UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn will next defend his strap against number one contender Diego Sanchez at UFC 107 in December. UFC president Dana White today made the announcement on a video blog that was posted on BJPenn.com.

"B.J. is fighting Dec. 12," said Dana White in the video blog.

The Penn vs. Sanchez UFC 107 booking comes as bit of surprise. UFC President Dana White mentioned at the UFC 102 pre-fight press conference that the lightweight title bout would take place at an as of yet unannounced third UFC event in November which would not air on PPV or Spike TV. 

This statement led many to believe that the UFC was close to securing a long rumored network TV deal, but this announcement appears, on the surface, to squash hopes of a third November event and the long coveted UFC/Network TV deal.

Penn (14-5-1) is coming off another successful lightweight title defense as he defeated Kenny Florian at UFC 101 last month and is now 4-1 in his last five bouts. His only loss during that stretch came in his previous bout against UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 94 in January. Penn sports a 10-4-1 record in 15 fights with the UFC, with other big wins over Jens Pulver, Matt Hughes, Caol Uno, Sean Sherk, Joe Stevenson, and Matt Serra. 11 of his 14 career wins have came via stoppage and he holds notable wins outside the UFC over Renzo Gracie, Duane Ludwig and Takanori Gomi.

Sanchez (21-2) has won his last four bouts, which include wins in his first two fights at lightweight against Joe Stevenson and most recently Clay Guida at TUF 9 finale in June. Prior to the move down to the lightweight division, he put together an impressive 8-2 run as a middleweight (1 bout) and welterweight (9 bouts) to begin his career with the UFC. He holds notable wins over Kenny Florian, Joe Riggs, Karo Parisyan and Nick Diaz. The King of the Cage veteran has finished 15 of his 21 career wins and holds a big win outside the UFC over current Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago.

UFC 107 takes place on December 12 from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee. The event will also feature a light-heavyweight battle between bitter rivals and opposing TUF 10 coaches, Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, as well as a heavyweight bout between former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir and Cheick Kongo.

Make sure to check back with us the day of the event for free, live, round-by-round coverage of UFC 107 right here at FiveKnuckles.com! Join expert analyst Mike Williams as he takes you through the entire fight card blow-by-blow and then keep it right here for all the post-fight news and notes you can handle!