Det var planerat att Rory MacDonald och BJ Penn skulle ställas mot varandra på UFC 152 men ett djupt jack över ögat, som MacDonald ådrog sig under en sparringsession, satte stopp för mötet. Matchen är nu ombokad och planerad till UFC on FOX 5 den 8 december.
I de öppna diskussionerna mellan Penn och MacDonald i väntan på att matchen skulle ombokas uttalande sig Penn om att den unge kanadensaren visste att han skulle förlora och att det var därför han valde att dra sig ur matchen.
”I know the reason why Rory [MacDonald] pulled out on September 22nd. The cut is a detail but I know the reason why he pulled out is because he knew he wasn’t gonna win. If he let that cut heal, tried to train, whatever it was, whether he should have been in shape already… I’ve never heard of a guy pulling out of a fight 10 weeks early from a cut. Never in my life have I heard of a guy, 10 weeks before a fight, he got cut, he pulled out. You know what I mean? He feels he has to to what’s best for him, for his team, they’re gonna do that, but it’s 100 percent fact that the reason why they pulled out is because they knew they were gonna lose on September 22nd. If not, you wouldn’t pull out, you would go. Like I said, I had a cut on my eye, 13 stitches inside and out five weeks before the Diaz fight. Didn’t care. Opened up from eight weeks every week all the way up to the fifth week before the Diaz fight but did I ever think about pulling out? Not even once.”, sa Penn till Sherdog.
Nu har svaret kommit från MacDonald och det är hårda bud.
”That’s just a bunch of bullshit. Not only do I know I’m going to win, but I’ll probably end up killing him in the process. He can’t get me riled up. I just think he’s a joker, he’s trying to get attention and get his fans hyped up.”, säger MacDonald till SportsNet.
