Court Sides with Zuffa Against BJ Penn
Oct 1, 2004
LAS VEGAS, NEV., September 30, 2004…The scheduled Ultimate Fighting
Championshipâ welterweight title fight between former champion
Matt Hughes (37-4-0) from
Hillsboro, Ill., and Georges St. Pierre (7-0-0) of Montreal,
Quebec, Canada, will come off as scheduled October 22 at UFC 50:
War Of 04 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, following the
recent (Tuesday, Sept. 28) ruling by a Clark County (Nev.) judge
that denied a motion by former champion BJ Penn that sought to
prevent the title bout.
Clark County (Nev.) District Court Judge Ken Cory denied the motion and an official court order concerning the denial will be issued in the near future.
“The judge listened to hours of legal arguments and testimony, then ruled that BJ did not have the right to stop the UFC welterweight championship from taking place on October 22. We are pleased that the judge did not allow BJ to use the court system to prevent us from conducting our business,” said Dana White, UFC president. “We have no hard feelings towards BJ and wish him well with his career in K-1.”
Penn won the UFC welterweight title January 31 in Las Vegas with a first-round, tap out victory over Hughes. But he then signed a contract to fight in K-1, an international kickboxing organization.
Clark County (Nev.) District Court Judge Ken Cory denied the motion and an official court order concerning the denial will be issued in the near future.
“The judge listened to hours of legal arguments and testimony, then ruled that BJ did not have the right to stop the UFC welterweight championship from taking place on October 22. We are pleased that the judge did not allow BJ to use the court system to prevent us from conducting our business,” said Dana White, UFC president. “We have no hard feelings towards BJ and wish him well with his career in K-1.”
Penn won the UFC welterweight title January 31 in Las Vegas with a first-round, tap out victory over Hughes. But he then signed a contract to fight in K-1, an international kickboxing organization.
