by John Morgan on Aug 27, 2009 at 7:15 pm ET
PORTLAND, Ore. – The recently rumored UFC lightweight title fight between current champion B.J. Penn and challenger Diego Sanchez will happen this fall according to UFC president Dana White, but it won't happen in England.
At today's UFC 102 pre-fight press conference in Portland, Ore., White said he was working on a deal that would see the organization host a third event in November.
And while UFC 105 will air on SpikeTV on Nov. 14 and UFC 106 will be seen on pay per view Nov. 21, White said the potential new date won't be viewed on either platform.
"It's Penn-Sanchez, but I don't know where yet," White said. "We're working on a deal right now. That fight might end up somewhere else – and it definitely won't be in Manchester."
Penn vowed following his January 2008 win over Joe Stevenson in Newcastle, England, that he would no longer fight overseas due to the discrepancy in pay and the challenges of battling jet lag. White insisted that had nothing to do with his decision to move the bout from its originally rumored location.
"B.J. doesn't want to fight anywhere," White joked. "He didn't want to fight in Las Vegas because he didn't like the [the Nevada State Athletic Commission's decision regarding Greasegate.] Then when they called it 'The B.J. Penn Rule,' now he likes Las Vegas and wants to fight. Don't even get me started.
"But listen, you have to fight wherever we have fights. You've got to fight. If I need him to fight in Manchester, he's got to fight in Manchester. But I'm working on something else for him right now."
White confirmed to www.mmajunkie.com that "something" was a potential third event for the organization in the month of November.
"We could go early November with another fight," White said.
Strikeforce is currently believed to be planning an event for Nov. 7 – a yet-to-be-announced card that would feature the recently booked Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers heavyweight clash. While that date would also seem to be the likely night for the UFC's third November card, White insisted he didn't need to launch a live event to successfully counter-program the rival organization.
"I can beat Strikeforce with a show that we've aired 790,000 times," White said. "I don't need to do a live event."
White said the third November event is not yet a certainty, but he's currently working to close a deal for the new card. And should he complete the negotiations, it will apparently include a new broadcast partner as well.
When asked by MMAjunkie.com whether the event would fall to Spike TV or pay per view, White's response was simple.
"Neither," White said. "Wait and see boys."
(Pictured: Dana White)
John Morgan is the lead staff reporter for MMAjunkie.com
Seems ABC/ESPN is the leading candidate based on the rumours going around. That would be HUGE to have the UFC on ESPN for a mainstream audience.
