B.J. Penn hopes to fight at UFC Rio

[VCURamFan]

From FiveKnuckles.com:

B.J. Penn hopes to compete at UFC 134 which takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. If a slot on the card is granted to him, he would spend a month training out of Nova Uniao in Brazil, according to Fighters Only Magazine.

Nova Uniao trainer Andre Pederneiras awarded Penn his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Penn recently met back up with Pederneiras at UFC 129. While he was there to take in the fights and the Fan Expo, once Penn caught wind of Pederneiras' presence he quickly hoped to train with him once more.

“I just had arrived in the hotel and met Anderson Silva who told me he was going to spar with Junior [Jose Aldo]," Penn said. "When I found out Dede Pederneiras was there, I put my training clothes on straight away and went to train with them."

Pederneiras was obviously there to corner Jose Aldo in his featherweight title fight against Mark Hominick. If Penn were to train at Nova Uniao, he would be training alongside world renowned fighters such as Aldo, Marlon Sandro and Wagnney Fabiano.

Penn has quite a relationship with Brazilian fans. His rapid ascent into the upper echelon of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world can partially explain the respect between the two parties. Brazilian fighters have also seemed to gravitate towards "The Prodigy." Anderson Silva has constantly praised Penn in interviews and as recently as UFC 129 placed Penn as one of the top fighters in the sport.

Hot dawg.. I love that pic of baby Jay.. I hope his body is ready..

it won't be fitch .. so i hope he fights and gets a good opponent ..