Former champion and Hall of Famer BJ Penn is returning at UFC 237 in Brazil against in May against fellow veteran Clay Guida.
As first reported by MMA Fighting, BJ Penn is scheduled to return to the Octagon in a bout against Clay Guida at UFC 237.
BJ Penn, just a few years ago, was considered one of the best fighters of all-time, having incredible victories over the likes of Matt Hughes, Diego Sanchez, Jens Pulver, and Renzo Gracie. Penn was also a former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion, and was considered one of the greatest lightweights of all time. Penn was also notable for being one of the few fighters willing to fight at any weight class, once fighting Lyoto Machida at light heavyweight.
However, that BJ Penn is now gone. Penn hasn’t won a fight in nine years since his knockout victory over Matt Hughes at UFC 123. That isn’t stopping him from chasing that elusive victory, as he’s competed at three different weight classes since then and has fought the likes of Rory MacDonald, Ryan Hall, Dennis Siver, and Frankie Edgar. You can now potentially add Octagon veteran Clay Guida to that list of opponents after UFC 237.
Guida, last fought in June of 2018, a submission loss to Charles Oliveria in the first round. However, prior to that, he was on a two-fight winning streak, dominating Erik Koch and Joe Lauzon in that stretch. Prior to that, he took the young Brian Ortega to the limit but ultimately came up short in that fight.
The fight is expected to be Guida’s 27th in the Octagon, a mark that would put him fifth all-time in fights alongside Hall of Famers Tito Ortiz and Frank Mir. During his time in the UFC, he’s defeated the likes of Anthony Pettis, Rafael dos Anjos, Nate Diaz, and Takanori Gomi.
UFC 237 is currently headlined by strawweight champion Rose Namajunas defending her title against contender Jessica Andrade. The card is scheduled to go down on May 11 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
