"I got a lot of offers from all these other guys to fight, but when I got the offer from Rory, I said, 'Good, I get to fight that brain of Tri-Star Gym,'" he told hosts Jens and Abel Pulver. "A lot of it is [trainer] Firas [Zihabi]. They got a good thing going on up there, they have a good team, and they're making a lot of waves. Of course, they got St. Pierre, who is going to go down as the greatest welterweight in history, and now they got another guy they think will be the champion. Im not thinking about any belts or anything, but Im pretty good myself. I want to show them, I want to show the world that youre not going to just walk in and kick my butt for four rounds. No way. Youre going to the hospital, too. If I go to the hospital, youre going to the hospital, too."
"Everything is in the past but Id like to get out there, show Tri-Star gym and their fans or whatever that Im a worthy opponent," he said. "Im not just a guy that will walk in the ring and somebody's going to walk across and crush me. Thats not going to be the story."
Characterizing the MacDonald fight as "a great challenge and a great task," Penn said he would soon go about the task of whipping himself into fighting shape. The first item on his preparation list is simple weight loss.
Penn said he's grown a "big belly" since going on hiatus, now weighting about 185. He said he'd like to lose about 20 pounds before heading into an intensive camp. On the bright side though, Penn noted that the time off has his body feeling revitalized, saying he feels 22.
"I know when I'm going in at full gear and everything's ready to go, he ain't going to see my fists coming, he ain't going to see my takedowns, he ain't going to be able to stop my submissions," he said. "I feel very confident.
The 33-year-old Penn wouldn't speculate on his career past the MacDonald fight, saying that he could eventually move back down to lightweight, but believed this to be the last fight on his current UFC contract, making the future hinge on the result.
As for the prospect of facing MacDonald on his home turf in Canada at UFC 152, that's no bother for Penn, who as always, welcomes any challenge.
"I'm ready to fly up to Toronto, the belly of the beast," he said. "Im going to see a fire-breathing dragon, and Im going to pull out my sword. I'm ready. I'm ready to do this."