UFC 137: B.J. Penn Will Go Five Rounds if Paid by UFC or Cesar Gracie

[WrestlingSmarks News]

With the injury to Georges St. Pierre forcing B.J. Penn and Nick Diaz into the main event slot at UFC 137, there was some curiosity from fans wondering if Penn vs. Diaz would now be a five round fight. UFC president Dana White was quick to say that the fight would remain a three rounder.

For me, that was a shame. In my mind one of the UFC's most accomplished champions and the current Strikeforce champion should not be fighting a three round fight.

Diaz's manager, Cesar Gracie, was quick to start goading Penn into turning it into a five rounder. This was a smart move on his part as the one place where Diaz has the edge is in his endurance.

Penn has now responded, and he's open to the late notice change. But he wants to get paid for it (via MMA Weekly):

"I want to be compensated accordingly and that's it. I'm more than willing to do a five-round fight," Penn told MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday. "If Dana wants a five-round fight, just give me a call and we can put it together right now.

"Or if Cesar wants to make it a five-round fight and he wants to compensate me personally, he can put his money where his mouth is, it's that easy. I've been training to fight. I'm ready to fight."

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I can't blame B.J. for wanting to get paid to take such a big change on short notice. It's just a shame that this wasn't five rounds to begin with.