A few days before he attempts to defend his Lightweight Championship against Frankie Edgar at UFC 112, BJ Penn revealed that he is interested in making a move to the Welterweight division. As of now, Penn isn’t sure if he will split time between the two weight classes or relinquish his belt and switch to 170 pounds permanently. Unlike his last attempt, when he immediately fought Georges St. Pierre for the Welterweight title, Penn intends on taking things slower this time around.

“If everything goes well on April 10, I definitely would consider moving up to 170. Not that I’m – not that it’s 100-percent guaranteed. If I do make that move I’m going to move slow. I’m not going to try to rush anything. Maybe I would think about it more as testing the waters. I’d talk to Dana and see if he would want me to vacate the belt, but maybe try do something like Anderson (Silva) is doing, test the waters, see how everything is going and see how everything plays out.”

If Penn is able to defeat Edgar, he will have virtually cleared out the weight class. Besides rematches, Gray Maynard is the only name that immediately comes to mind as a potential number one contender. Penn’s intention to move up is not out of disrespect to the 155 pound division, he simply wants to challenge himself and put on memorable fights before his career winds to a close.

“I try to just be true to myself and what my own personal goals are. And if I feel in my life that I want to try to take a fight at 170 pounds, I’ve got to stay true to myself and to my motivation. Of course, anybody would like a free shot for the title. But like I said, I want to take my time. I want to test the waters. And it’s exactly what Anderson said, we just want to put on some other great fights. That’s what this whole thing is about is about, putting on the biggest and the greatest fights in history.”

In addition to a potential third fight with St. Pierre, Penn would find a wealth of new challengers in the Welterweight division. Bouts against the likes of Thiago Alves, Paul Daley, Jon Fitch and even Dustin Hazelett could be very entertaining. Rematches with Matt Hughes or Matt Serra would also make for an interesting transition back to 170 pounds.

(source: MMA Weekly)