml

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