Ricky Hatton believes B.J. Penn can be victorious when he meets Georges St-Pierre at UFC 94 early next year.

Hatton was sat at ringside in Las Vegas last weekend to witness Brock Lesnar defeat Randy Couture to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 91.

And Hatton, who came face-to-face with Penn at the MGM Grand on Saturday night, believes the UFC Lightweight Champion can get a win over the man who defeated him in their one previous clash at UFC 58 back in March 2006.

“He’s a little like me in some respects,” Hatton told The Sun. “He isn’t a natural welterweight but he’s willing to fight at welterweight to get the bigger fights.

“I totally understand him wanting to fight GSP again. It’s exactly how I feel wanting to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr again.

“BJ feels he didn’t give his best in that first fight, that he could have won it had he done things differently, and he’s willing to come back up to welterweight to prove it. You have to respect that in any sport.”

Hatton is in Las Vegas ahead of his showdown with Paulie Malignaggi this Saturday and again stated that British boxing could learn from Dana White’s promotion.

He added: “Rather than boxing ignore it or pretend it isn’t as big as it is, it should take a leaf out of the UFC’s book and start getting the crowd more involved with the show.

“The UFC has big screens all around the arena with pre-fight interviews on before the fight - why can’t boxing promoters in the UK do something like that?”

You can read the interview with Hatton in full, including details of Hatton’s friendship with Dana White, by clicking here.

UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2 takes place on January 31 in Las Vegas.

Phil Lowe
phil@ifight365.com