A welterweight contender bout between B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch is now official for the main event of UFC 127.
The UFC made the official announcement on Monday morning.
UFC 127 takes place Feb. 27 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia. The event airs in its normal pay per view timeslot in the United States on Feb. 26. Tickets go on sale this week.
Penn recently scored his biggest welterweight win in years with a 21-second knockout win over rival Matt Hughes at UFC 123. The win earned him “Knockout of the Night” honors, and UFC President Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva immediately offered Penn the fight with Fitch. Penn accepted, Fitch accepted shortly after, and the rest is history.
Fitch enters the cage having strung together five straight wins, but is in danger of losing his UFC contract due to the perception that he has a boring style in the cage. A dynamic victory over Penn would almost assuredly earn him another shot at welterweight king Georges St. Pierre, who dispatched Fitch with ease in 2008.
The co-main event of the Australia show features Michael Bisping taking on Jorge Rivera.
