B.J. Penn is getting another shot at Octagon glory, this time against a fighter who has had bad blood with him for years.
The former two-division UFC champion will fight Nik Lentz in a lightweight bout at a date and location to be determined later. Penn and Lentz confirmed the news following an initial report by TSN, citing UFC president Dana White.
Penn told BJPenn.com that he would like to fight Lentz at UFC 244 in New York on Nov. 2, but White told TSN that he expects the yet-to-be officially announced matchup to take place at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi on Sept. 7.
In his last eight appearances, Penn, 40, has gone 0-7-1. He most recently lost a unanimous decision to Clay Guida at UFC 237 and has not won a fight since defeating Matt Hughes in November 2010. His pro record sits at 16-14-2.
Penn was one of the most dominant fighters in his prime, capturing both the welterweight and lightweight titles, the latter of which he successfully defended three consecutive times.
Lentz (30-10-2, 1 NC) has won two of his last three fights, though in his last fight he was defeated by second-round TKO in a trilogy bout with Charles Oliveira. Prior to that, he scored back-to-back wins over Scott Holtzman and Gray Maynard.
Penn and Lentz publicly feuded in 2016, though a fight between the two never materialized.
Watch the video above for a recap of the past beef between the two lightweights.
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