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I never would have thought we would see the last act in this trilogy, but it seems that Matt Hughes will battle BJ Penn at UFC 123.

In the first fight, Penn choked out Hughes in the first round at UFC 46. In the rematch at UFC 63, Hughes exacted his revenge by smothering Penn and pounding him with a barrage of punches until the ref stepped in to stop it in the third round.

These two fighters are going in opposite directions. Hughes looks to be rejuvenated and a better striker than he’s ever been with his recent wins over Ricardo Almeida and Renzo Gracie. Penn lost his belt to Frankie Edgar at UFC 112, then looked weak and exhausted in the rematch at UFC 118. Edgar simply dominated Penn, the likes of which we thought we would never see.

Hughes has looked so good recently that some fans are even predicting that he will again fight for the welterweight title at some point in the near future. Penn has nothing but questions surrounding him after 2 straight losses.

This could be the fight to get BJ Penn going in and get him in line for a title shot at 170, if that’s where he decides to stay. It’s hard to imagine Penn losing 3 straight, but Hughes looks reborn. It will definitely be a can’t-miss fight.