Some UFC 105 news

[Impact!]

A lightweight championship bout between 155-pound title-holder BJ Penn and challenger Diego Sanchez is set to headline UFC 105 on November 14 in Manchester, England, according to Inside Fights, citing a source within the UFC. Penn (14-5-1) successfully defended the lightweight belt earlier this month at UFC 101, defeating Kenny Florian by fourth-round submission for his fourth win in last five fights. Prior to a January loss to Georges St-Pierre at welterweight, “The Prodigy” won consecutive lightweight bouts over Jens Pulver, Joe Stevenson, and Sean Sherk. Following his win over Florian, Penn announced that he’d like to return to the Octagon quickly to take on Sanchez and it appears he’ll get his wish by headlining UFC 105, which is expected to air for free on tape-delay on Spike TV. Sanchez (23-2), a former welterweight contender with wins over the likes of Nick Diaz, Joe Riggs, and Karo Parisyan, made his anticipated lightweight debut in February with a unanimous decision over Joe Stevenson. In his most-recent fight, “Nightmare” topped Clay Guida by split decision in June in a victory that has apparently earned him a shot at the 155-pound belt.

Rumors are making the rounds today that a middleweight bout between Michael Bisping and Denis Kang is in the works to co-headline UFC 105 on November 14 in Manchester, England. Bisping (17-2), who had been approached about fighting Wanderlei Silva in the UFC 105 main event before Silva recently underwent surgery to repair a deviated septum, is coming off a devastating knockout loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 100 last month, his first loss since moving down to middleweight in 2008. The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner is 7-2 in the UFC, including recent wins at 185-pounds over Charles McCarthy, Jason Day, and Chris Leben prior to the loss to Henderson. The former PRIDE and one-time DREAM fight Kang (32-11-1) was upset by Alan Belcher in his UFC debut in January, but bounced back with a unanimous decision victory over Xavier Foupa-Pokam in April in his most-recent fight.

Welterweights Dan Hardy and Dong Hyun Kim are in talks to fight at UFC 105 on November 14 in Manchester, England, Fighters Only reports, with Kim having verbally accepted the matchup.