B.J. Penn comeback fight pushed back to UFC 197 in April

Fans of B.J. Penn are going to have to wait a little longer to see the legend back in the Octagon.

Penn had previously announced that he was going to be fighting at UFC 196 on March 5. He was informed by UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby that those plans have changed.

"I thought the fight guaranteed was going to happen because the UFC, they set up the medicals for me to do," Penn said on his official website. "I did the medicals and they were sending a film crew down and we were getting all that together and I assumed we were setting up the fight, and that might have been what was happening.

"But at the end of the day, Sean Shelby called me and said it would be more convenient for all of us to move the fight to April 23rd."

UFC 197 in April is headlined by a pair of title fights: a flyweight tilt between champion Demetrious Johnson and Henry Cejudo, and a light heavyweight championship rematch between titleholder Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones.

"The Prodigy" expressed remorse for anyone that purchased a ticket expecting him to join stars Holly Holm, Rafael dos Anjos, and Conor McGregor at UFC 196.

"I apologize," Penn said. "I thought the fight was going 100 percent on March 5th. This change I can't control but hope to have the fans support on April 23rd in Las Vegas."