UFC 123 shocker: Penn sends Hughes home in 21 seconds

B.J. Penn is far from finished. Lightweight legend disappeared from pound-for-pound top 10 lists after dropping two fights to current UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar. Looks like Edgar is just that good and a terrible matchup for Penn. Against a slower, less dangerous striker in Matt Hughes, Penn looked like a world beater.

Hughes came out looking to strike and got drilled by a counter right. The former welterweight champ fell to his back where he took four blasting rights and a left. Referee Dan Miragliotta stepped in to save Hughes at 0:21 of the first round in the co-main event of UFC 123. 

UPDATE: Penn received an $80,000 bonus for knockout of the night. 

UPDATE II: Heavy.com reports that Penn will bounce back quickly to fight on Feb. 27 in the main event at UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia.

Seconds after the TKO, a confused Hughes asked his cornermen, "what happened?"

After a few minutes to collect himself, Hughes told UFC analyst Joe Rogan, he didn't know what hit him. 

"He hit me hard. When I felt the hit, I thought it was a knee or a kick," Hughes said. "He hit me pretty hard."

Hughes (45-7, 18-6 UFC) has only been stopped via TKO three times in his career. This was by far the fastest knockout he's ever suffered. Hard to believe, but Hughes lost via submission against Dennis Hallman twice, in just 18 and 20 seconds. 

Penn, who seemed almost sullen leading up the fight, got his mojo back. He exploded with joy after the fight running from the cage into the crowd. Once he got the microphone, he screamed that he loved Detroit and the UFC. He also told Hughes that he was his idol. 

Penn (16-7-1, 13-6-1 UFC) was a dominant force at 155 pounds winning three straight title defenses after grabbing the belt at UFC 80. He was dominated by Georges St. Pierre in a fight at 170 pounds at UFC 94.

After losing to Edgar for a second time, the move back to face the big boys at welterweight seemed like an odd choice. Penn was probably giving away 10-12 pounds tonight, but superior technique and speed usually overcomes size.

After a loss to Thiago Alves back at UFC 85, Hughes seemed incapable of competing at the highest level. With three straight wins, he got his career back on track and was even being mentioned as a title contender.

Following the fight, the 37-year-old veteran said he was unclear of what he would do next. 

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