BJ Penn now fights Cole Miller at UFC 199; main-events FS1 prelims

 

BJ Penn was supposed to fight Dennis Siver but Siver got hurt.  Penn still wanted to fight because that’s what people who train to fight want to do in life.  But where to find an opponent?  Turns out, the UFC has a Rolodex with a bunch of guys who like to fight!  One of those names is Cole Miller, from American Top Team.  They called him and – in a shocker – he said that he would fight Penn.  Thus we have BJ Penn fighting Cole Miller at UFC 199.

 

The fight is Penn’s return to the UFC and his return to 145 lbs, all because of Mike Dolce.  Now training with Greg Jackson, Penn has convinced himself that he’s a new man and a new fighter and is ready to take on the world.  A return to fighting, at 145 or whatever weight, was always going to be a tough prospect for Penn.  Miller doesn’t make it any easier.  Penn goes from fighting a short, stocky guy to basically a 145 lb Nick Diaz.  Siver wasn’t one to set a pace, Miller is, and for a guy who has historically had problems with cardio, that’s no bueno for Penn.

 

 

But, a fight is a fight and this is a fight.  A fight that will also headline the UFC on FS1 undercard.  UFC 199 is a stacked card and that’s the evidence right there: one of the biggest stars in company history returns and he isn’t on the main PPV.  Though headlining the main prelims isn’t the worst place to be in life.

 

The full UFC 199 card is as follows.

 

1. Middleweight Luke Rockhold (c) vs. Chris Weidman for the UFC Middlweight Championship
2. Bantamweight Dominick Cruz (c) vs. Urijah Faber for the UFC Bantamweight Championship
3. Featherweight Max Holloway vs. Ricardo Lamas
4. Middleweight Dan Henderson vs. Hector Lombard
5. Lightweight Dustin Poirier vs. Bobby Green
6. Featherweight B.J. Penn vs. Cole Miller
7. Featherweight Brian Ortega vs. Clay Guida
8. Lightweight Beneil Dariush vs. James Vick
9. Women’s Strawweight Jessica Penne vs. Jessica Andrade
10. Welterweight Sean Strickland vs. Tom Breese
11. Light Heavyweight Jonathan Wilson vs. Luiz Henrique da Silva
12. Middleweight Kevin Casey vs. Elvis Mutapcic
13. Lightweight Polo Reyes vs. Dong Hyun Kim